“One must not save the building yard from being destroyed”

Created: 11/30/2022, 7:00 p.m

By: Markus Schwarzkugler

Had fun decorating the tree: the children from the house for children and from the parish kindergarten with forest kindergarten and after-school care center in Josefsheim.

© Market community of Wartenberg

In the Wartenberg market council there was a fuss about a turntable ladder used to decorate the Christmas tree.

It was primarily about the purchase of a wheel loader that was not exactly cheap - and that with the tense financial situation.

Wartenberg - "The oldest Christmas tree in the region" shouldn't be this time.

As is well known, in 2020 Radio Arabella awarded this inglorious title to the tree on the Wartenberg market square.

The children of the two local day-care centers have now ensured that this does not come to that this year.

The way in which the Christmas tree had been decorated caused a small dispute in the market council a little later.

In the following, we explain what this has to do with a new wheel loader for the municipal building yard.

Mayor Christian Pröbst (CSU) had asked the two children's homes, and the girls and boys made stars and jewelry that were now hung on the tree - by the children themselves, who were given sweets as a reward.

The building yard was also involved.

And the fire brigade helped with the turntable ladder.

Eduard Ertl (Neue Mitte) then criticized the latter in the market council meeting: "I don't want to know what it costs to use the turntable ladder.

I would have bought the scaffolding then," he said, and concluded: "They're shooting at sparrows with cannons."

Ertl said that in the consultation on the new wheel loader, for the purchase of which the market council ultimately voted with three dissenting votes, despite the tense financial situation.

Around 100,000 euros have been set aside for this in the budget.

"That would basically be an investment that would help us," said Ertl, not only with regard to the use of the turntable ladder.

For his criticism, however, he received a sharp comment from Nikolaus Hintermaier (FDP).

The ladder is used so seldom that the fire brigade is already doing practice runs with it.

"Not that she's gone after 20 years," said Hintermaier.

And Martin Hamberger (CSU) said to Ertl: "I would have seen it more as an exercise."

The market council is currently discussing many potential savings, most recently in the media center, for example (we reported).

But the green light was still given to the not-so-cheap wheel loader.

"We just need it.

The wish has been there for at least five months,” emphasized Pröbst.

The municipal administration writes in the table submission to the council that "in the course of efforts to outsource municipal building yards in the 1980s and 1990s, all existing heavy equipment in the building yard was sold and no replacement has been created to date".

In addition, staff has been reduced, only recently "the workforce has been adapted to the more extensive requirements".

Experience has shown that completely outsourcing the municipal building yard is not a tried and tested means of reducing costs and that a separate depot is necessary.

But the work requires heavy equipment, according to the administration, which lists numerous examples such as repair work or the construction of festivities.

Even more detailed was Franz Ganslmaier (FWG),

A telescopic wheel loader with a top speed of 20 km/h is being considered, which, according to the administration, combines the advantages of several machines and does not require TÜV approval.

Currently, some vehicles have to be borrowed from external companies or the work has to be contracted out, which amounts to around 10,000 euros a year.

Martina Scheyhing (Greens) just wondered why they wanted to buy the wheel loader now of all times, "when we have a virtual budget freeze".

Now is the wrong time for it.

Paul Neumeier (FWG), on the other hand, described the building yard as inadequately equipped: "This multifunctional vehicle would be an advantage for the entire Wartenberg market." And Hintermaier found that the wheel loader was at least not a German product that would cost even more.