Gstaad

More expensive than planned | August 16, 2024

The municipal council has approved a credit increase of 400,000 francs, bringing the total amount to 3.3 million francs. The reason for the additional costs is additional coordination costs and early ecological measures. You can read the other brief messages from the Bern municipal council here.

The development of the gasworks site is more expensive for taxpayers than previously thought.Photo: Keystone

To complete the work up to and including the rezoning and upzoning of the gasworks site, the municipal council has approved a credit increase of 2.9 million by 400,000 to 3.3 million francs from the fund for land and housing policy, as it wrote in a statement. The funds allocated in 2017 are not sufficient, as it was not foreseeable that the site development would have to be coordinated with a temporary school building and gymnasium.

This led to additional costs in the preparation of the indicative project and to the early planning and implementation of ecological replacement measures, it continues. With the renovation of the gas boiler, another construction project was started that requires a high level of coordination with the site development. The next step in the development of the gasworks is the public publication of the zone with planning requirements (ZPP).

Lory sports field: renovation planned

The municipal council has adopted a new property strategy for the Lory sports field and decided to include the renovation project in the city’s investment planning again. It is planned to build a replacement building for the existing changing room building. The grass field is also to be renovated, a lighting system installed and the fence replaced. After the project has been developed and the loan approved, the work can be implemented from 2026 according to the current planning status.

The municipal council had originally decided not to build a replacement building at the Lory sports field in the last package of measures to improve the budget in 2021. By reviewing its savings decision, the municipal council is complying with the demands of a postulate passed by the city council in December 2022.

Geo-information system: Loan requested for continuation until 2027

The city of Bern operates a comprehensive geographic information system (GIS-Bern). This is used daily by many of the city’s departments to collect and manage their geodata. Spatial analyses and graphical evaluations are used to create a basis for decisions on complex, location-specific issues. GIS-Bern consists of the central GIS database and the GIS servers, the geoportal for obtaining geodata and services, the applications for the public (city map and 3D viewer) and central specialist applications.

They are supplemented by decentralized geo-specialist applications in individual departments. To ensure that the municipal GIS infrastructure can continue to be used and maintained in the future, the municipal council is requesting a commitment credit of CHF 735,960 (annual costs of CHF 245,320) from the city council for the extension of the existing maintenance contract with the companies VertiGIS and ESRI Switzerland from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027.

Education | August 14, 2024

There should be enough qualified teachers in school classes. This is what the Bern Education Association is calling for. The initiative was submitted to the canton this Wednesday.

Children should continue to be able to enjoy a good education in the future.Photo: Keystone

The responsibility of educational institutions is immense, the pressure on schools is increasing and the quality of education is at risk, wrote Bildung Bern in a statement. Therefore, the quality of education must be anchored in the constitution.

The teachers’ association would like to add three sections to the Bernese constitution. Firstly, the canton and municipalities should provide the necessary resources to ensure high-quality education across the board.

Secondly, it must be ensured that there are enough qualified teachers available to educate schoolchildren. And thirdly, the work of teachers must primarily benefit schoolchildren.

Sparking social debate

In addition, Bildung Bern wants to use the initiative as a tool to spark a social debate. Today, there is a lack of awareness that the teaching profession requires training, said managing director Stefan Wittwer at the launch of the initiative in January.

According to its own information, the association collected over 20,000 signatures, which it handed over to the State Chancellery on Wednesday afternoon. 15,000 signatures were needed in six months.

The initiative of Bildung Bern was supported by other organizations, such as the Professional Association of School Management Bern, the parents’ organization School and Parents’ House Bern, the Association of Students of the Bern University of Teacher Education, the umbrella organization of employee associations and the Forum for Bilingualism.

Credit of 147,000 francs | August 14, 2024

The building was put into operation in 2013, and the facade is now weathered and needs to be replaced. Furthermore, the municipal council has decided not to hold the municipal meeting in September.

The red facade must be replaced so that it can shine again.Photo: Unterseen School

The facade of kindergartens four and five in the Steindler school complex needs to be replaced due to weathering and rotting wood, according to the municipality of Unterseen. The municipal council has approved an investment loan of CHF 147,000 for this purpose and commissioned the necessary work.

No community meeting in autumn

After the objection period expired without being used, the municipal council approved the minutes of the municipal meeting of June 3 without reservation. Due to a lack of quorum items on the agenda, the municipal meeting of September 9, which was only planned as a reserve date on the municipal council’s schedule, will not be held.

