We happily welcome our parliamentary group member, replacement for Wiltraud fragrance, Daniel Steinmetz, who will represent us citizens of Riedstadt in the environment, construction and transport committee with immediate effect. We believe his dynamic appearance will be an enrichment for our further projects and we look forward to a strong cooperation with many fresh ideas.

Nice to have you with us!

Citizens for Riedstadt say goodbye to an eventful year 2022 in a relaxed atmosphere with mulled wine and snacks.

The parliamentary group wishes all members and Riedstadt citizens a smooth start to 2023 and hopes for positive, productive cooperation with the other parliamentary groups in the coming year.

Dear members, dear friends,

At the turn of the year we look back together on an eventful year. It was again rich in new experiences, pleasant encounters, important tasks and goals as well as changes.

We wish everyone a happy and blessed Christmas with family and friends. Enjoy the peace and quiet, take your time for the essentials.

For the new year we wish you health, success and may your wishes come true.

Group BfR

On Monday, December 12, 2022, 23 Riedstadt city councilors and magistrates drove to the e-bike specialist Riese & Müller in the Riedstadt fire brigade’s team transport vehicle in the Mühltal district of Nieder-Ramstadt.

"Bicycle production is still largely manual work," says Managing Director Heiko Müller. He manages the company together with Markus Riese and his wife Dr. Sandra Wolf.

The bicycle manufacturer has experienced steep growth in recent years.

Müller speaks of an average of 40 percent per year since 2012. Last year more than 100,000 e-bikes were manufactured. The company has been based in Mühltal since spring 2019. You started with 350 employees here, now there are 900.

Since then a separate camp has been added; another building will be occupied in spring 2023. And on the back, an ensemble with three buildings is planned. "Then growth will really come to an end here," emphasizes the managing director.

For this reason, land was purchased in Riedstadt in order to open a new line of business here.

Citizens for Riedstadt say goodbye to parliamentary group member Wiltraud Duft, who unfortunately can no longer continue her work in the parliamentary group for private reasons.

BfR would like to thank Wiltraud Duft for her always committed and attentive work within the parliamentary group, as a parliamentary group member and for her enthusiastic participation and organization of our meetings.

We will miss her very much in the group.

On Thursday, October 6th, 2022, we, citizens of Riedstadt, CDU mayoral candidate and current mayor Marcus Kretschmann, as well as all citizens who wanted to take part in our public exchange, welcomed to an information event in the old town hall in Leeheim. In addition to the detailed presentation of his election program, Mr. Kretschmann was attentive and involved in the questions of the Riedstadt citizens.

On Saturday, October 1st, 2022, we citizens for Riedstadt invited the SPD mayoral candidate Melanie Stahlecker-Zach to a public round of talks with our Riedstadt citizens. This was intended to give candidates a chance to present their manifesto directly themselves and give citizens the opportunity to follow up. The domestic political spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, Heike Hofmann, and Gerald Kummer, member of the state parliament, represented the point of view of the SPD Hesse and their concern to abolish street contributions in this conversation. We would like to thank Mr. Kummer, Mrs. Hofmann and Mrs. Stahlecker-Zach, who made time for our citizens of Riedstadt, and this is now the second time. BfR are enthusiastic about the openness to date for direct discussions with citizens and questions from the SPD candidate. We hope that this trend will continue with the next talks so that our citizens of Riedstadt are well informed for the mayoral election on November 6th, 2022.

We, the BfR, invite our fellow citizens from Riedstadt to join us at an information event to find out about the 3 candidates for the upcoming mayoral election, their election program and the future of Riedstadt local politics. The citizens of Riedstadt should be given the opportunity to hear all candidates and ask questions. The dates:

Saturday 01.10.2022 at 10 a.m. with SPD candidate Melanie Stahlecker-Zach as well as Vice President in the Hessian state parliament Heike Hofmann and our state parliament member Gerald Kummer. Meeting point at the corner of Ostring/Schulstrasse.

