Jestetten – In the last meeting before the summer break, Katja Steinbeißer was appointed to the Jestetten municipal council because she was unable to attend the inaugural meeting. She repeated the oath of office read out by Mayor Dominic Böhler and received her certificate. The important issues that were to be decided before the summer break immediately continued. The second item on the agenda was two construction projects in the municipality. The contract for laying the asphalt surface layer in two streets was to be awarded. A section of Hohenkrähenstraße in Jestetten is to be completed. The residents’ main construction work in this area has been completed, so the risk of damage to the surface layer is minimized.
The application of the surface layer includes the adjustments to the road drains. The third construction phase, “Im Niederfeld” in the Altenburg district, will also be given an asphalt surface layer; the sidewalk at the beginning of the road and the footpath to the fields are included in the work. In response to a request from a local council member, it was confirmed that the ducts have already been laid in the subsoil of the road for any fiber optic connections. The price offered of a good 140,000 euros is less than the amount calculated by the municipality of around 170,000 euros. The work was unanimously awarded to the Schleith company from Waldshut-Tiengen.
Günther Vollmer, deputy head of the accounting office in Jestetten, discussed the 2022 annual financial statements. The municipality of Jestetten is therefore leaving 2022 with a positive result of around 110,000 euros. This is the best result in nine years since the electricity division was handed over to the EVKR. Further savings were achieved through the six photovoltaic systems. Of the approximately 116,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity produced, an amount of around 18,000 euros was saved through the self-consumption in the town hall and in the sewage treatment plant of around 45,000 kWh. An indication of a water network in excellent condition is the low repair costs of only 20,000 euros. This is thanks to Jestetten water master Andreas Schlude and his team. Mayor Dominic Böhler and the municipal council thanked Schlude for his efforts. The 2022 annual financial statements of the municipality of Jestetten were unanimously adopted and approved.
Despite the positive result, the municipality of Jestetten needs additional funds to refinance the investments, which are to be secured by taking out a loan of 500,000 euros. Günther Vollmer presented the requirements, which are to be used for the renovation of the Oberholz pumping station and for the remaining work on Bahnhofstrasse. On the day of the municipal council meeting, the municipality obtained offers from local credit companies and from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, or KfW for short. The KfW offer with an interest rate of 2.83 percent fixed for ten years beat out the other two, which had offered interest rates of 3.29 percent and 3.3 percent, also fixed for ten years. The municipal council therefore unanimously decided to take out the loan from KfW. Günther Vollmer emphasized that the plan is to repay the loan of 500,000 euros in full within the interest period of ten years.
Questions from citizens
During the council’s quarter-hour question and answer session, resident Wolfgang Lauer spoke up and mentioned the public toilet between the train station and the Aldi supermarket. Mayor Dominic Böhler reported on the current situation. He is confident that he will be able to reach an agreement with all parties involved in this matter. Another comment from Wolfgang Lauer concerned the use of the campsite by the swimming pool by Jestetter campers. According to him, Jestetter campers have been prohibited from using the campsite several times in the past. Lauer expressed his incomprehension. Dominic Böhler was unable to answer the question off the cuff. He will therefore inquire and give feedback.
