The fact that the darkest times of the pandemic are over is already evident from the response: More than a hundred visitors, three times more than in the previous year, came to the Putzbrunn community center on Thursday evening to find out about the relevant events in the community at the annual community meeting allow. And Mayor Edwin Klostermeier (SPD) also hinted in his report that one could take a deep breath when it came to Corona, which is why the Christmas market could take place again on the first weekend in Advent, as could the senior citizens’ Christmas party on December 3rd. The planning for the village festival in June 2023 is already underway.
Nevertheless, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine triggered the next crisis in his community: “We are thinking deeply about what we can do in the event of a blackout,” said the mayor. There is already a crisis team within the administration, they are in constant contact with the fire brigade and waterworks and two “disaster beacons” have already been installed, through which information would be disseminated in the event of a radio and television failure. In such a case, the sick and needy are welcome in the town hall, and help will then be sought.
The subsidy program for photovoltaics was increased
In Putzbrunn, too, a lot is currently revolving around how to reduce dependencies in the area of energy and save resources. In the town hall, for example, the room temperature was reduced to 19 degrees and the hot water temperature in central drinking water heating systems was reduced. “We will help citizens who cannot bear their energy costs alone. Come to us, we will see where we can refer you,” said the mayor.
Meanwhile, the municipality continues to invest heavily in renewable energies, a subsidy program for photovoltaics continues to be “very well received” and has been increased from the original 50,000 euros to 200,000 euros. “That puts us at the forefront in the district,” announced Klostermeier. This still does not apply to the district heating supply, although a lot has already happened there with the connection of public facilities in Theodor-Heuss-Strasse and Parkstrasse, as the town hall chief emphasized. The next step is to connect the newly built high school to the geothermal grid. The school is scheduled to go into operation in 2026 and move with the previous classes from Neubiberg to an interim building near the final location on Oedenstockacher Straße in 2025. The municipal council decision on a possible connection was made in June, and the Munich public utility company only announced the prospect of initial information for December. And Putzbrunn also wants to get involved in wind power, wind turbines are to be set up in forest areas.
According to the head of town hall, Putzbrunn is doing well financially
Two other community projects show that climate-friendly policies do not always work: a publicly accessible bicycle repair and air pump station at the community center was destroyed by vandalism shortly after it was put into operation, as Klostermeier reported. And the e-charging stations set up in the municipal area would “mostly not work”, as in many other municipalities. This is due to faulty software, they may have to be removed again.
Apart from all energy topics, Klostermeier had a whole range of good news in his luggage: he reported on the forthcoming equipment of bus stops with dynamic passenger information systems, on the completed renovation of the St. Anna Chapel in Oedenstockach, whose outer facade will be renewed in 2023, and on the ongoing surprisingly solid financial situation (“the municipality is doing well”). This is not a matter of course, as the recent problems in Haar and Unterhaching show.
But one thing worries the mayor, who has been in charge of Putzbrunn since 2006: “Although a lot is being built in the community, we’re not getting any growth in population,” complained Klostermeier. In the past eleven years, the population has only increased by 511 citizens to 6,879, which is 0.75 percent growth per year. “We are far behind in the district comparison and have to step on the gas to help alleviate the housing shortage.”