On Thursday, October 6th, 2022 at 7 p.m. Mayor Marcus Kretschmann. Meeting point also here in the old town hall in Leeheim, Kirchstr. 12. On Monday, October 10th, 2022 at 7 p.m. with Bündnis 90/Die Grünen candidate Thomas Caster. Here we meet in the old town hall in Leeheim, Kirchstr. 12. The candidates will present their election programs. Questions from citizens will then be answered.

More information: BfR parliamentary group leader Hannelore Pletz, tel. 0151 12715524 or email: buerger-fuer-riedstadt@gmx.de We hope for active participation.

BfR parliamentary group leader Hannelore Pletz, deputy leader Karlheinz Hebermehl and member of the municipal council Klaus Knapp attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the start of construction of the German fiber optic cable for fast internet in Crumstadt and Erfelden.

The construction period should last 6-9 months and lay fiber optic cables to the individual households in the two districts. This should enable download speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second and upload speeds of up to 500 megabits per second. However, the remaining 3 districts have to wait for the ongoing negotiations with Deutsche Telekom before all of Riedstadt can enjoy the progress of fiber optic cable networking.

On Tuesday afternoon, the House of Little Feet, which has been open since July 2021, at the large sports hall in Erfelden invited to the long-awaited open day.

BfR parliamentary group leader Hannelore Pletz, deputy leader Karlheinz Hebermehl and member of the municipal council Klaus Knapp were delighted to inspect the physical activity and nature-oriented premises and the clearly enthusiastic atmosphere of their children.

On Saturday, August 6th, 2022, after a detailed tour of the building yard, the BfR and fellow citizens visited other points of interest in Riedstadt.

Important access points were the oil production facility and the culverts. Afterwards, the participants of the bike tour were invited to a meeting at the Büchner stage.

(Text still in progress)

After the gratifyingly high response to our bike tour last summer through the various districts of the city of Riedstadt, we have decided to offer a joint bike tour for all interested citizens during this summer break as well.

We met on Saturday, August 6th, 2022 at 1 p.m. in the parking lot of FC Germania Leeheim.

Group leader Hannelore Pletz welcomed around 45 citizens from Riedstadt.

The first stage ended at 2 p.m. at the building yard.

On site, Mayor Kretschmann guided us through the building yard and the Rewe kindergarten. He then answered our questions.

On the spot, he was also able to inform us about the planned location of the Erfelden – Goddelau fire brigade, as this is possibly to be realized on the opposite side of the street. Thank you to the mayor who took the time at short notice.

After the gratifyingly high response to our bike tour last summer through the various districts of the city of Riedstadt, we have decided to offer a joint bike tour for all interested citizens during this summer break as well.

On Saturday, August 6th, 2022, we will meet at 1 p.m. at the parking lot of FC Germania Leeheim (next to the sports field) and start the tour together from there.

We are also happy to take into account the individual wishes and suggestions of the participating citizens as to which destinations should be approached. Please contact us.

Please send registration and desired destinations to Mrs. Hannelore Pletz, phone 0151 12715524 or email buerger-fuer-riedstadt@gmx.de.

We look forward to your participation!

Wild fragrance

On June 19, 2022, we, the BfR, entertained our stand at the Riedstadt welcome party, which was held to welcome and provide orientation for new Riedstadt residents.

New and old citizens were invited to celebrate at the Bensheimerhof between Leeheim and Erfelden.

At 38°C, visitors to our stand refreshed themselves with an Aperol Spritz, served with fresh oranges and ice cubes, Secco, or even a cool water.

Despite the strong heat, we welcomed the informative exchange in a convivial atmosphere.

We BfR are pleased to welcome any new citizen of Riedstadt!

On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, spokeswoman Hannelore Pletz and Heidi Knapp, secretary of the BfR, visited the Tafel in Crumstadt. On behalf of the parliamentary group, Citizens for Riedstadt, they presented 126 Easter packages filled with Milka chocolate and colorful Easter bunnies to Mrs. Till, representative of the Diakonie in Groß-Gerau and Riedstadt.

