February 2020: this is the perspective that the mayor and the marktsteft city council can give the kindergarten team, at least for an interim draw to expand the precarious space situation in the containers. A complete structural solution, which, as was made clear at the council meeting in michelfeld on monday evening, could take three to four years to complete.
It has been almost four years since containers were set up on the square opposite the kindergarten in order to solve the space problems in the kindergarten in marktstetten. This emergency situation continues to this day and will probably continue for some time – because the situation is complicated. After the demands for a solution were quite vehement in the castle meetings a few weeks ago (we reported), the council now invited kindergarten director anke gernert and some members of her team to the council meeting to hear the situation first hand.
City is in a tight spot
The situation was described in a similar way to the burgers’ meeting: the containers are cramped and noisy, there are no meeting rooms or social areas for the staff, and it is almost impossible to work in small groups or to clean the children’s rooms. Especially in the cold season, it’s hard to do sports, because you have to go to the main building, put on and take off winter clothes, and that takes a lot of time.
One of the consequences: finding new staff is difficult in view of the situation. "We are often pushed to our limits, we are at the limit, i don’t know how much longer the team can take it", said the director, who invited the council to visit the kindergarten. Information and a perspective for an end of the emergency lottery were desirable.
"You don’t have to convince us", said council member dirk albrecht, who is aware of the situation, as are the other council members. But: the city is in a forced situation here. Because renovating and expanding the existing kindergarten alone is hardly possible on the existing land – the expansion had to include the school next door. There are already plans for this – but the school will remain in marktsteft? At the latest, if the council wants to renovate the school in combination with the kindergarten, this question arises. Because the school is a branch of the elementary school in marktbreit and there are empty rooms.
Grants took time
Whether the city gets grants for the school is therefore questionable. And even if: a combination of the building projects – quite sensible – delays the kindergarten expansion, because approval and grants then do not only come from a higher authority. And that takes time.
Time, which is actually not available given the space constraints in the room modules. Hence the city council’s proposal: an extension of the containers by around 75 square meters, plus sanitary rooms for the staff and floor-to-ceiling windows. This could provide a first relaxation, but only in half a year, because before that the other modules are not available. And then a decision has to be made for the remaining of the school in marktsteft and according to the results the planning has to be continued. Perspective for a final solution: three to four years.