More from the municipal council

• The municipal council has approved the replacement of the basic lighting in Bethania im Stedtli and approved the necessary additional credit of CHF 29,500. The corresponding work was awarded to the companies Lichtform AG, Wilderswil, and memo energie ag, Unterseen.
• A partnership is being formed with the neighboring community of Habkern to mark the 750th anniversary. The village festival and the open-air theater next year will be financially supported.
• In connection with the celebrations of the municipality of Wilderswil for its 800th anniversary, a financial contribution will be made towards the new bird’s nest swing at the new building of the Wilderswil day school.
• The municipal council has promised a one-off contribution of CHF 19,400 for the mountain bike trail in the “Grosse Ruuge” area.

City of Bern | 13 August 2024

The tram tracks between Brunnenhof and Fischermätteli in Bern are to be replaced. At the same time, further work is planned on water and utility lines, bus stops and the street space itself. The project will be on public display from August 19 to September 17.

The tram tracks of the Bern city line six need to be renewed between the Brunnenhof and the Fischermätteli.Photo: Bernmobil

The project is essentially approved via a so-called railway planning approval procedure at federal level. This has now completed the preliminary review, as the city and canton of Bern, the transport company Bernmobil and the municipal energy supplier ewb announced on Monday.

The total cost of the construction project is around 42.6 million Swiss francs. The city of Bern will contribute 15.7 million Swiss francs. Voters will vote on the matter next September.

If the ballot box results in a yes, construction work is expected to begin in 2026, the statement continues.

A cantonal building permit is required for the renovation and redesign of Veieliplatz and Munzinterplätzli planned by the city of Bern. The projects will also be made publicly available soon.

Steffisburg | 1. August 2024

The municipality has allocated 125,000 francs for the renovation of the popular playground. Much of the play equipment is now broken and needs to be replaced. Steffisburg also wants to build a new secondary school center.

Steffisburg has approved money for the playground renovation.Foto: Keystone

The municipality of Steffisburg has approved several loans for various projects, as it wrote in a statement on Wednesday.

150,000 francs are available for the construction of a new upper secondary school center. In January 2024, the municipal council approved an additional credit of 34,000 francs for the preparation of a feasibility study for the realization of a new upper secondary school center on the Schönau school site. The municipal council took note of the results of this feasibility study in February 2024. The next step is to set the agenda for further action and the next planning steps and to set up a steering group to manage the entire project.

The project funding of CHF 150,000 approved by the Steffisburg government is aimed precisely at this and will be used for the tenders and the appointment of an external process manager and client support for the strategic planning phase (definition of needs, solution strategies and project definition). The members of the steering group will be elected by the municipal council after the summer holidays. The composition of the steering group will then be announced publicly.

Playground needs renovation

The Bahnhofstrasse playground is one of the most visited playgrounds in Steffisburg. Since only the carousel has been renewed in the last 15 years, many of the playground equipment is now broken and needs to be replaced. The municipal council has approved a commitment credit of 125,000 francs for their replacement and the redesign of the municipal playground on Bahnhofstrasse.

Loans for ZSO, slow traffic connection and security service

A personnel carrier belonging to the civil protection organisation (ZSO) Steffisburg Zulg needs to be replaced because repairs are no longer cost-effective. The municipal council has approved a commitment credit of CHF 59,400 for this replacement purchase. If the proposed withdrawal from the canton’s replacement contribution fund is approved, the net costs to be borne by the municipality will still amount to around CHF 30,000.

The slow traffic connection in the middle is intended to be an attractive connection for cyclists and pedestrians from Oberdorf to Thun. The planned route will mostly run along local streets or existing paths. The municipal council has approved a commitment credit of 40,000 francs for the preparation of the preliminary project.

In recent weeks and months, despite the presence and inspections of the cantonal police and the security service already in operation, costly acts of vandalism have been discovered on various school premises. Although the municipality consistently files criminal charges in all cases, as the property owner it almost always has to cover the costs because the perpetrators cannot be convicted. Based on this fact, the municipal council has decided to deploy an additional security service at the neuralgic points from July to the end of 2024 as a trial operation. It has approved the corresponding additional credit of 20,000 francs.

Cyber ​​security is also an important part of the IT strategy of the municipality of Steffisburg. The municipal council has therefore approved an annual recurring loan of CHF 17,600 for the purchase of a cyber incident response service (CIRS) and cyber insurance.