The pandemic hits the baths hard

The municipal utilities expect the consequences of the corona crisis in the indoor swimming pool and leisure center to drag on until 2022.

Similar losses are expected for 2021 as this year.

Germering

- The financial situation of Stadtwerke will be strongly influenced by the effects of the pandemic for at least next year.

This becomes clear in the 2021 business plan for the city's own operation, which the commercial director Michael Voss has now presented to the works committee.

In the former core business of the company, the waterworks, and in the most recent branch of the business, the energy supply, Corona is hardly noticeable.

But it hits the indoor swimming pool and leisure center (outdoor swimming pool and ice rink) business areas all the more.

Voss expects the same loss of revenue for both areas as this year.

Because of the lockdown and the partial or complete closure of the baths, the income was around 460,000 euros less than in 2019. In addition, around 40,000 euros were spent on security measures.

The only hope Voss has left is that a vaccine will be available quickly.

Only then could the results possibly get better.

Nevertheless, he expects that the crisis in the leisure sector will still be felt in 2022.

Despite these expectations, investments are pending for indoor and outdoor pools and ice rinks that cannot be postponed.

At both facilities, the cash register system has to be renewed, which costs around 42,000 euros in total.

The expansion of the indoor swimming pool, which was stopped in the previous year due to allocation problems, will be back in the budget next year with planning costs of 400,000 euros.

And the toddler area in the outdoor pool is being redesigned.

Cost: 215,000 euros.

In the waterworks next year, investments in the pipeline network (150,000 euros) and the purchase of a new assembly vehicle for 47,000 euros are due.

Because, according to Voss, there are still no suitable electric vehicles that can also pull trailers, a hybrid drive will be chosen.

Gerhard Blahusch (Greens) pointed out, however, that there are now alternatives.

The energy division is planning to build a district heating island at the indoor swimming pool (around 1.7 million euros) and to expand the district heating network (200,000 euros).

The already decided optimization of the thermal power station in the north of Germering, which enables additional income from the sale of energy, will not be fully noticeable next year.