FINDLAY, Ohio — Ongoing flood mitigation efforts in Findlay have been happening in some capacity since 2007, but could soon be delayed for years.
"We would certainly like to see things move faster, but it's just been a combination of things between COVID and personnel changes, and the other people having to make decisions," Steve Wilson, project manager at the Maumee Watershed Conservancy District said.
Three major projects are on deck for the Blanchard River flood mitigation: second benching project along the north bank of the river near downtown, rebuilding a Norfolk-Southern rail crossing and building a flood basin southeast of town.
But as the construction contracts were being put together, city and county leaders realized the price for these projects had ballooned.
"The most recent cost estimates had been from 2019, and so obviously things have changed significantly from that," Findlay Mayor Christina Muryn said. "No one is really surprised, we're just really disappointed and now we're working through the details."
All involved parties are requesting that the City of Findlay apply for about $20 million in grant funding from the FEMA Hazard Mitigation program, which could take the majority of 2024 to approve and most of 2025 to actually receive.
Construction using federal dollars can not begin until the funding is in hand, so the work would not begin until everything is squared away.
But Wilson and Muryn hope all of the previous work that has already been done for these projects could help speed up that process.
"We've done every permit or review from different federal and state agencies that's required," Wilson said.
But as residents will need to wait a little longer for this long-awaited project to be complete, these leaders encourage them to focus on the success of the work that has already been done, such as phase one benching and the removal of 107 buildings from the flood plain.
"Just speaking with the first responders, they say that has made a big impact on their work not having to respond every time we get a flood event to those properties," Wilson said.
"We're still fully committed to getting flood mitigation addressed. We've seen the benefits from the flood projects that have already been completed," Muryn said.