Salmon farmer Alsaker wants to sponsor a municipal pool, but only if it comes to his village – NRK Vestland

– It oozes the 70s here. It is tiring, and it is not so inviting to shower here, says Vegard Aslaksen.

He is one of many who have learned to swim in the 50-year-old pool on the island of Tysnes, in the south of Vestland.

Now he is responsible for a sewing school in the municipality, and thinks it is urgent to get a new pool. At the latest last autumn, the pool had to close for six months due to damage.

Offers money, but will determine location

A new pool is at the top of the priority list, according to mayor Synnøve Bakke (Ap).

But it will cost money, and the municipality, with just under 3,000 inhabitants, is dependent on contributions from outside.

According to a report, the price tag will be around NOK 150 million.

Salmon farmer Gerhard Meidell Alsaker has come up with a tempting offer. He will contribute NOK 40 million, but on several conditions:

• The sewing hall will be connected to the school in the home village of Onarheim.
• It will be the new main pool for the school, nursery school and community center.
• The politicians must approve the localization before the end of 2024.

– The offer is positive, but the conditions are challenging, says Arne Leite, municipal council representative and leader of the Tysnes Center Party.

– Here you will use money to gain influence and power through the processes in which the municipal council has sovereignty. Now it is being challenged because you are tempted to follow a rich institution or company to do as they wish to make this happen. I think that is wrong.

– Is there a real danger that it will be decisive?

– I think there is a risk that some politicians let themselves be influenced by it.

Berebjelken in the village

There are far fewer people living in Onarheim than in the town of Våge, which is about 20 minutes’ drive away on narrow and winding roads. There are 300 pupils in the Tysnes school. 40 of them go to Onarheim school.

“Normal” villages of that size can hardly get a small convenience store to go around, but Onarheim has the salmon billionaire Gerhard Meidell Alsaker. One of the richest in the country.

Here he has, among other things, built a shopping centre, housing estates, a training center and a hiking trail.

– I think location in Onarheim provides the fastest realization of a new sewing hall in the municipality, says community contact Kristian Råsberg in Alsaker Fjordbruk.

He indicates that emptya is municipally owned, and that the pool can be built in accordance with the already approved zoning plan for the area.

Gerhard Meidell Alsaker himself has not responded to NRK’s ​​request for an interview.

Trond Mohn: – Never made political decisions

There are many examples of wealthy people giving money to sports, culture and research.

The businessman and billionaire Trond Mohn in Bergen has given more than NOK 5 billion in gifts since the 1990s, according to a summary made by Kapital in 2021.

He says he has never added political guidelines to the gifts.

– The reason is that the obligations for the recipient are greater without guides, explains Mohn.

– You wouldn’t have laid such guidelines?

– No, I didn’t want to. But I think I should welcome everyone who wants and can give.

– Problematic to accept the gift

The pool case at Tysnes challenges democratic processes, according to Tor Dølvik, who is a special adviser in Transparency International Norwayand who has a seat in the ethics committee in KS.

– In the ultimate consequence, the risk is that those who have resources may be able to buy influence over local democratic decisions. It looks bad from a democratic perspective.

– Donations can create bonds that affect the municipal council’s position on future matters concerning the donor, says Dølvik, who has read the offer and terms from Meidell AS.

He emphasizes that it is positive that private donors wish to make financial contributions to investments in a new sewing hall. But calls for clearer guidelines in the municipalities.

The mayor will consider the monetary gift

Mayor Synnøve Bakke (Ap) will not say anything about location and whether one should accept the gift before the councilor makes his recommendation.

– I think it is a very generous offer. I must have a pool anyway, and now I have to find out where it should be located. Then I look at land, time use and operation, among other things.

– The gift of money is also something we must consider, but the localization is not only dependent on that gift.

– What ethical challenges does the offer give you as municipal politicians?

– If people suspect that it can influence a political process, then it is clear that it is serious. The process must therefore be made as open and transparent as possible, says Bakke.

Sewing school manager Vegard Aslaksen believes that it is most natural that the sewing hall is located near the sports hall in Våge, but that there are more considerations to be made.

– The offer of money is essential. The municipality is small and has several other large investments. I believe that one can accept conditions when those conditions involve a location close to one of the schools and it is a well-thought-out project.

NRK draws attention to the fact that Tysnes mayor Synnøve Bakke worked as a journalist in NRK Brennpunkt until 2020.