Dear fellow citizens,
With this publication, we would like to present to you our report of the most important topics of the current legislative period that is coming to an end.
Our representatives in the Contern municipal council and various committees have supported several projects that were necessary and continue to be necessary for our community to become sustainable on all levels. These include investments in our infrastructure, such as drinking water and wastewater systems, as well as social housing.
However, many projects did not receive our approval because, in our view, they were not fully thought out, alternative options were not analyzed, or they were too expensive.
1 A COMMUNITY WITH MANY VILLAGES
The majority of major projects during this legislative period were focused on the village of Contern. The community also includes Mutfert-Méideng, Éter, and some surrounding farms. We believe that as part of a balanced development of the village and the community as a whole, projects should have been implemented everywhere that would have improved the quality of life for all of our fellow citizens.
2 TRANSPARENCY
We believe that despite many meetings, there is a lack of transparency on the part of the municipal council. Many pieces of information are only provided gradually, without presenting a comprehensive concept, such as in the development of the village or the employees. For example, when presenting the last multi-year financing plan, only the key data was presented without going into detail even when asked.
3 “CONTER STUFF” PROJECT
We support the “Conter Stuff” project. In addition to the building, the municipality now also owns the land behind it, which adjoins other municipal land. This will allow for adequate planning and implementation of the development of the village center in the future. We also support the creation of a permanent comic book library and its large collection of books, as well as a new guesthouse with a restaurant at this location.
4 PUBLIC TOILET IN CONTERN
We are pleased that, at our initiative, a public toilet has finally been established next to the church.
5 CONSTRUCTION SITE COORDINATION
We do not agree with the construction site planning and coordination, especially regarding the large construction site in Contern. In our opinion, this could be better planned. Certainly, there have been understandable difficulties in carrying out the construction site lately. The management of the construction site in the village center of Contern is completely unacceptable.
6 NEW TOWN HALL
The current city council plans a completely new town hall on the site of the old school in Contern. There is certainly a need for new premises, and we also support modern and adapted offices for our employees and meeting rooms. However, we wonder if the entire administration needs a new building, even though the old one is only a few years old. Our proposal to analyze alternative possibilities in terms of feasibility and, above all, cost was hardly taken into account. The same demand from the financial commission was ignored as well. Why does the jury council refuse to examine whether, for example, an extension of the existing building is possible or if there are other alternatives? Meanwhile, an architectural competition has been announced for the site of the old school.
7 RESTAURANT “AN HENKES”
We also did not support a restaurant in Henkes and believe that the building should be returned to its original function as a hall for our associations and citizens as soon as possible. Associations and citizens were presented with a fait accompli. Only three weeks elapsed between the presentation of the idea and its implementation. The contract was limited to 2 years and 11 months to avoid such a situation. The furniture was already delivered before the municipal council had given its approval. But what we find particularly bad is that two months before Henkes’s inauguration, it was said that the associations and citizens could rent the premises again. That was not honest. As a result of this decision, there are no longer any premises available to Contern citizens and associations for activities in the village.
8 CONTERN CASTLE
In 2018, the council demolished parts of the Contern Castle that belong to the municipality in the middle of the village quite roughly. The history of these buildings can easily be traced back to the beginning of the 16th century. Even if it was no longer in the best condition, at least an inventory with Sites et Monuments should have been created and examined how the building could possibly be upgraded. Today, the builder has his material for the construction site stored there.
9 FIRE STATION
We have not yet received a satisfactory answer to our demand for a new fire station. We believe it is important for CGDIS (fire and rescue service) to have modern and adapted structures and not to have to store their vehicles and equipment in three different places. There is not even a position for an analysis in the budget.
10 RESIDENTIAL PARKING
In principle, we support the measures to get the parking situation in our municipality under control, especially the situation of commuters who have parked their cars in the municipality and then travel to the city by bus. When the resident permit was introduced, the DP as well as the mobility commission had some concerns about the original concept, and improvement proposals were submitted but were not considered. The system was too complicated and cumbersome from the outset. Unfortunately, it took a long time for the jury council to recognize this. We also do not understand why the large parking lot in the industrial area between the gas station and the supermarket, which belongs to the municipality, has not been publicly accessible for years.
11 CONTIBUS AND NIGHT-RIDER REFORM
The DP was the only party that took the trouble to draft a statement on this important issue for our citizens. We are therefore pleased that some of our concerns about Contibus were taken into account, preventing a significant deterioration in the service, such as shorter times, a greater reduction in the minimum age for passengers, or the submission of a medical certificate for Oplo if you want to ride regularly. We also supported the introduction of a night-rider card for our fellow citizens. In the course of these discussions, we reformulated our demand that the “Kréintgeshaff” should also be connected to the RGTR network. This can easily be achieved by extending line 324, which runs to Sandweiler-Contern station and Luxexpo, by one stop.
12 TRAFFIC CALMING MEASURES IN LUXEMBOURG STREET IN CONTERN
In principle, we are in favor of traffic-calming measures on our streets, but we still do not understand why the choice in the first phase was for dark flowerpots, which were very poorly visible and led to numerous accidents. We also do not understand why these pots were not removed immediately after the first accidents. This was demanded by both the DP and the Mobility Commission. This would have prevented further serious accidents.
13 CENTRAL SCHOOL
The DP still supports the concept of a central school for the municipality of Contern. Its members were also the ones who took the necessary steps over 20 years ago to search for a site and implement the project. In our opinion, the size of the school and the Maison-Relais and the number of children on the site “um Ewent” have now reached a maximum limit. We would have welcomed the exploration and analysis of alternative locations in the planning of the new building. Several smaller sites would be more manageable and educationally valuable. A more family-oriented environment could be created and student transportation could also be reduced.