NORTH CANTON: Residents affected by flooding July 19 along Zimber Ditch inundated City Council chambers this week, with the line of those who wanted to speak stretching almost out the door.For two hours, residents vented. They talked about three floods since February, mold in their homes, tripled premiums for flood insurance and toilets that spewed raw sewage. They spoke about a perceived lack of urgency by the city to deal with their problems. Most often, they talked of the certainty that Zimber Ditch would flood again.In the early hours of July 19, an estimated 5 inches of rain fell over two to three hours. Six to 7 inches were reported in southern Summit County, further swelling the ditch.“We don’t know if we have the answer, but we will listen,’’ Council President Jon Snyder said Monday, opening council’s first session since a six-week summer recess.Snyder said the city is developing a comprehensive disaster plan to better react to emergencies.Although homes in the Zimber Ditch flood plain were the most severely affected, there was flooding throughout the city, largely because of retention basins overflowing.Affected areas included Mississippi Avenue, Woodrow Street, Church Street, Hillcrest Street, Fifth to Ninth Street Northwest and streets bordering The Fairways golf course. Chris Hamlin said there is a 2-inch crack in the foundation of her home on Linwood Street.“What are our choices?” she asked. “We can’t sell our homes. Do we walk away from them? If I turn my sump pump off, my house will fall in. We need help. This is more than I can handle.”Dennis Roden lives in the Glendale Street home he grew up in. He has no memory of water in the basement. But in recent years, the water has come closer and closer to the house, he said, and the July flood caused $20,000 in damage.Roden said that minutes of a 1998 neighborhood association meeting revealed that
homeowners petitioned council to dredge Zimber Ditch.“Will our children be dealing with the same problem?” he asked. “This cannot go on.”Art Brachus, of Lucille Street, said from his experience with the Army Corps of Engineers, the city can do nothing without its approval.“The Corps of Engineers controls the destiny of all waters,” he said.Mayor David Held said he knows residents are hurting.“The question is: What can we do?” he said.Held said the city will work on possibly clogged sanitary sewer lines. He said the city is pursuing federal buyouts for homeowners in the flood plain, but noted that the process is long and difficult. He said the city would focus on retention basins north of the city.