The bench

Former insurance general agent Andrin Urech writes: “I am astonished by what Regula-Späni from the pro-committee for the Badi Lido is claiming. She writes that the planned indoor pool is a “leisure pool”. This is proven to be false. For a “leisure pool”, the indoor pool would have a circulation area that is 70% too small for the 800 bathers it is designed for every day.

Open space 70% too small

It is negligent that the pool falls 70% short of the professional recommendations. For Ms Späni, a competitive swimmer, a pure “sports pool” may be sufficient. However, the other 800 indoor pool guests would be stepping on each other’s toes instead of enjoying a pleasant swim.

Lake access is not part of the outdoor pool

It is also astonishing that Ms Späni repeats the city’s false information, namely that the lawn of the free lakeside pool across the beach path can be counted as part of the outdoor pool. Wrong, because anyone who pays 4 francs for admission to the outdoor pool also wants to spend time there. The outdoor pool lawn must therefore accommodate 1,200 bathers, but they only have a small lawn of 4,500 m2 at their disposal. That is more than 50% too few.

Unstaffed counter

Ms Späni’s statement that there will be a “restaurant” in the new Lido is also misleading. In fact, only a “non-serviced counter restaurant” is planned at the outermost tip of the pool, which would not be a replacement for the Lido restaurant that the city demolished.

Tax increase

A word about taxes: The city is talking about a tax increase of up to 8% for the new 75 million swimming pool. There could also be additional costs of 10%. This could mean that taxes could also rise by around 10 percent. Unfortunately, these are the irrefutable facts.
All arguments for rejecting the 4.8 million Lido loan are therefore proven. Even if the loan supporters don’t want to hear that.

60 companies take part in «Bildung Linth»

Around 60 companies that value additional training belong to “Bildung Linth”. At the recent general meeting, President Lars Kaufmann (W+L Partner AG) gave information about the training and support. Werner Roggenkemper presented the evaluation of all courses. At the same time, he gave information about the financial situation. The good course utilization and general savings efforts ensured that the figures were “black”.

Since only Lars Kaufmann, Werner Roggenkemper and Romy Schmid are pulling the cart, additional help would be welcome. Long-time auditor Herbert Nigg has resigned. Yves Wyrsch has been appointed as Karin Baumgartner’s successor.

Insight into the new construction and operation of the endangered Linth Hospital

The general meeting was moved to the Linth Hospital, as it has been discussed a lot recently. The St. Gallen government has given the regional hospital a temporary service contract.

But this was only mentioned in passing. Werner Schnider, member of the management board and head of operations and organization, presented the new hospital building and current operations. The approximately 360 employees work every day to ensure that patients are well. The renovation and new construction from 2017 to 2021 were a challenge for everyone. The modern technology of the time is already outdated and is constantly being replaced. It is hard to imagine that around 600 kilometers of cable were laid in the hospital at that time. Despite construction work, operations were fully maintained. The inconvenience for patients, doctors and staff was enormous. The after-effects are still noticeable today. Doctors and management are the key to the success of the regional hospital. It is a must that the Linth Hospital in Uznach continues to operate.