Grove City eyes funding to help keep Columbus Street from flooding

Some parts of Columbus Street in Grove City don't handle heavy rains well, and that has led to some basements flooding.

The city is planning improvements to Columbus Street designed to upgrade the sanitary and storm sewer system in the project area extending from Dudley Avenue to Hoover Road, according to Cindi Fitzpatrick, the city's director of public services.

“The impetus for this entire project was several years ago, when we began talking about strengthening the sanitary and storm sewers in the area,” Fitzpatrick said.

That issue became more acute in 2020, when heavy rains on multiple occasions created sewer overflows and flooding in residents' basements, she said.

“This project will add capacity to our storm and sanitary sewer systems,” she said.

The project has been recommended in previous studies, including a 2014 Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Director's Final Findings and Orders report and the city's 2020 sanitary-sewer master plan and 2021 stormwater master plan.

“City Council earmarked some of the American Rescue Plan Act (of 2021) funding we received to go to weather and storm-sewer improvements for the community,” Fitzpatrick said.

Council authorized setting aside $3.9 million in the city's ARPA funding in legislation it had approved in December 2021, she said.

The project is planned to do more than address storm and sanitary sewers, though, Fitzpatrick said.

“Many of the lines go underneath the roadway, so improving them will cause some disruption to the roadway,” she said. “We're planning to complete a reconstruction and rehabbing of the street surface within the project area.”

A shared-used path also is planned, and the city expects to replace curbs, gutters and sidewalks as needed between Dudley and Hoover, Fitzpatrick said.

The city plans to submit an application for funding provided by the Ohio Public Works Commission and administered by the Mid-ohio Regional Planning Commission.

About $30 million in State Capital Improvements Program and Local Transportation Improvement Program grant and loan funding is available in the next round for communities in District 3 (Franklin County), said Nate Vogt, infrastructure development manager for MORPC.

“It's a competitive bidding process with a number of criteria used to evaluate the applications that are submitted,” Vogt said. “We review and score the applications and the district's publicworks integrating committee recommends the project awards for final

OPWC approval.”

Such factors as the number of people a project would affect and the condition of the infrastructure that needs to be addressed are among the main criteria evaluated and scored as part of the review process, he said.

The next round of loans and grants will be announced in early to mid-december, Vogt said.

The funding will be available to successful applicants in July 2023, and work on projects must get started by July 2024, he said.

Grove City is applying for $3.5 million in OPWC funding and is seeking 25.1% of that amount in a 0%, 30-year loan and the remainder in grant money, Fitzpatrick said.

The total cost of the Columbus Street project is estimated at $8.9 million, she said.

The remaining cost would be covered by the ARPA money ($2.2 million) and the Ohio EPA Water Pollution Control Loan Fund ($3.2 million.)