Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke was in Tempelsee

The creative industry is also important for Offenbach; various creative agencies are based in Nordend and the new building at the harbor will provide the Hochschule für Gestaltung with a new location. In addition, the contract for a five-year cooperation with the HfG on the Innovation Campus is about to be signed. The company Advanced - a German e-bike company - which sells more than 100,000 bicycles per year, is moving to the port and Helaba recently made a clear commitment to Offenbach as a location by purchasing the building on Kaiserlei. The city is growing; almost 20,000 people have moved to Offenbach in the past ten years, a good proportion of them from Frankfurt. Schwenke is pleased that people with an income are choosing to live in Offenbach, but at the same time points out that housing will not become cheaper with him. "But we have ensured that the last available plots of land owned by the city are used for multi-storey residential construction and have also stabilized the number of publicly subsidized apartments at GBO for ten years."

New reasons to come to the city center are being created with equal determination. With events such as the street theater festival, new venues such as the weather and climate workshop, the temporary beach club or the planned relocation of the city library, there are good reasons to visit the city center beyond shopping, Schwenke continues. "And then, of course, our aim is for people to do some shopping in the city center."

Citizens then had their say, with topics ranging from district heating and raccoons to traffic law issues: why there is no 30 km/h speed limit on Brunnenweg, even though there are three kindergartens and two schools, needs to be investigated using examples. One citizen wanted to know whether he could rely on district heating in Tempelsee or whether he should look into local heating. "We have a large district heating network," explained Schwenke, "which is fed from the waste-to-energy plant and, until the end of 2023, from EVO's coal-fired power plant." He sees great potential in the data centers, which, annoyingly, have not yet been legally obliged by the state and federal government to make their waste heat available. "I understand that you want planning security for your investment decision, but the law has not yet been passed in the Bundestag. Our goal is to be ready much earlier than the statutory deadline of the end of 2026."

Regarding parked cars in front of a restaurant and complaints about the smell, Pascal Becker from the public order office promised to talk to the owner. "We will take a close look and involve other authorities if necessary." He also commented on the availability of the city police by telephone: around 35,000 calls are received on the emergency telephone every year, and there is also a complaints office to channel these better.

Those present also expressed their displeasure at the restrictions on local transport, with some areas now more difficult to reach by bus than before. Schwenke explained the background to capping expenditure at double the previous level, but made it clear that there was a political consensus to do more here as soon as the financial situation was stable enough.

One citizen, whose house was being destroyed by the animals, asked what the city intended to do about the growing raccoon population. "They mustn't be hunted and the fact that they shouldn't be fed, despite being so cute, has not yet reached every citizen." He would like to see more education and initiative on the part of the city and also referred to a pilot project in the Wetterau region in which the animals are caught and neutered. Pascal Becker from the public order office promised to take the suggestion on board.

The question of offers for older people was easy to answer, especially in Tempelsee. While there are not meeting places in all districts, the Emil-Renk-Haus in Tempelsee is funded by the city. "Filled with life thanks to great volunteer work," emphasized Mayor Schwenke. "My grandmother used to go there for coffee and cake," he added with a smile.

The topic of climate protection also became concrete. Offenbach wants to become a sponge city, how citizens could be financially supported in the implementation of measures was asked. To explain: the sponge city absorbs and stores water, which means, for example, that areas are created that absorb rainwater without channeling it directly into the sewage system. This includes unsealed surfaces as well as rainwater retention and cisterns, as was recently implemented at the new artificial turf pitch. A call to the deputy head of the environmental department, Alexander Jeschke, provided clarification about funding opportunities: "We will be subsidizing unsealed surfaces in the future, and a corresponding guideline is currently being drafted."