Money for urgently needed renovation is lacking

The renovation of the bergstrabe with its numerous road and footpath damages and the preparation of a development plan for a residential area on the johannesberg were the focus of the youngest meeting of the municipal council. However, not much was decided. The only thing that seems clear is that, for financial reasons, the mountain road can only be renovated in stages at the most. Planner matthias kirchner from oerlenbach presented his plan for the renovation of the bergstrabe to a length of 330 meters. It has a connecting function to the town and is a link to the rannunger meadow, to the forest and to the fountains. A compromise must be found between good trafficability and high quality of stay and living.

The planning

Kirchner’s plans therefore envisage a roadway width of six meters, with sidewalks at least one and a half meters wide on one side. The water and sewer lines are to be renewed and the connections are to be made up to the property line. Also planned are cables for a fast data network, the renewal of street lighting and – where possible – unsealing and roadside paving.

The costs

The council members were particularly eager to hear kirchner’s explanations of the costs. He named for the engineering structures (sewerage and water supply) 477000 euro and for the traffic facilities (primarily road construction) 879 000 euro. With 19 percent value-added tax, that’s a total of 1,614 million euros, not including ancillary construction costs. Demand from the free state only for the costs of the trench construction eligible for subsidy.

The time schedule

Matthias kirchner even had a time schedule with him. He starts with the approval of the execution plan by the municipal council still in september 2020. Construction could begin in the fall of 2021, and the planner calculated a construction period of one year. Mayor fridolin zehner (CSU), however, immediately waved it off, pointing out that this work was not in the budget and that the multi-purpose hall had priority "each of you knows the budget and the situation". Kirchner pointed out that the road would have to be dug up to a depth of about three to 3.50 meters for the sewer, water and house connections and asked the question: "what do you do with this temporary solution??" the mayor also stressed: "the mountain road is not the only one that needs to be rehabilitated, but it is the worst of all". The agenda item was closed without a decision.

In addition, it was expected that matthias kirchner would present a draft plan for the residential area planned for the johannesberg with about ten to twelve building sites. However, he did not have any designs with him, but emphasized that the urban land use planning should be completed first. Mayor zehner emphasized that there is a need for building land in the municipality. Three to four young families were waiting for it. The municipality has to follow two tracks: internal development on the one hand and the development of building land on the other. "At the moment there is pure madness, we are currently making twelve to fifteen building sites and the sites are going away very quickly" matthias kirchner explained. Interior development in rural areas is difficult because many people do not want to sell their homes. For the planned building area on the johannesberg, the urban land use planning must be completed by the end of next year, because then no formal external procedure for the change of the land use plan is necessary. Again nothing was decided.

In the meeting, at least in the public part, only one decision was made: a family wants to build a single-family home in the brunnenstrabe on a still undeveloped plot of land. The council agreed.

Comment by dieter britz:

You don’t have to be a road construction expert to realize that the bergstrabe is in urgent need of rehabilitation. Not only the road surface and the sidewalks are in need of repair, which is easy to see with the naked eye. Also the channels must be renewed, that proves the television pictures from the underground. Planner matthias kirchner calculates construction costs of a good 1.6 million euros for the entire project plus ancillary costs.

In view of the financial situation of the municipality and because the multi-purpose hall is to be renovated as a matter of priority, the suggestion was made to divide the renovation into two stages: first, the sewers and the water pipes should be renovated. Then the road will be left for two, three or even more years before the road surface and sidewalks are also rehabilitated. This approach can cost the municipality dearly under certain circumstances.

Firstly, construction work rarely becomes cheaper over time and secondly, such a division is hardly conceivable without considerable mehrauand. No decision has been made yet. The municipal council should think carefully about whether this is the right way to proceed. The bergstrabe has long been in poor condition. Can’t we leave it like this for another two or three years until there is more money in the municipal coffers and the renovation can be carried out in one go?? Also the residents were probably glad, if they had bundled the arger and the problems with the tree removals and strabenperrungen only once.