Revival of the surf wave project in Wolfratshausen?
Created: 05/25/2022, 17:00
By: Carl Christian Eick
The last act to date in terms of surfing wave: In February of this year, the Wolfratshausen city council rejected it by a vote of 23:0 to provide a further 170,000 euros for the project planned in the Weidach district.
© Hans Lippert
In February, the Wolfratshausen city council closed the sack - but it cannot be ruled out that the surfing wave will be on the agenda again.
Wolfratshausen – In May 2013, the Surfwelle project made a name for itself for the first time.
Many controversial debates and numerous resolutions later, the city council buried the project in February of this year: the committee unanimously refused to provide a further 170,000 euros for the project.
But it is not entirely impossible that the artificial wave will again become an issue for the citizens' representatives.
Revival of the surf wave project in Wolfratshausen?
400,000 euros: This is the maximum amount that the association “Surfing Wolfratshausen” can expect from the city coffers.
The surprising message from the manufacturer of the steel shaft construction, who offered the city a cheaper variant, did not change the fact that there are no more euros.
In view of the total investment of almost 1.4 million euros (as of December 2021), the city council pulled the ripcord as one.
After the blow to the neck, the surfers' club had to take a deep breath, but the volunteers haven't given up all hopes yet.
"The next steps" are currently being prepared, said club chairwoman Stefanie Kastner when asked by our newspaper.
Decisions would be made at an extraordinary general meeting - but according to Kastner there is no date for this meeting yet.
It feels like our faction has put a tick behind it.
Fritz Meixner, spokesman for the SPD/FDP parliamentary group
“The ball is in the club’s hands,” says Assunta Tammelleo, spokeswoman for the Greens city council group.
If the surfers put a new proposal on the table, she personally is "very much in favor of the surfing wave being discussed again with an open mind".
Tammelleo does not ignore the well-known tense budget situation in Loisachstadt, but points out that not every investment should be canceled under the impression of a "wet budget".
She is still convinced that a surfing wave would mean a strong image boost "for our lovely city".
However, Tammelleo admits to our newspaper that she is "not boundlessly optimistic" with regard to a possible repetition of the surfing wave debate.
You can read all the news from Wolfratshausen here.
Fritz Meixner, spokesman for the SPD/FDP parliamentary group, expressed a similar view: "It feels as if our parliamentary group has ticked the box." Meixner refers to the empty city coffers on the one hand and the expensive compulsory tasks of the municipality on the other Side.
The general renovation and expansion of the elementary and middle school on Hammerschmiedweg alone will cost around 50 million euros.
Against this background, the city will probably have to take out a loan next year, according to Klaus Heilinglechner (Citizens' Association of Wolfratshausen, BVW for short).
Not to be forgotten: This year, a good 9.2 million euros in personnel costs have already been earmarked in the budget - according to the most recent wage agreements, this sum will increase further in 2023.
also read
Childcare: Daily calls from angry parents
Königsdorf's local farmer Roswitha Mayer dies at the age of 65
Local authority has raised the index finger
"We have already received mail from the local authority," Meixner said in an interview with our newspaper.
The district office has identified an impending imbalance in the city budget - and called for timely measures to consolidate finances (we reported).
To make matters worse, construction cost prices continue to gallop away.
The bottom line is that he is "very skeptical" that the SPD and FDP will bring themselves to calculate the artificial wave again.
And if at all, according to Meixner, "only after the extraordinary general meeting of the surfers' association", that is, after the results of the meeting became known.
"Clear and unambiguous" is the position of the CSU, says the parliamentary group leader Claudia Drexl-Weile: "We stand by the city council decision at the time." That means: The subsidy cap remains at 400,000 euros, and the CSU will not raise an even larger financial injection .
The negative development of the municipal budget "does not allow for a higher financial participation of the municipality in the project than has been decided so far", says Drexl-Weile.
BVW Spokesman: Don't build a wave just to have a wave
In principle, the BVW is "always" ready to talk, according to the parliamentary group leader Josef Praller.
You owe that to a club that has been so committed in such an outstanding way.
But the first step would have to be taken by the surfers, from whom Praller expects a reliable template as to how the surfing wave project could be revived.
Praller sends ahead: A possible alternative must be "of high quality".
Technically, the BVW spokesman does not want to make any compromises - a static, non-adjustable steel construction would presumably be cheaper, but could have a negative effect on the operating times at low water levels.
The consequence: fewer surfers, less sales.
"Building a wave just to have a wave" is not expedient for Praller.
Helmut Forster, faction leader of the Wolfratshauser list and economics adviser to the city council, explains when asked: "The position of our parliamentary group has not changed." A subsidy of 400,000 euros, as decided in February 2019, is the limit.
"More is not possible," states Forster.
In general, the project has always been well calculated in his eyes: the creation of parking spaces at the planned location in Weidach would cost 250,000 euros, and a toilet building would cost 120,000 euros.
Both investments, according to the ex-mayor, have not been reported in the project's balance sheet to date.
Economics officer sees only mandatory tasks on the Aganda
Forster once again refers to the lean years for which the rafting town had to prepare itself as a result of the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Only mandatory tasks currently have priority for the municipality.
So-called nice-to-haves, i.e. things that would be nice but are not absolutely necessary, do not belong on the city council’s agenda for the foreseeable future.
270,000 euros of Leader funds are still available
However, Dr. Wolfratshausen expects a timely response.
Andreas Wüstefeld, in the district office responsible for the leader projects in the district.
According to him, 270,000 euros from the EU funding program are still available for the surfing wave.
According to Wüstefeld, the project will only be over for him when the Loisachstadt has "officially withdrawn" its application for funding.
Will she do that?
According to Mayor Heilinglechner, that depends on the result of the general meeting of the association "Surfing Wolfratshausen".
The approval period for the Leader funds, adds the municipal tourism manager Gisela Gleißl, "ends on December 31, 2024".
(cce)
Our Wolfratshausen-Geretsried newsletter keeps you regularly informed about all the important stories from your region.
Sign up here.
