Town of Blenheim

New Municipal Complex

Overall Cost
$3.0 Million

Square Footage
11,970 sf

The Town of Blenheim identified the need to relocate its municipal facilities to higher ground after Hurricane Irene devastated the Schoharie Valley.  The existing location for the Town Hall/Emergency Operations Center (EOC), Fire Department and post office was in a flood plain, and the facilities were made inaccessible to emergency responders and residents during the flood. Because the existing facilities were flooded and inoperable during the hurricane, it became clear that they were neither adequate nor safe in the event of another major flood. 

Through a funding opportunity with the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR), the Town secured $4 million in grant monies to fund the multifaceted, complete relocation of the Blenheim Town Hall.  The Town worked with Delaware Engineering to determine a secure and accessible site, and to perform all necessary architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical engineering to bring the project through design into bid and construction. The new site will house two new structures totaling 12,000 SF in size.  One will act as Town Hall and firehouse, the second will house the town highway department.  The multipurpose space is designed to function as an emergency operations center that can host Town meetings and other vital functions. And the new facility will create new capacity to care for residents by providing safe and accessible shelter during a disaster.

These facilities will allow for all essential municipal services to continue operation in the event of another flood disaster. The project will benefit the community by improving the functionality and resiliency of government and emergency response activities, and will increase available shelter space to citizens and vulnerable populations.