European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 21, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday october 21,1994 the stars and stripes Page 3drawdown spawns overcrowding by Wayne v. Hall staff writer Hanau Germany a spec. Peter Ramjit and others in the 522nd medical det living on Hanau a Pioneer Cavern Are encountering unexpected Side effects of the draw Down a coed bathrooms and what they say Are overcrowded living conditions. A a we re living three to a room while privates from another unit Down the All Are living in their own rooms a said Ramjit a dental assistant who Rece moved from Frankfurt to Hanau. A we have a coed bathroom and showers. In be Only been Here for a couple of weeks and find it really humiliating having to use the bathroom with a  part of the problem is that units uprooted by closing communities Are trying to squeeze into fewer communities. Also the army typically houses members of a unit together in the same location which neans that space is allotted in groups of rooms instead of individual spaces a a Quot a a a a a a a a a a it does no to seem like we have any single Soldier Quality of life at All a said spec. Christina Coles a Generator. Me Nanic. A a we be been told by the unit that nothing could be done about  Coles took the soldiers plight to a Community town Hall meeting wednesday night at Hanau High school. Hanau spokeswoman Robin Campbell said thursday that two units a the 709th military police in and the 5th in patriot7th air defense arty a have moved to Hanau in the last year. In addition to the 62 members of the 709th and 538 of the 5th in an undetermined number of people from drawing Down communities and units have transferred to Hanau she said. V a we have More Barracks space than soldiers a responded it. Col. Andrew r. Stilley commander of the base support battalion that oversees the Community. Quot the base support battalion owns the Barracks. However under current Usa eur policy we turn them Over to the units to  an initiative that would return control of the buildings to each base support battalion awaits the Usa eur commanders approval Stilley added. If approved the measure would provide for each soldiers being assigned to a room As an individual instead of As Par of a unit when he or she moves into the Community. Hanau Community officials provided a list of the rooms occupied by members of the 522nd, each rooms floor space and the. Number of occupants. According to the list Only one room assigned to one sergeant does not meet usage urn a space requirement regulation. But when told his specific space allotment reportedly exceeds the usar euros requirement for his rank Ramjit said a i done to see it. I done to see where its  a currently the army in Europe mandates the following living space Stan. Dards a / a a. A. A a a specialists and below 110 Square feet of living space in buildings with Central Baths. A sergeants and staff sergeants 220 Square feet of living space in buildings with Central Baths. A when space permits two specialists or fewer assigned to a room or one sergeant or staff sergeant per room. A in the past army standards for billeting called for soldiers up to the e-4 pay you enter. A. Is amps Davo Casoy a sign outside the Shower in the latrine on the top floor of building 2 on Pioneer Cavern in Lanau Germany warns of coed use. Grade at least 90 Square feet of living space in what was known As a a two plus two layout a two soldiers in one room joined with another two person room by a bathroom. Those same standards allowed sergeants and staff sergeants 135 Square feet of living space. In september 1993, Only 15 percent of enlisted soldiers in Europe lived in billets upgraded to the old Standard a a in a living out of boxes because there a not enough room to put your own stuff up a said pfc. Carneil Hardy a Mechanic with the unit who a been in the army for a Little More than a year. A mostly i keep my stuff packed in Duffel bags and in my Wall  in new Era in by sue Palumbo. Mediterranean Bureau Simonella Sicily a the movement of 10 military families next week into the areas first government leased off base apartments Marks the Start of efforts to reduce is Gonella a 700-unit housing shortage officials  / a a a / a v a a. A a a a a / a a a your target is get about 150 Block leased units a said Joe Russo director of the Simonella housing department. A leasing housing in blocks is the Short term answer to a shortage we be had for years. It is very difficult to find a landlord willing to lease an entire apartment or townhouse Complex or group of houses to the .  