By Joshua Walther
BLENHEIM - On Wednesday evening, the Blenheim Town Board discussed the Schoharie County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, along with other annual resolutions for the new year.
The plan, which is regularly updated every five years by municipalities and the county, states that it “recognizes and acknowledges the ongoing threat of natural, environmental and man-made hazards pose to the residents of the Town.”
As Supervisor Don Airey described it, having the plan on file aids the Town in the event of a natural disaster and helps to secure grants from FEMA and other recovery agencies.
However, while he stated that most of the resolution is copied from previous years, he further said that he added a passage about dams and potential dam flooding, with the amended resolution reading as follows:
“The Town of Blenheim urges additional and enhanced acknowledgement, attention and mitigation protocols, efforts and cooperation concerning New York City DEP and the New York State Power Authority owned and operated dams sited in Schoharie County be included in future . . . Plan updates.”
After citing from the passage, Supervisor Airey expanded on the thought, noting “The agencies that own the dams, operate the dams, and maintain the dams must cooperate with us and with each other, because Schoharie Valley is right in the line of fire if something goes wrong.”
The rest of the Board members needed little sway to adopt his line of logic, and the resolution was swiftly adopted with a unanimous vote to accept the revisions. Supervisor Airey also stated that he plans to send the wording to other towns, though it remains to be seen whether they will follow in Blenheim’s footsteps.
In other news, the Board also held a vote for their twenty three annual resolutions, with some appointing positions like Andy Graves to highway superintendent and Cynthia Young to Town historian, while others focused on everyday operations running smoothly, like the procurement policy or mileage reimbursement rates.
After reading the titles of all resolutions, the Board held a bulk vote to adopt all but one resolution, which focused on the internal audit of the town justice’s books, as it wasn’t returned to Board members in time.
Finally, Supervisor Airey relayed that their newest truck order is still on schedule to have the vehicle be built and delivered to Blenheim in March.
However, he put Board members on notice for near-future discussion on how the Town plans to finance the $360,000 purchase, likely at a workshop or another regular meeting before the truck arrives.
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