Flood victims speak out, North Canton says remedies to come
NORTH CANTON — Cracks in walls, lost possessions, tens of thousands of dollars in damage — these are some of the challenges North Canton residents told City Council they faced during a storm on May 14 that dumped between 3 and 4 inches of water within an hour on parts of the city.
Eleven residents spoke to council on Monday and dozens more attended to hear what the city plans to do about what they say are persistent flooding issues.
Teresa Mizner lives on Hillcrest Avenue and was among the residents to speak at the meeting. She said this flood, which brought four and a half feet of water into her home, was better than what her family experienced in 2011, when they saw seven feet of water damage their property.
The damage, repairs and mitigation efforts — which included installing two sump pumps in the hopes of staving off future water accumulation — put the family into tens of thousands of dollars in debt, Mizner said. They are still paying off the previous improvements and now will be adding to the debt because of the new damage.
"We were told in 2011 this has never happened, not in 100 years. Well, this is 11 years, people, and it’s happened to us again. It could happen next week. It could happen next month. I have no idea," Mizner said to council. "But I do know one thing. We need help."
'We don't want to go through this no more': North Canton struggles in flood's wake
In just over a decade, two historic weather events flooded North Canton
On July 19, 2011, a similarly intense rainfall dumped nearly 5 inches of rain on North Canton over the span of three hours, flooding hundreds of homes and businesses. That flood was mostly concentrated in the Zimber Ditch area near Glenwood St SW and Linwood Avenue SW.
In the aftermath, the city took advantage of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant, as well as grants available at the time due to Hurricane Sandy recovery, to buy owners out of their flood-prone homes and demolish the homes to make improvements to the ditch.
From the archives:Demos aimed to ease flooding along Zimber Ditch
During the 2022 flood, the Zimber Ditch area was largely spared compared to the harder hit areas in central North Canton, particularly along North Main Street. However, the true extent of the damage from the storm, as well as options for city assistance, remain to be seen.
Assistance is on the agenda, but assessing the damage comes first
At-large council member Daryl Revoldt said during the meeting that their current goal is to collect information about problem areas and create a map to help see which areas of the city were hardest hit and determine what improvements they can make.
Already, he said, the city is moving ahead with a sewer project on 10th Street NE that was set in motion at the end of 2021. The project, which had a maximum budget of $1.05 million, will replace a failed clay tile sanitary sewer from 1947 with a new PVC pipe along the street. Improvements will also come for the curbs and road along the area and are scheduled to be complete in time for the new school year.
"The past, I think, illustrates that the city is capable of executing large scale, long running projects," Revoldt said of the Zimber resolution.
He also mentioned the possibility of seeking out grants or state funds for flood relief strategies.
Mizner said that she would be happy for the city to buy her home and demolish it if it meant mitigating water damage in the area. She said her house is at the lowest part of her neighborhood and with the extreme flooding history, she could never in good conscience subject another owner to what she’s been through.
"I can't even live in my home safely," Mizner told council members. "And the act of God comes down and we can't control this? Yes, you can control it. You guys have to step up and do the streets right."
In the 10 days since the flood, the city has reached some residents with assistance, including Judy Meade, whose basement flooded with four feet of water. She said the city has helped her out, including covering the hotel room she stayed in while sewage was cleaned out of her basement.
City Council intends to set aside time during its next Committee of the Whole meeting, currently scheduled for June 6, for an update on the flooding situation and to discuss relief efforts.
In other business, council:
Adopted by a 5-2 vote, a measure that will require certain landlords to register their rental properties with the city.
Read for the first time a proposal to adjust Main Street zoning to allow for a gas station, at the request of Meijer as part of ongoing negotiations with the company over the former Kmart site.
Read for the first time legislation that will reclassify 2,850 parcels in the city in accordance with the Source Water Protection Zoning Overlay Districts.
Sam Zern can be reached at szern@cantonrep.com or 330-580-8322. You can also find her on Twitter at @sam_zern.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: North Canton residents, city search for answers for flooding problems
