Peiting's Mayor Peter Ostenrieder has been in office since last May.
In an interview, the new town hall chief looks back on the past year and reveals which projects the community wants to tackle in 2021 and why he is particularly excited about a personal meeting with the Bavarian Minister of Transport.
Mr. Ostenrieder, the past year was an extraordinary one in several respects. If you had to describe it in one word, what would it be?
"All in all, it was a really exciting year"
A fireworks display of local politics (laughs).
In Peiting everything was there, from the citizens' petitions to the last tree dispute and of course the corona crisis, which one shouldn't forget.
All in all, it was a really exciting year.
An era came to an end in Peiting in May. After 24 years, you replaced Michael Asam as mayor. There are also many new faces in the local council. How present is the election campaign a good six months later?
That varies from group to group.
Some finished with the issue quickly after the election, others are still a bit in campaign mode.
The problem was that we had no opportunities to meet outside of the session that year.
Celebrations, on-site appointments, all of that canceled due to Corona.
Some people, I have the feeling, still mistake the municipal council stage for the Bundestag, where people beat each other down.
Hence the great wish for an exam next year to get to know each other better.
Your election as town hall chief was certainly the personal highlight for you in 2020. What was remarkable from the community's point of view in the past year?
"At the referendum on Marienheim you saw how the Peitinger tick"
That was actually the referendum on the Marienheim.
You saw how the people of Peitingen tick and how they feel about the local social institutions, even if they are controversial.
A trend-setting story for me.
You just mentioned it. Two projects in particular were controversial this year, namely the planned new buildings in Marienheim and V-Baumarkt. Both projects have led to bitter debates for months. Did that surprise you?
No, in both cases I was aware that there would be discussions.
I am glad that I had a clear opinion on both projects.
Each side has its arguments, which is why I think it's important to position yourself clearly as a mayor.
At Marienheim there was ultimately a clear vote of the Peitinger in the referendum. At the V-Baumarkt, on the other hand, two requests failed due to formalities. Doesn't it cast a shadow over the project that, without a referendum, you will no longer find out what the people of Peitingen actually think about it?
No, I do not think so.
In my opinion, the opinion in Peiting is clear at the V-Baumarkt.
Of course there are also opponents of the plan.
However, in many conversations I have found that many changed their minds when they found out why the community decided to go to the hardware store.
Incidentally, this also applies to many business people.
Building, that should be the keyword for the coming year in Peiting, right?
Yes.
Peiting shoots from all cylinders (laughs).
On the one hand there are the many municipal projects such as the open all-day school, our Monday car, the nursery extension, the new kindergarten.
We are already looking at the general renovation of the ice rink, and it will be decided at the beginning of the year whether we will receive funding.
The subject of accessibility will continue to occupy us.
At Rathausplatz, which is repeatedly criticized for its pavement, we are already in contact with urban development funding.
There are also private projects such as the planned residential and commercial building on Bahnhofstraße or the new medical center on Poststraße, which will be occupied in 2021 and which will be very important for the center of the town with its visitor frequency.
Many projects mean a lot of expenses that are likely to oppose falling income due to the Corona crisis. Do you worry?
"We have a crisis, but not a catastrophe"
Of course, we in Peiting are also noticing the consequences of the pandemic.
The falling income has already been taken into account in the budget planning for the next three years.
Because I was able to take over a debt-free community, I am not worried.
We have a crisis, but not a disaster.
What else is high on your agenda for 2021?
Right at the top of my agenda is the implementation of the transport concept I proposed during the election campaign for inner-city passenger transport.
I have an appointment with the transport minister at the beginning of February because I would like to introduce it as a pilot project in Peiting.
What exactly do you have to imagine?
It is comparable to an on-call bus, only we as a municipality want to operate several e-cars as a kind of shuttle service.
In this way, an individual transport offer can be created, which ideally should also be free of charge for the Peitinger.
Sounds exciting. Where else will there be in 2021?
We will tackle the issue of vacancies in the village, and the new industrial park on Bergwerkstrasse should also be implemented as quickly as possible, just like the security watch that we decided to introduce.
Urban traffic is a constant topic.
We recently started marking the so-called shark teeth in the 30s zones in order to point out the right-before-left situations more clearly.
It hit like a bomb, we have had many inquiries from citizens who want that on their streets too.
We will therefore tackle the remaining areas in spring.
We also want to take a closer look at the situation on Schongauer Strasse / Obere Strasse and Meierstrasse.
It is important to keep an eye on the traffic load.
In the long term, we have to address the issue of parking spaces in the town center.
Because despite further efforts to make the municipality more bicycle-friendly, one must remain realistic that many people in rural areas will continue to come to town by car.
In the interview after 100 days in office, you formulated a goal for yourself: namely that the Peitingers say that Ostenrieder is our mayor. Do you feel like you've accomplished that?
The Peitinger have to judge that, of course.
I am quite confident about that.
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