The Corona crisis has also hit Diakonie Herzogsägmühle hard.
There is a million hole in the cash register.
But director Wilfried Knorr was also able to report positive things at the annual meeting, which this time took place virtually for the first time due to the ongoing pandemic.
Herzogsägmühle
- The result is still subject to the auditors, who have not yet completed their work.
It could also be that one or the other money from compensation payments will reduce the deficit, said Knorr.
However, it is already certain that the bottom line is that Diakonie Herzogsägmühle will close the past year with a big minus.
“We are currently talking about a deficit of 1.8 million euros.” The economic volume of the company, which employs around 1700 people, was 118.4 million euros in 2020.
The deficit can be covered from reserves
Unsurprisingly, the corona crisis is to blame for the financial losses. Production stoppages in the workshops for people with disabilities, no assignments in youth welfare, and generally stagnant occupancy in the individual departments were the result, according to Knorr. The support center had to stop working for weeks. In addition, there were the additional expenses for the complex hygiene concepts. The good news: because the company has done well in recent years, the deficit can be covered from the reserves.
As a result, the new large-scale kitchen Culinarium was completed on schedule last year (we reported).
This year, with the last construction phase in Haus Obland, the center of work for addicts, and the new building of the support center for 24 people with severe or multiple disabilities in Herzogsägmühle, two further important projects are to be completed.
Another 24 support center places are to be created in Weilheim in an inclusive district soon.
On the way to a climate-neutral and car-free place
It is an ambitious goal that Herzogsägmühle has set for itself: “We want to be climate neutral by 2035,” announced Director Knorr at the annual meeting. In order to achieve this, the local energy supply is to be completely rebuilt. A wood chip heating system is planned, which will supply the lower town analogous to the existing system in Oberobland. An area below the Red Mountain is being discussed as the location. With this new consideration, the previous plan for a giant battery storage system that Knorr presented three years ago is now off the table. "We only need it if we would stick with the gas-powered combined heat and power plants."
Not only the wood chip heating is an issue in the course of the set climate target. An engineering office is also currently examining the entire Herzogsägmühle area in terms of local planning, reported Knorr. It is also about the question of whether a car-free place can be realized. If employees were to park down at the hostel and be taken to the village by shuttle, that would not only be good for the energy balance, explained Knorr, "but would also have the great charm that we could re-plan all traffic routes for cyclists, pedestrians and wheelchair users."
This year there is also movement in the long-running plans for a municipal housing project on the Red Mountain. The leasehold contract is currently being examined. If everything goes smoothly, the groundbreaking ceremony can take place in the autumn, Knorr said. Seven buildings with up to 60 residential units are to be built. The investor is the Graf von Deym'sche Immobiliengesellschaft, which has already implemented a similar project in Peiting at the Ost train station. The inclusive residential area is a notable change for Herzogsägmühle. "We are very happy because it is a step towards normality of the place."
The renovation of the burned down light and wax factory has also started this year.
Because the fire brigade, which is currently housed in the same building, needs more space, plans are already underway for the construction of a new vehicle hall opposite the rubbish box.
"That will probably be concrete in two years."
The planned new nursing home will cost up to 17 million euros
By far the largest project of the next few years is also already casting its shadow. The operating license for the Schöneckerhaus as a care facility expires in 2023. Knorr reported that they are currently in the process of launching an architectural competition for the nursing home of the future. The new building with 72 seats is to be realized by “Hilfe im Alter gGmbH”, a subsidiary of the Inner Mission Munich. The costs are between 15 and 17 million euros. Knorr emphasized that it was therefore dependent on subsidies to make it come true.
Which projects can actually be implemented in the end will of course also depend on the further development of the financial situation.
Nobody can currently say when the crisis will end, according to Knorr.
So look at the current year with worry lines.
"At some point it will be tight, we don't have so much money on the high edge that we can compensate for three or four years."
A topic that will also occupy the board of the association “Diakonie München und Oberbayern - Innere Mission München”, to which Herzogsägmühle belongs, intensively.
Andrea Betz joined the board in May as the fourth member and first woman.
The course for this was set last year, according to Knorr.
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