Rehoboth Beach city officials say they’re content with their new city hall, which opened late last month.
Unlike the old building, the new city office puts all employees under one roof.
City Arborist Liz Lingo works in Rehoboth’s building and licensing department. She says the department was originally across the street from city hall, and that was frustrating at times.
“Say somebody came into our office and had a question, or wanted to pay a water bill, something that related to city hall and not building permits, we would have to send them away. So now that we’re centralized and all under one roof, the people who come are able to take care of everything here,” Lingo said.
There’s also more space for all departments, solving an overcrowding issue at the old city hall, Mayor Paul Kuhns said.
“And now I think they feel like they’ve got the tools that they can do their job even better,” Kuhns said.
The police department has more space and more holding cells. People can be processed in the city office rather than being sent to the county.
Extra stormwater expenses put Rehoboth’s new city hall more than $2 million over budget. But Mayor Paul Kuhns says “it was worth it.” In March, Delaware Public Media reported the city needed to have three stormwater ponds and permeable paving, which were added to the project after the city awarded a bid for construction.
“As I look at the building and I look at the cost, I say to myself – and I heard this from people on Sunday when we were walking through – ‘we really got a lot for our money.’ And that’s the way I look at it now because this is a spectacular building and this is going to be here for the long term,” Kuhns said.
He estimates it will last at least 60 years. The city had used its previous building since the 1960s.
Rehoboth officials will likely have to take money out of the city's general fund to cover the additional cost for the project. They also have some surpluses that were put away over the last few years that will help cover it.
The building officially opened Sept. 25. An open house was held Oct. 1.
Construction still needs to finish on the Convention Center, which will open in early 2018. Krys Johnson, a spokeswoman for the city, said site work is underway in the east parking lot and landscaping will be finished next year. A pedestrian walkway will be built to run from the city hall to Baltimore Ave.
