A majority in the Meppel city council wants a clear (and sober) plan for the renovation of the city hall. Only then will the green light be given for the amount involved.
To the surprise of almost all parties in the council, an amount of almost eight million euros has been reserved in the budget for the renovation of the city hall. While the plans for this renovation were rejected by a majority last spring. The 20-year-old town hall is finished and no longer meets the requirements of today, according to the municipal council. The city council’s plans to tackle city hall were too expensive, the council thought. The approach should be much more sober, was the instruction (amendment) from the council to the municipal council.
A few months later, there is no plan for a more austere approach to the town hall, but there is a full blow of almost 8 million in the budget. “A deal is a deal, if there is no plan, you cannot get money for it,” says Hans van Scheijen of the VVD. “This is the world turned upside down,” said Annie Huisman (PvdA).
According to councilor Klaas de Vries, there was insufficient time to draw up a new plan for the city hall before the budget. “We must and we will come up with a proposal in line with the amendment.”
Brand Meppel
There is a problem at Merk Meppel that is also at city hall: a council proposal for an incidental contribution of 166,000 euros to the club that provides city marketing was rejected. The council first wanted a vision from the council. This vision does not exist yet. However, an amount has already been included in the budget. ,, The vision entered the decision-making process too late,” explains councilor Klaas de Vries. “As a result, the vision will not be ready before Thursday. We have included it financially in the budget, but you have not yet had a vision. I can’t make it any better.”
Almost all parties in the municipal council believe this commitment is not enough. An amendment to remove the 8 million reserved for the renovation from the budget, pending a plan, appears to be adopted at next week’s city council meeting.