about 1,400 military families Are assigned to Nassi Gonella. About 120 housing units Are located on base. But 12 Are scheduled to be demolished because they Are beyond repair and 98 Are slated for extensive renovations. Roofs water pipes heat pumps floors and Kitchen cabinets and sinks arc among some of the items slated to be replaced. It. Chris Luz housing facilities director said the repair plan is to turn Over groups of about 16 units to contractors. There Are also 309 housing units located in two off base housing areas. A senior chief Petty officer Joe Markus and his wife dec have been on the base housing list for. Almost two years. They Are among More than 840 families who live on the Economy. The Markusch admit they could have opted for the nine month list for off base housing but chose not to because they Felt the military Community housing was too far from base a a it a Only about 20 Miles but the roads Are very hazardous a said Markus a the rain sits on the Road and its just not a Good Road to  but it  than convenience that has most of the families looking for base housing Russo said. Recent family housing surveys show that 65 percent of those living on the econ omy live in a a unsuitable housing he said. Unreliable utilities and a Lack of Central heating Are the two major complaints. Water shortages arc common in the summer and water Quality is sometimes questionable Russo explained. Few Homes come with Central heating and those that do often use Gas italian Law limits the use of Gas heating to eight hours a Day from the first of december to March. Most people use Gas Bombolas kerosene or electric healers to keep warm. A a we love living off base a said Lori Dallas who works at the staff judge advocates office a a we have a Beautiful Home. It was never like in the states where you could walk around in shorts but we were  although Simonella housing officials were Able to obtain $2.2 million to renovate existing base housing italian Law prohibits the United states from buying property. / Quot a Dollar from Page 1 Graham said Andrew Swanson a financial futures analyst at the Hes Siche Landes Bank Frankfurt said the major Factor is the Rise of . Interest rates and the fall of German interest rates. �?o1 think the Exchange rate is due a bit of correction a the Dollar should come Back against the Deutsch Mark to 1.52-1.53,�?� Swanson said. In the near term he expects the Dollar to stay below 1.50 Marks but he added that its  much below that figure it will go and for How  i think the 1.50 rate is always a psychological Barrier because its easy to do the math. There seems to be either support or resistance for it a Swanson said. Bruno Seidler chief of the Treasury division of merchants National Bank a european Headquarters in i Frankfurt said a off the hip the German Central Bank Languirand Mccorvey wants to see a relatively Strong Deutsch Mark a a recovering German Economy and fears of . Inflation have supported a stronger Mark against other currencies Seidler said. A life on the Economy becomes a lot More expensive for families when the Mark rate Falls belowt.60, said Sharon Bishop manager of 86th services advertising and publicity Ramstein a Germany. A a in a More hesitant to shop on the Economy now a said Bishop who lives on the Economy in Vogel Weh and said that she shops for baby clothes shoes and some other items. A efm More Likely to wait until they have it at the by which could be weeks a the Dollar has also Slid for the last month against the British Pound going from a sell rate in september of about 51.52 per British pounce Sterling to about $1,66 today. As a result americans have been left with less to spend on the Economy. For instance the annual tax of 130 British pounds levied against All vehicles in the country Cost about $197.60 in september. The same tax Cost about $215.80 thursday. Senior airman Glenn d. Languirand of Raf Mildenhall who lives off base said he has to worry about poor Exchange rates pushing his rent and utilities Over the amount reimbursed by the . Government a it seems like the Colas not keeping up a Languirand said. �?o1 pay More attention now to the by and the  sgt. Larry Mccorvey of Raf Milden Hall said he was getting used to the dollars constant fluctuations in the u.k., but that with Christmas approaching the current decline  have come at a worse time. A you really can to do it Christmas shopping on the Economy a Mccorvey said. And although cola helps to offset some of the dollars losses a it takes about two months for cola to. Catch up a he said. Americans jiving in Italy have also fell the effects of a bouncing Dollar. Over the last year the Dollar has dropped from almost 1,700 lire to the Dollar to 1,53.0 today. But with an Exchange rate that rides a Yoyo most people take Little notice of the periodic drops unless they Are significant. A it May Cost me More to maintain my style of living but not much a said Andrew Sandoval a civilian worker w Ith Public works at naval support activity Naples. Sandoval lives off base with his family a.  to this report Nant l torpor rom Iho u k. Bureau Ard Guo Palumbo from the meet Terranoua Bureau