The Tafel supplies around 500 people a week in Riedstadt. We are therefore all the more pleased to hear that Easter chocolate is guaranteed for every child this year.

Last Saturday was the 185th anniversary of the death of Georg Büchner, who, as we all know, died on February 19, 1837 in Zurich.

A year ago, "Bürger für Riedstadt", BfR for short, planted a lime tree on the sports field in Leeheim to commemorate the anniversary of Georg Büchner's death and called it Büchner lime tree. This year, people met at this tree to mark the 185th anniversary of the death of the to pay tribute to the namesake of the lime tree.

Robert Jungert

It has been on the table since last week - the draft budget of the Büchnerstadt Riedstadt for the year 2022.

404 pages peppered with figures, tables and reports that will occupy the parliamentarians of our city council in the coming weeks and months.

We at the BfR, who are being confronted with such figures for the first time, want to be instructed by a specialist in a closed conference at the beginning of next year about the background of a municipal budget.

Robert Jungert

In the road contribution committee on November 9, 2021, after working through agenda items 1, approval of the minutes, and 2, report from the magistrate, Hannelore Pletz first spoke up as city councilor for agenda item 3, results - inquiries. Her deputy, the committee chairman, Gerald Kummer, took over the temporary chair of the meeting.

In response to the inquiry previously made by the BfR: Subsidy for the conversion of the recurring road contributions and the grant from the state of Hesse €240,000, the city replied that the funding was sufficient.

Ms. Pletz explains that only the material costs could be financed with the funds. Further personnel costs for persons who, in their opinion, were overwhelmed by the effort involved in processing the recurring road contributions are financed from the general budget.

The argument is that these personnel costs, as well as overburdening of the staff, can be saved if the recurring road charges would be abolished in their current form.

With 863 objections submitted by property owners and just over 2,500 signatures on the petition against the recurring road charges, Ms. Pletz questions the fairness of repeatedly burdening citizens. The burden on citizens from high taxes, road fees, higher waste and energy costs and the currently uncertain financial future due to Covid19 is worth the effort to find an alternative together.

The suspended procedure requested by the BfR, which was to apply until the road contribution committee had made a decision, was interrupted by the rejection of the objections submitted by the citizens. Ms. Pletz is concerned that this decision will prompt citizens to file a lawsuit against the city, which would only mean further, and perhaps even afterwards, completely unnecessary financial damage for both sides and would go against the basic work of the road contribution committee. Due to the expected increase in the price of road rehabilitation costs and the unrest of the citizens on this emotional topic, she again emphasizes that a solution must be found together.

In his reply to Ms. Pletz, the mayor explains that the city council has issued an order to process the contradictions. The suspended procedure requested by the BfR and the subsequent non-processing of the objections submitted proved to be legally invalid after consultation with a lawyer.

§25 HGO conflict of interests

Finally, she informed about a statement from the supervisory authority on October 27, 2021 on paragraph 25 HGO, from which it can be seen that the BfR should not have withdrawn its objections in order to work in the committee and in voting. This opinion conflicts with the previous provision, which, in the absence of a statement from the supervisory authority, relies on legal advice on the course of action by several lawyers.

The mayor's statement on the 25 HGO's new position was confidence in the attorney's office and that the city acted correctly in relation to this regulation at the appropriate time.

Ms. Pletz and the mayor made it clear that the BfR voluntarily withdrew their objections, they stand by them and that this situation is beneficial for both sides. The BfR parliamentary group wants to work with all parliamentary groups without prejudice

objectively discuss the recurring street posts. Ms. Pletz will then take over the management as committee chair again.

Karlheinz Hebermehl spoke up.

Mr. Hebermehl argues that the costs of the contributions for 2019/2020 have to be reduced, since construction work planned for this time has been postponed in the individual districts or has not even started yet. As an example, he cites the 3-year program in Leeheim 2019-2021, which includes the main road costs of €1.6 million. Since no construction work has started here yet, the notifications for these years would have to be reduced.

Since 2019, road costs that have not yet been incurred have been calculated here. The same applies to the remaining billing areas in Riedstadt, which work with a 5-year program (end of 2023).

