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Mayor outlines options and next steps after flooding town hall; grant-writing to follow
Summary
Mayor Joe Gavin reported results of a FEMA-funded flooding town hall and presented options including storm-sewer improvements, flood walls along Blacklick Creek, purchase of at-risk properties, and converting Civic Park to a retention area; staff will begin grant writing and additional resident meetings.
Mayor Joe Gavin told Reynoldsburg City Council on Feb. 20 that a recent FEMA-funded flooding town hall offered likely solutions to long-standing flood problems and that staff will begin grant writing and targeted stormwater planning.
The mayor said the town hall, the third held under a FEMA grant, presented options ranging from quicker storm‑sewer improvements to larger, longer-term measures such as installing flood walls along Blacklick Creek, buying vulnerable properties and returning purchased land to a natural floodplain, or converting Civic Park into a large retention area. ‘‘One of them would be storm sewer improvements,’’ the mayor said. ‘‘We also discussed … turning Civic Park into … an eight to ten foot deep pond.’’
City officials said the options discussed at the meeting are not final decisions but potential approaches. Staff told council they will begin grant-writing for the options that are ultimately selected and focus stormwater and sewer improvement efforts in the highest‑risk neighborhoods, including infill and infiltration work to prevent basements from flooding. The mayor said multiple follow-up resident meetings will focus on those most affected.
Council members reported a strong turnout for the meeting and noted the value of FEMA participation. The mayor said the city has already started targeted stormwater work since 2020 and will continue those efforts, adding that cost and feasibility will guide which options advance to project planning and grant proposals.
For the near term the city will: begin preparing grant applications to support the preferred options, continue targeted stormwater and sewer work in flood‑prone neighborhoods, and schedule additional community meetings for residents who would be most affected by any proposed buyouts or large infrastructure changes.
The mayor and staff did not present a formal timeline for a property‑purchase program or a decision on Civic Park; those specifics will depend on grant outcomes and further council action.
