That the football issue in 2nd Exloërmond leads to heated discussions became clear again last night during the council meeting in Exloo. The opposition parties (Gemeentebelangen, D66 and GroenLinks) do not want more money to be spent on, for example, temporary units at the sports park in the village and wanted a debate. Tempers ran high during the debate and interruptions and interruptions followed each other in quick succession.
The municipality of Borger-Odoorn wants to add new units – costing 150,000 euros – due to a lack of changing and shower rooms. At the moment, rooms in the Hunsowhal are being used, but that doubles too much with the other sports there.
The container units that are now on the complex are used for storage, boardrooms and a canteen by De Treffer ’16, among other things. This is temporary, until a definitive solution is found when it comes to using a complex.
The opposition parties believe that adding temporary units is too expensive and now want a structural solution for football in the village. For the addition of the units, 100,000 euros must be taken from the reserve, according to a council decision. The opposition parties believe that they have been passed over by the council, because the budget right lies with the council.
The VVD has interpreted the piece of the council differently. “The budget right lies with us as a council. I do not participate in the insinuations that the money was withdrawn without us as a council,” says group chairman Arne Joling. “It’s too early to discuss this now.” He thinks it would be better to wait until the college comes up with a proposal.
He does not think that D66’s suggestion to convert the existing units – including a canteen – into changing and shower rooms is a good idea. “The municipality must facilitate shower and changing rooms. There are none at the moment. The current units are owned by De Treffer ’16. Do you know how dependent a club is on canteen income?”, says Joling.
Pieter de Groot of GroenLinks interrupts: “The question remains: How do we solve this structurally? It’s not right to say: we’ll throw in some more containers. That way we fall short of other associations.” The football issue (between the defunct TEVV and the newly created club De Treffer ’16) and the calming of tempers in the village have so far cost the municipality 228,500 euros.
According to him, it will take time before a structural solution can be found. “Then let’s ensure that football in 2nd Exloërmond can continue to exist in a good and vital way.”
According to Annemiek de Groot of Liveable Borger-Odoorn, it is also quiet in the village. According to her, Municipal Interests is opening a wound by the statements in the article. “When I read the terms, I was shocked. Football war, discord. I think Mr. Hooiveld that you are responsible for that. That is why this file keeps coming back.”
Hooiveld interrupted and wanted to make a point. After an adjournment in which alderman Ankie Huijing spoke to the opposition parties, she took the floor and took the sting out of the discussion. “I’m not here for the changing rooms of De Treffer ’16, but for football in 2e Exloërmond. Regardless of which club it is, we are responsible for changing and shower rooms. That’s how we approach this.”
“The Hunsowhal is now being used, but it wears out like crazy. Then we will soon have a completely different investment that we are facing. We have looked at all other options, but the village hall also has a different interpretation,” said the alderman. According to the Board, temporary units are the best solution for the time being.
The structural solution for football partly depends on the arrival of an MFA, among other things. The Board is aiming for 2026, but that could just take longer. The permit for the units that are currently there will expire next year. Huijing says that the council will then return to the council with a view to a new permit.
This also applies to the 100,000 euros that may be needed for the new units. “Just grab 100,000 euros from the cash register? We need you as a council for that. We could have written this down better strategically. That would have saved a lot of noise. We didn’t do that tight enough, I blame myself for that,” says she.
It is not yet known when the Municipal Executive will come to the Council with the request for the temporary units.