For ÖVP parliamentary group chairman René Bickel, the statements made by Mayor Staudinger in the “Vorarlberg LIVE” interview are wrong and irresponsible.
“Instead of looking for solutions and appearing as one municipality, as we requested at the most recent municipal council meeting, Mayor Staudinger leans back and assigns blame,” says René Bickel, disappointed and emphasizes: “The statement that the municipality has since privatization of the nursing home is simply wrong. Both sides, both SeneCura and the communities, depend on good cooperation. Therefore, they would certainly not act against the will of a community,” Bickel is convinced.
“You shouldn’t be surprised afterwards”
“But if you don’t seek dialogue for years as mayor, you shouldn’t be surprised afterwards.” According to Bickel, there would have been enough time to express a clear will as a community.
Martin Staudinger on “Vorarlberg LIVE” about SeneCura:
“We are convinced that the agreements that were made at the time – first the realization of the new building, then the renovation of the old stock – can be demanded as a municipality, especially since the top representative of SeneCura Austria has promised this,” says Bickel.
“Responsibility lies with Mayor Staudinger”
Bickel: “Martin Staudinger has been mayor for two and a half years now and, as the highest building authority, is therefore responsible for the ‘Haus am See’ plans. But instead he acts as if the matter is none of his business. As the head of the community, he is also responsible for his social responsibility Harder residents: inside responsibility. Multiple inquiries from us about the status of the situation were answered briefly and concisely by the mayor with the fact that everything was fine anyway.”
From SeneCura circles, however, it can be heard that there have always been problems with the building authority, whose supreme authority is the mayor. Appointments are also said to have been postponed or canceled more often. “In my view, real commitment to our older fellow citizens looks different,” criticizes the Harder VP parliamentary group leader.
There was no alternative to the granting of building rights to SeneCura
Parliamentary group leader René Bickel also makes it clear: “It is not possible for a municipality to operate its own nursing home on the lake with this small number of beds in addition to the SeneCura in der Wirke, which already existed in 2019. That is why 28 out of 33 community representatives voted to award building rights at the time to the SeneCura.”
“On the one hand, the mayor complains about the excessive operating costs of his predecessors, but at the same time criticizes the privatization of what was then the senior citizens’ home on the lake, which was necessary for financial reasons. That is an unfair political game,” Bickel points out that of the more than 40 senior citizens’ and nursing homes in Vorarlberg are only four in the hands of the municipality.There are good reasons for this.
“Solution in the interests of the people”
“Together with former mayor Hugo Rogginer and former community doctor Paul Gmeiner, I went to the senior citizens’ home by the lake to get an overview. I am also in contact with the residents and their relatives. They now have to decide whether they prefer to stay despite the construction noise stay in Hard or want to move to the newly built nursing home in Lauterach. If they want to stay, a joint solution must be found quickly with SeneCura. We will continue to work towards this,” concludes Bickel.