Mr. Hebermehl demands that after the end of the Erfelderstraße payment in 2020, a final decision and a final statement are sent in the construction program, which includes a precise listing and statement.

Mr. Frey found out personally from various municipalities how they regulated the abolition of their recurring road contributions and future financing of road rehabilitation and gives us some examples.

Mr. Kummer takes his position that paying off all road dues "all at once," or in a short period of time, is the wrong course of action. We should approach the matter commercially and spread the costs over the next 30 years, for example by taking out loans, which corresponds approximately to the expected lifespan of the renovated roads (sometimes it is 40-50). Since these roads will also be used by generations to come for the next 30 years, it is only fair that the costs should be shared. We would then incorporate the annual amount to be paid off into the current budget.

In response to Mr. Kummer, Mr. Schaffner expresses his opinion that current renovation costs should be paid in full in our generation and that the financial responsibility should not be wrongly shifted to future generations.

The council information system of the city of Riedstadt, RIS for short, provides information on important official and cultural matters and is publicly accessible to the general public.

You can get to the RIS via the homepage "www.Riedstadt.de" -> City -> Politics -> Council Information System.

Arriving in the council information system, one comes to the calendar (with appointments only for the city councillors) for public research, to the committees, to the parliamentary groups and to the elected representatives.

For example, in the example below, one comes across

-> Committees for the -> magistrate and can see here how this is composed:

It consists of the mayor and 9 voting members who are nominated by the factions represented in the city parliament.

In Riedstadt these are from the SPD 2, from the CDU 2, from the Greens 2, from the BfR 2 and the FW 1.

This constellation can often make it difficult to find a majority:

If the SPD (2), BfR (2) and FW (1) agree on one side, the CDU (2) with the Greens (2) and the mayor (1) are on the other side.

In principle, a stalemate in which the mayor's vote counts twice.

On Thursday, September 9th, 2021, a discussion took place in Groß-Gerau with the managing director Mr. Chr. Sommer of the LNVG (local local transport company mbH Groß-Gerau) and gentlemen of the BfR voting group regarding hydrogen drives in local transport. The reason for this exchange or information is the possible purchase of hydrogen vehicles for the Riedstadt building yard and the construction of a hydrogen filling station at the new building yard.

The LNVG came up with a hydrogen-powered bus due to the line assessment and economic efficiency in the Ried area. This bus was rated positively after a ride by BfR Herren between Groß-Gerau / Berkach / Dornheim / Wolfskehlen / Griesheim and back to GG. Due to the multiple daily route, a purely electrically powered LNVG bus was out of the question due to the general conditions, as its range is too short. Range for e-buses approx. 150 km, hydrogen buses approx. 350-450 km. It is not only the range, but also the weight and size of the battery compared to a much smaller battery that is required in the hydrogen-powered bus.

The hydrogen bus from the LNVG is now 12 years old and is subject to constant prescribed inspections (hydrogen tanks and drive). Refueling takes place at a special hydrogen filling station in Höchst for trucks and buses, since a special feed can take place here. This is 350 bar for buses and trucks and 700 bar for cars, currently with “grey” hydrogen. This is supplied by Mainzer-Netze GmbH. In the future, LNVG plans to build a hydrogen filling station at its bus depot and to purchase a hydrogen bus fleet with around 25 buses. Due to the enormous start-up costs, this project can only be realized with appropriate funding. At the moment it is assumed that a hydrogen bus will cost around 600,000 euros, a fuel cell will cost 80,000 euros and a hydrogen filling station will cost around 2,500,000 euros.

The use of biogas has not yet been included in the planning.

Since it is currently difficult to assess future developments in drive technology and other alternatives still have some question marks, the decision was made to move into hydrogen technology.

It remains to be seen what the future will bring and where the right path will lead.

Eckhard Gruhn, Walter Bonn, Robert Jungert

We at the BfR, together with interested citizens, had the opportunity on August 26th, 2021 on our bike tour through the Ried to experience the ongoing projects in our city and their progress with our own eyes.

