The municipality of Feldafing has two major projects for 2021: the planning of the new fire station and the renovation of the listed lido.
In an interview, he explains how Mayor Bernhard Sontheim looks to the new year.
Feldafing -
Mr. Sontheim, how will the pandemic develop?
I assume that we will have to live with considerable restrictions by spring.
There will be no concerts, no events.
In summer it will relax again.
Then we hope that by autumn everyone will be vaccinated enough that the pandemic is as good as over.
There will be people unwilling to vaccinate - it's your own fault, I can only say.
How is the business in Feldafing doing under these conditions?
The restaurants are not doing well at the moment.
All offer a delivery and collection service.
I know some Feldafingers who get something on the weekend, I also to support the gastronomy.
Instead of our community Christmas party, the town hall employees received restaurant vouchers.
When the bars are open again, they can go out to eat.
A small contribution to the Feldafing economy.
I haven't heard anything negative about the deals so far.
We don't have that many stores.
What's up in 2021?
Two big projects: the construction of the fire station and the renovation of our listed lido.
Hopefully next year we will be able to plan both of these things so far that we can start in 2022.
Then there is the day-to-day business: the development of the area of the former Buchheim Villa, a development plan for the Green Villa, an architectural competition for the former clinic area, and we will redesign the building area on Wielinger Straße.
How can the old clinic premises be designed in such a way that the community benefits from it - keyword affordable housing?
The owners have offered that they could accommodate the community depending on the increase in building rights.
Although that's normal now.
The only question is: will there be more building permits?
We haven't talked about that in the local council.
I will only start negotiations with the owners when we have a development plan that defines future building rights.
Then we can see if something can be done for the community.
Then there are two options.
On the one hand, create affordable living space, whereby the commitment period is only 15 years.
That's why I think little of it.
On the other hand, we could buy and build land.
We could then rent them out as we see fit.
In this way, affordable living space would be available in a sustainable and long-term manner.
Housing management is complex.
How many apartments does the municipality already own?
We have 29 apartments that we rent out cheaply.
We are considering building a multi-storey apartment building on Stadionstrasse, where the old tennis courts were, as a municipality or with the Association for Living, the PEWU or a cooperative.
We already had a development plan for semi-detached houses and terraced houses there.
However, this development is no longer up to date.
In the old town council we talked about building an apartment building up to the gym.
That would be four or five floors, a good number of affordable apartments could be made available there.
But that will take some time because we need a development plan and a water law procedure.
The other large development area for Feldafing is now completely out of the game.
I don't waste any more thought on the Bundeswehr area.
The only thing I think about is: where do we get the nearly two million euros that we wasted on it?
That is just the net amount that Feldafing has invested in planning around the Bundeswehr area.
In addition, there are other funds, such as the temporary position that was available for the conversion in the business development department.
Yes, I haven't included that yet.
We've added up what the church has had in costs over the past 19 years.
From that we deducted what we received in terms of funding and added what we had to do in terms of work.
That is just under two million euros.
In addition, there are the subsidies that the Free State, the Federal Government and Europan have spent, and the money that has landed directly with the Society for Economic Development and Tourism - that is definitely another million.
It was very undignified, as you learned about the plans of the Bundeswehr: from the newspaper.
After all these years of negotiating.
Yes, undignified is the right word for it.
Arrogant, undignified, ignorant.
I asked Michael Kießling, the member of the Bundestag for the Starnberg constituency, for help and sent him our statement of costs.
He promised to stand up for us in the Ministry of Defense.
I also wrote to Prime Minister Söder.
I haven't heard from either of them.
Are there voices from the population who are annoyed about the Bundeswehr's change of mind?
No.
For 19 years we saw a huge opportunity for Feldafing's development.
Some may even be glad that nothing happened.
Others say: “What a shame.” However, lamenting does not help.
The development of the last few years has always been geared towards the Bundeswehr.
That is why we have not designated a local model, created no affordable living space, or designated an industrial park - everything that would have helped our development has been on hold for 20 years.
Now we have to look to at least recondition parts, but no longer with a view to the fact that the Bundeswehr moves out.
Where could a local model be realized?
There are no concrete plans.
A small local model would be possible on the Lipp-Wiese, as well as on the Walser-Wiese.
There are areas, perhaps in connection with the old clinic - but those are unlaid eggs.
Where could you develop businesses?
I see little chance of doing that at the moment.
The small industrial area in Wieling could only be created because the Bundeswehr postponed its withdrawal at the time.
Otherwise we would never have been approved for an industrial park out there.
The three companies that are there - Packsys, Starnberger Brauhaus and Steinmüller - go well with Feldafing.
What is the plan for the lido?
The essential thing is to build the kitchen area so that it can operate properly.
There are various ideas that serve as the basis for a concept.
The current restaurant is a listed area that we will renovate.
We want to completely redesign the outside areas and remove the excesses of the past - a veranda here, a kiosk there.
In the rear part we will tear away the kitchen extension from the 1970s and build it again.
What will the new building look like?
That has not yet been decided.
What is certain is that we will go underground.
We wanted to stay at ground level at first, then we would have needed a clearance area from the Free State, the palace administration, on the path next door.
The Free State first wanted 310,000 euros for this, now we are at 220,000 euros.
That's crazy, that's why we say: We'd rather go deep and have the spacing areas on our own property.
Where did this exorbitant price come from?
The Free State has calculated the spacing areas on the basis of building land prices.
As if the path that leads around the lido will eventually become building land.
Are apartments planned on the upper floor of the extension?
We're still discussing that because of the cost.
We could never earn so much rent that it pays off at some point.
Nevertheless, there are two reasons for this: the tenant would have an easier time finding staff with living space, and someone would be there all the time so that the lido would be protected from vandalism.
The restaurant remains closed in the meantime?
We really want to avoid that.
If we know how to renovate, we can think about how to keep the lido running.
We are thinking of a kitchen container or some other way to keep the restaurant open.
What will the renovation cost?
We have to reckon with two million euros.
The association for the preservation of the lido also wants to get involved financially.
Yes, the members are busy collecting money.
It is planned that they will tackle a completed project in the course of the renovation.
A terrace design would be one possibility.
What about the gym?
Their renovation is also pending, thanks to a 900,000 euro grant.
We have received funding approval, but we still have to clarify which requirements we have to meet.
We applied for a volume of 3.2 million euros and got one million approved.
Now the question is: do we have to plan for 3.2 million euros or is one million enough?
When we know this, we think about what we urgently need.
Certainly the roof, and we will also improve the roof construction and carry out a thermal renovation.
We also need a new gym floor.
If we do all of that, we'll be over one million euros anyway.
Fire station topic: In the course of the coming year a location will emerge.
Which do you prefer?
None of the possible locations is ideal.
We have to see which toad we swallow.
These are big projects that will cost a lot of money.
Can Feldafing allow itself?
At the end of the year we will probably close with up to 8.5 million euros in liquid funds.
We can afford a little of that.
However, of course, nobody knows what will happen to the overall tax revenue.
Income tax will be reduced significantly.
It is impossible to say how the trade tax will develop.
One thing is certain: the district levy will hit us so hard in the coming years that we will hardly have any more money for voluntary services.
What the district council organizes is completely irresponsible towards the municipalities.
You are in your final term in office.
Is there a sense of fatigue in all the clubs that are thrown between your legs?
No, absolutely not.
On the contrary.
I want to make a difference in the next five and a half years, that's what I was elected for, and that's what I will do.
I would like to hand over a church to my successor where there is no traffic jam.