Fred Schelp’s bike is always there not only because of the city cycling campaign in Waldkraiburg. It is right next to his desk in the town hall.
© Grundner
He is Westphalian, 58 years old and has gained a lot of experience in the city of Bielefeld in a wide variety of areas of local government: Fred Schelp, the new department head in the town hall. Anyone who only talks to him for an hour is quite certain: Schelp is not a typical administrative officer. He doesn’t even want to be.
Hans Grundner
Waldkraiburg– A job in an Italian earthquake area is just as much a part of his biography as a part-time study of environmental sciences and a doctoral degree in educational science / focus on environmental education. The doctor is still pending. “I can only advise everyone against doing this part-time,” he says with a laugh.
He wanted to be mayor twice
Schelp has twice applied for a mayoral election as a foreign non-party candidate, in Waltenhofen in Swabia and Wüstenrot in Württemberg. He failed twice because of local opponents.
Mayor Robert Pötzsch doesn’t have to worry that there will be a future opponent in the town hall. Schelp says he is very happy that he did not become mayor. “I don’t like to please everyone.” At the age of 58, however, he wanted to “bring all of his experience back to a new job”. He is convinced that after the big city experience, in which the decision-making processes are once again much longer, he can succeed in Waldkraiburg. For this he took a leave of absence in Bielefeld.
Someone who does not think in a given way
In the first few weeks, Mayor Robert Pötzsch has come to appreciate how Schelp gets involved, with new ideas. According to Pötzsch, the new department head is someone who doesn’t think in the prescribed way and questions a lot.
Also read:
Green light for club sports: City of Waldkraiburg releases halls again subject to certain conditions
The default is 100,000 kilometers – cyclists start cycling in the Mühldorf district
The contact person in the administration
“I love challenges.” He can have that in Waldkraiburg. “Head of Department for Culture and Generational Offers” – it says on his business card. Behind this, with the reorganization of responsibilities in the Waldkraiburg town hall, lies a multitude of tasks and topics: social housing is just as much a part of it as equipping schools, building new day care centers, and implementing the digital pact in schools. The House of Youth, which is currently being reorganized, falls into his area, the senior citizen and social affairs area, as well as the House of Culture with its event program, singing and music school, city library and the new Schmidt Museum, for which an exhibition concept must be drawn up quickly , or popular sport, for which a hall usage concept had to be developed in Corona times, which is now on hold due to the new pandemic development.
Diverse experience in local government
Schelp, who wanted to become a biologist as a young man but “ended up in the safe haven of local government” for family reasons, has relevant experience in almost all areas: he was a pension advisor and worked in social welfare and personnel development. For many years, as head of administration, he put the city library on the road to success, with nine buildings an institution in Bielefeld. Most recently, he was involved in a business development project and pushed digitization in the school office.
Traffic planning done with students
Before that, the father of two adult children worked as a mobility officer for and with schoolchildren as part of EU projects. An area in which you can make yourself unpopular in a city because the space that cars, which are getting wider and wider, and children, who move less and less, and all the other road users have to share, is very limited. Schelp, too, who thinks it is right and important to do things too slowly, has made opponents.
The means of transport of the future: the bike
The mode of transport, to which the department head ascribes great future potential, is in his office: a bicycle that he travels a lot on, not only because he has of course also eagerly participated in city cycling.
His first impression of the bike tours and the many encounters: The people here are “very friendly”. It is also important to him to deal with a mayor and an administration that are “geared towards the future”.
What does Fred Schelp say about …
…Switzerland: “My wife is originally from Switzerland. I also have a Swiss passport. I like the principle of democracy there. “
… children and young people:“Youth-friendly participation is very important to me. That is the key to bringing about social change. We should trust the young people. “
…Senior citizens:“So many seniors are lonely. I advocate bringing generations together. I think a lot of multigenerational houses or community gardens. “
… daycare centers and schools: “Teachers who are supposed to do a good job need good framework conditions. Well-established daycare centers and schools can act like an economic engine and be important decision-making factors for families to settle in a city. “
…Culture: “The House of Culture is something special. It is important to me that we bring youth and culture together. A culture only for marginalized groups will die. “
–