The meeting point was at the emergency accommodation in Leeheim, whose construction is currently at a standstill because the shell construction was only advertised up to the first ceiling of the building, and the roof is still missing.

From the emergency accommodation we drove over the Wassersteine to Erfelden to our first station: the new kindergarten. We were pleasantly surprised by the well-thought-out design of the outdoor area with wooden playground equipment, as well as the cleverly designed drainage system to reduce puddles.

We continued to Richthofenplatz and the charging station installed there. We have learned from a reliable source that the utilization of this specific pillar in 2021 was 2 hours per day.

Next, we informed ourselves on site about the construction progress to date at the new building yard, which is scheduled for completion at the end of the year by December 31, 2021, although our visit there raised doubts as to whether the planned date could be met.

In Goddelau, our former mayor, Werner Amend, introduced us to the Bahnhofs Allee and the Lessings Straße/Bahnhof Straße development area with the associated parking spaces, which are around 60m from the properties.

The budget for Bahnhofs Allee has already been approved for 2020/21 and is included in the budget. However, since work on the construction site has not yet started, we believe that the start of construction cannot be expected this year.

Then we drove to the sports grounds and the planned gymnasium of TV Crumstadt, for the construction of which the city granted a subsidy of 230,000 euros this year. When the dyke broke in 1982/83, this area on the Sandbach was completely flooded. As a solution, a retention basin was built to contain a Sandbach flood.

We also looked at the building of the old fire brigade and district savings bank, "Altes Ortskern Crumstadt", which was acquired by the city and is now to be converted into assisted living with the help of investors.

Then our group took a well-deserved break when the weather was nice at the ice cream parlor opposite, before we headed back to Goddelau to show the interested participants in the cycling group the indoor tennis courts and the athletics facility on the sports grounds.

Along the old railway embankment to Wolfskehlen we went to the next station: the "old town hall", where the new village center is to be built.

From there, our path led us past the blooming green church garden directly into Heinrich Heine Strasse, which was gray, unattractive and unappealing in comparison.

Our first parliamentary summer break with the motto: "Out of the meeting room and into life".

We cordially invite you to a summer tour on Thursday, August 26th at 1pm.

We would like to get a direct impression of how lively and varied our hometown and its people, clubs and companies are.

Meeting point with the bikes at 1 p.m. at the emergency accommodation in Leeheim, at Bensheimer Weg 7. We will cycle a total of about 30 km through Riedstadt and visit prominent points, and look forward to a lively exchange with the citizens.

1. Emergency Shelter

2. Erfelderstr./Schulstr./Ostring

Drive to Erfelden arrival approx. 2:30 p.m

3. NEW Nursery

4. Richthofenplatz

Drive to Goddelau arrival approx. 3:30 p.m

5. NEW building yard

6. Bahnhofstrasse

7. Akazienstrasse

Drive to Crumstadt Arrival around 5 p.m

8. Crumstadt sports field

9. Zum Hegwald and Am Sandweg

Drive back to Goddelau

10. Indoor tennis court, Goddelau sports field, sewage treatment plant and

Continue to Wolfskehlen

11. Weingartenstrasse and Hch.-Heine-Strasse

Back to Leeheim

12. "New Industrial Park Leeheim"

We look forward to you.

fraction

Citizens for Riedstadt (BfR)

Of course, we, the citizens of Riedstadt, BfR for short, don't give a damn about our environment and we too are in favor of everything humanly possible being done to prevent further overexploitation of it.

However, we also believe that we shouldn't blindly follow every hype and think that it would be more appropriate to plan the future development step by step so as not to end up in a dead end at some point.

We, the citizens of Riedstadt, got in touch with Professor Dr. Ing. Ernst Gockenbach was informed in detail about the "electrical energy supply in our country over the course of time" in an online seminar and we now want to be shown the current status and future perspectives of hydrogen technology in the next few days and weeks.

Are planned and partly already scheduled

- a bus ride with a hydrogen-powered bus,

- a technical tour with detailed information about the state of the art and experiences already made with hydrogen and

- another online seminar with Professor Dr. Günther Brauner, which interested guests may also attend.

