After protests, the Dorfen city council changes the age limit for the outdoor pool.
However, the city is sticking to the opening times.
Dorfen - Children from the age of ten are allowed to use the Dorfen outdoor pool alone
This was decided by the city council, repealing a decision that set the age limit at 14.
This had already been done in 2020 to comply with the corona hygiene regulations.
However, the city council did not give in to another complaint.
The outdoor pool does not open until 9.30 a.m. and not half an hour earlier, as 47 morning swimmers had requested in a petition (we reported).
The age limits were already the talk of the town, some complaints about it have been received by the town hall. “This arbitrary determination of the age of 14 is in no way understandable for us. The children have been going to the outdoor pool independently for years and are all good at swimming, ”said a letter to the city administration. “Should the parents take a vacation every day so that the children can swim? Should they be parked at home in front of the computer instead of going to the bathroom? ”Other bathrooms would have already reacted in the children's interest.
"The pandemic situation has developed positively," said Mayor Heinz Grundner (CSU) at the meeting.
One must also admit that the age of the children may not always have been correctly checked.
Susanne Streibl (GAL) reported that the age limits are set differently in different pools.
She pleaded for this passage to be dropped completely.
Even without the pandemic, there was an age limit, Grundner clarified: namely from the age of seven.
In Taufkirchen the limit is currently nine and in Erding twelve years.
The debate was controversial and the result of the vote reflected that.
In the end, nine city councilors voted against the age limit of ten years.
The Dorfen outdoor pool is currently open between 9.30 a.m. and 8.30 p.m.
An earlier opening would bring problems, explained building authority manager Franz Wandinger.
The first employees have to make technical preparations two hours before the opening.
An extension is not possible for labor law and safety reasons.
Because because of the shift models, a security gap at lunchtime would be the result.
For an hour, the swimming pool would be supervised by just one lifeguard and not, as usual, by two, explained Wandinger.
“Imagine something happened during that time,” he said.
"Then the head of administration would be liable." Josef Jung (ÜWG) suggested covering the gap with volunteer lifeguards.
The mayor didn't have much more than a shake of his head for that.
The higher number of visitors in the evening speaks against a complete shift in opening times.
That would be proven by data from 2018, reported the building authority manager.
He therefore asked the city councils to keep the opening times this year.
You could think of something for the next season.
"People who go swimming in the mornings are more flexible in terms of time," argued Michaela Meister (SPD) for the previous times.
Working people in particular are happy when they can go swimming for as long as possible in the evening.