At the town hall of Vaterstetten, the facade is crumbling – that will be expensive. – Ebersberg

Although the large community is a good distance away from any mountains, there is still a risk of falling rocks in Vaterstetten – even if only in a very limited area: around the town hall. There, it was now also found out in the municipal council, that a piece of concrete had recently fallen out of the facade onto the sidewalk. Luckily, no one was hit, but the building authorities point out that “depending on the size and height of fall” the crumbling facade “could lead to a serious accident”. That’s why it has to be renovated now – and that won’t be cheap.

Ralf Schloemlich from the building authority presented three options for putting a stop to the rockfall in Wendelsteinstrasse to the members of the municipal council. The simplest would simply tap the facade from all sides to find loose parts. These would then be knocked off and the holes concreted over. The somewhat more extensive renovation variant includes a more intensive check for damage caused by the so-called carbonation on the west side that was most severely damaged. During this chemical reaction, the concrete turns into limestone, which can damage the steel reinforcements. A protective layer against further carbonation would also be applied. In the most extensive renovation variant, this layer would have a higher density, and the damaged areas would also be repaired with a special mortar.

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Depending on the variant, there would be different useful lives, according to the statement by the building authority. The simple one, in which only the loose parts are removed, is designed to last about five years. The somewhat more complex one with a protective layer and calcification test for ten years, and the variant with a premium coating for 15 years. The administration recommended the last variant to the municipal council – and the most expensive variant at around 330,000 euros – because it was realistic that the town hall would be used for another decade and a half.

Which allows a small view of the list of priorities announced by Mayor Leonhard Spitzauer (CSU) a good two years ago. All upcoming major projects should be listed under the working title “Agenda 2030” and, similar to what happened with the road construction program a few years ago, assigned an urgency. One of these measures is the town hall, which has often been on the list for demolition, but a new building for the administrative headquarters always failed due to tight finances.

Which does not mean that the municipality did not have to spend money on the town hall. The regular repair of the roof over the atrium has almost become a tradition – the success of which, however, is always short-lived. The colorful buckets in the foyer are almost part of the inventory – only recently the nativity scene had to be provided with an additional stream to catch the water dripping from the ceiling.

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Almost five years ago, an extensive fire protection renovation was necessary after an expert had certified the town hall more or less as a death trap in 2016. With the decision to upgrade the fire protection system – which, by the way, also cost about a third of a million euros – the municipal council also decided at the time that this should have been the last investment in the building from 1970. After a detailed debate, a new building was voted for in the near future without dissenting votes – neither of which took place.

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There was neither a request to speak nor a dissenting vote on the prospect of using the old town hall for at least 15 years. Also, the fact that the costs are likely to be well in excess of 330,000 euros – the repair of damage to the former fire station next door has not yet been priced in, just as little as the next roof renovation – remained uncommented and unchallenged in the committee.