Robert Jungert

Apparently the shell of the emergency shelter was finished a few days ago.

After the striking construction crane has been dismantled these days, the carpenters will probably move in with the roof and the window makers with the windows in the next few days so that the interior work can begin quickly.

Robert Jungert

We owe it to the exceptionally good connections of Mr. Klaus Schad (member of the BfR) that Prof. Dr. Ing. Ernst Gockenbach from the university

Hannover informed the citizens of Riedstadt about the development and the current status of the energy supply within Germany and the neighboring EU countries during an online meeting.

In his two-hour presentation, which was never boring and was understandable even for laypeople, Mr. Gockenbach succeeded in giving the numerous listeners an understanding of both the complex subject and the often associated problem of energy supply. We are particularly pleased that invited guests and colleagues from other parliamentary groups also took part in the lecture.

The concluding open discussion dealt, among other things, with the sense or nonsense of the universally praised electromobility as a whole, with the associated construction of so-called WALL BOXES (charging stations) and last but not least with the current availability of all the technical requirements required for this in existing or planned power grids. Here, too, Mr. Gockenbach patiently and extensively answered all of our questions.

With the expansion of our personal expertise on this comprehensive topic gained through this presentation, we at the BfR are now more relaxed and with the feeling of being well prepared for the numerous political discussions that will surely follow.

(Online day before on May 32, 2021)

Robert's cousin Renate from Switzerland took advantage of the nice weather with her husband and went on a Sunday trip to the Germania hill in Zurich. As we all know, there is the final resting place of the famous son of our city "Georg Büchner".

Renate took the opportunity to take various pictures of the grave for us. We publish two of them here.

One shows the grave with the restored wrought-iron frame and the magnificent linden tree behind it.

On the other you can see the memorial or tombstone.

On June 1, 2021, the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the planned emergency shelter in Leeheim took place. Homeless people will find a decent place to stay here in the future. Christian Hofmann, Hannelore Pletz, Karlheinz Hebermehl and Walter Bonn from the BfR took part in the event.

An important link with further information, building plans etc.

https://riedstadt.more-rubin1.de/vorlagen_details.php?vid=202122804100028

On Wednesday, May 19, 2021, the constituent meeting of the main, finance and economic committee (HFW) took place.

We congratulate our parliamentary group member Mr. Karlheinz Hebermehl (BfR) on the election of the committee chairman.

We also congratulate Mrs. Linda Schaper (CDU) on the election of the deputy committee chair.

We wish both of those elected every success.

On Wednesday, May 26, 2021, a topic that is very important to us was able to get a good deal further on the political path at the initiation of the BfR - the Road Contributions Committee was constituted.

Ms. Hannelore Pletz was unanimously elected chair, and Mr. Gerald Kummer (SPD) was elected deputy. We look forward to constructive cooperation with all committee members.

Mr. Helmuth Keller, who was also planned to become a member of the Road Contributions Committee, resigned his mandate as a city councilor at his own request at the beginning of the committee meeting.

Due to an existing conflict of interest, Mr. Keller has decided to devote his time and energy 100% exclusively to IG Strasse contributions in the future. We thank Mr. Keller for his commitment and wish him every success in representing the interests of the IG.

Mr. Karlheinz Hebermehl was appointed as a member of the Road Contributions Committee to replace Mr. Helmuth Keller.

The constitutive city council meeting took place on Thursday, April 22nd, 2021.

Here the new order of majorities was clearly established.

We (BfR) are proud to be part of the chosen distribution with 7 votes and as the third strongest force. Christian Hofmann and Klaus Knapp from the BfR were appointed to the magistrate. Hannelore Pletz was elected as one of 3 deputies of the city council chairman Guido Funk. The 3 specialist committees (SKS, HFW, UBV), which do the actual work in local politics, are supplemented by the digitization committee and road contribution committee, whereby we (BfR), in the latter, will discuss the road contributions.

It is important to look for “not what separates, but what we have in common”.