FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio — This week’s rainfall has some neighbors in Fairview Park on edge less than a week after a town hall meeting to address chronic flooding concerns.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
Monday, Cody Hardink and his girlfriend were loading a moving truck and preparing to leave their Fairview Park rental home.
“We have a sump pump in the new house. So I’m excited to not have to deal with this horrible, horrible situation ever again,” he said.
He told News 5 that severe weather flooded the basement twice in his year and a half of living in the home. The hassle and property damage of the flooding were the main motivations for moving.
“A lot of personal belongings got damaged, a coin collection, stuff like that down there. So, like $7,000-$8,000 worth of damage. It was terrible,” he said.
Other neighbors said several late summer storms may have caused widespread flooding problems, but water in basements is nothing new in the city.
“I would’ve liked to have finished [my basement], but knowing the problems that we have, I wouldn’t recommend anyone finishing their basement in Fairview Park,” said Kevin McElroy, who has lived in his current home for more than 25 years.
Some neighbors said basements had flooded as recently as the past weekend.
“It’s an ongoing issue, and I think people are fed up with it,” McElroy said.
News 5 has been covering the chronic flooding issues for years. Most recently, the city hosted a town hall meeting to hear concerns and update residents about the steps being taken to mitigate the problem.
Mayor Patrick Cooney told News 5 and the crowd at Wednesday’s meeting that addressing the situation is a top priority. He highlighted work being done to upgrade pump stations and sewer lines and said a new sewer jet has cleared about 11 miles of sewer, with a goal of cleaning the city’s entire system in 2024.
Cooney also showed images of restrictors installed in storm drains to prevent rainfall from overloading the system. He called for regional collaboration to leverage state and federal funding for a system overhaul and encouraged residents to do their part to limit debris and garbage from ending up in the streets and sewers.
Cooney told News 5 that he thought the meeting was productive. Monday night, the Fairview Park City Council is also expected to reappropriate funding for the city’s Home Flooding Assistance Program. It’s a free service for residents in which the Public Service Director and City Engineer visit homes to help advise on recurring flooding problems.
Some neighbors said they’re skeptical the measures taken so far are making a difference.
“I don’t think it’s helped. It’s just a matter of… you prepare, you keep everything off the ground so nothing gets damaged, and just hope for the best,” McElroy said.
Others said they’re not willing to wait around for improvements.
“I’m just done. So I’m just going to get out of here,” said Hardink.
Mayor Cooney told News 5 Monday he was not aware of any specific flooding issues from over the weekend. He encouraged residents to immediately report any problems and contact their state and federal elected officials to secure the millions necessary for a larger sewer system overhaul.
