1603 signatures, almost three times as many as needed, reached mayor franz josef kraus at the end of november. The issue: the demand for a referendum on the construction or fall of an edeka store in "fruhgarten between ebermannstadt and russenbach.
Since then, ebermannstadt has split into two camps: on the one side, the proponents of another supermarket; on the other, the opponents.
But no matter what the trends of the last few weeks, the result is fixed: no edeka store for ebermannstadt.
"We were not sure at all", admits christiane meyer, chairwoman of the federation for nature conservation. "Above all, we did not expect the decision to be so clear-cut."
She was also satisfied with the turnout on sunday of just under half of those eligible to vote, especially because the citizens had to take a lot of initiative themselves in order to find out exactly what was going on. "But we don't see the election result as a victory", emphasizes the ebermannstadter. "We see it much more as a chance to sum up, to think about where the people of ebermannstadt want to develop to." She hopes for a short pause after long turbulences and then a joint cooperation for a more active city center.
"The election has shown us that the citizens are committed to nature and above all to the history of the city center", says meyer. After all, ebermannstadt is still quite a small town, where the burghers know their businessmen, the baker next door. Their possible bankruptcy through, for example, a grocery store on the outskirts of town is perceived by every single person. The fact that there is no further need for a gross market was the decisive argument for many people.
"We are now at the point where there is a chance," says baginski. Although another supermarket would certainly have been convenient for many, many have said no", says christiane meyer with motivation.
Four words from the mayor
This motivation was not yet apparent on the part of the mayor shortly after the election decision. He assesses the situation with a succinct statement: "the citizen has decided". How the economic distribution of the city of ebermannstadt will develop, will probably be seen in the shortest possible time. Above all, the aspect of the "commitment period", making it possible for supermarket supporters to resume planning after a year remains in focus. Christiane meyer is certain, however: "i don't think that a decision will be made that goes beyond the will of the people."