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6-22-26 Groves City Council Meeting
Published: Jun 22, 2026
City Approves $4,183.30 in Hotel Occupancy Tax Funds for Knights of Columbus Golf Tournament Benefiting Federers Center
The Knights of Columbus requested funding for their 20th annual Estelle and Allen Federers Center golf tournament. The total submitted expenses were $6,141.18. Two submitted expenses, for gift certificates and door prizes, were deemed ineligible for Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) funding. The recommended reimbursement amount is $4,183.30. The council approved amending the motion to reimburse the full approved amount of $4,183.30. This funding supports the Federers Center, which provides services for mentally and physically challenged adults, acting as a daycare for them to allow families to run errands. The Knights of Columbus have been a significant supporter of the center, averaging around $15,000 in donations annually, and have helped the center avoid closure in the past. The center relies on donations for operational costs like salaries, maintenance, and improvements such as new windows. The current director manages nine students and expressed the need for more facilities for handicapped individuals after they graduate from school.
City ERP System Moving to Cloud; Payments Unavailable Wednesday
During the city council meeting, there was a discussion regarding the upcoming transition of the city's ERP system, Incode, to the cloud. This transition is scheduled for Wednesday and will require the system to be offline for the entire day. Consequently, the city will be unable to accept any payments, including utility bills, municipal court payments, and building department payments.
City Council Approves $110,848.15 in Invoices for June 22nd
The council approved the June 22nd, 2026 invoice list totaling $110,848.15. Key expenses include: Million Industries polymer plant ($35,672.40), City of Port Arthur for landfill sludge disposal ($5,460), Heat Safety for four air bottles at the fire department ($6,920.76), LVA for raw water ($26,250), Polyine for polymer, Republic for sludge disposal ($8,257.41), and WAX for fleet fuel ($21,312.58).
Police Department Achieves Full Staffing for First Time in Nearly a Decade
The Police Department has reached full staffing levels for the first time since approximately 2016. This milestone was achieved with the conditional job offer and upcoming start of Deputy Justin, a former officer who left in good standing and is returning. He has passed prerequisites and will begin service this week, with his swearing-in to follow. The department still has four officers in the FTO (Field Training Officer) program, and Deputy Justice will undergo an abbreviated FTO program due to his prior experience with the department. He is expected to be on patrol within a month.
City Grapples with 50-Year Rain Event; Drainage Infrastructure Overwhelmed, Improvements Underway
The city experienced a 50-year rain event, with rainfall ranging from 7 to 11 inches in less than 3 hours, primarily impacting the area below 39th Street. Some houses had water intrusion starting around 5:30 PM. Emergency services, including the wastewater plant operator, public works, fire department, and police department, were mobilized to respond to the event. The city's drainage system is designed to handle 1-2 inches of rain per hour, and the system was overwhelmed by the volume and velocity of the rainfall. Staff worked to clear debris from culverts. The city will transition its ERP system to the cloud on Wednesday, requiring a full day of system downtime during which payments will not be accepted. Additionally, the fire station experienced water damage to offices and the training room due to mulch creating a dam in a flower bed, leading to water backing up and entering the building through weep holes. Restoration efforts are underway, including removing carpet, cutting sheetrock, and installing fans and dehumidifiers. The fire chief will be temporarily working from the HR training room. D7, the regional drainage district, was also heavily impacted by the rain. Their operations log indicates pumps were running from 5:30 AM, with all six pumps operational by 6:30 AM. The water level rose significantly, reaching a high of +3.7 at 9:30 AM, before receding by 5:00 PM. D7 crews worked throughout the event, clearing an estimated three to four 40-yard rolloffs of debris, including toys and pedal cars, from pump stations and ditches. D7's system is designed to handle 10 inches of rain in a day, but the rapid accumulation of 8-10 inches in a few hours overwhelmed their capacity. Two large detention facilities are under development, one at the old tap school site and another by the soccer fields near Hogaboom Road. Plans for both are complete and have been submitted to FEMA for approval, with construction awaiting this clearance. The tap school site detention pond is expected to be 45 acres and is estimated to cost around $156 million, with DD7 contributing $1 million. The Hogaboom Road facility will be 25 acres. These projects are primarily grant-funded, with FEMA funding a significant portion. The tap school pond is projected to lower flood levels by approximately one foot in a 100-year storm in its service area. The Hogaboom pond will serve to slow water flow and reduce flooding in its service area, potentially lowering flood levels by 8 inches to a foot in a 100-year storm. The effectiveness of these detention ponds is dependent on FEMA's approval. Citizen comments highlighted significant flooding issues in the Milo area, with five homes flooded and three with water in garages. Concerns were raised about the efficacy of drain boxes and the narrowness of ditches, with a resident recalling similar issues from 2017 and expressing frustration with the lack of improvement. Another resident from Tap Avenue described ditches backing up with regular rain and having not seen neighborhood ditches dug out in seven years, leading to water in their home. The cost of repairs is estimated at $39,000. Residents emphasized that while pumps may be working, the water is not reaching them due to clogged ditches and infrastructure issues. The inadequacy of current infrastructure to handle rapid, heavy rainfall was a recurring theme, with a resident comparing the event to a "bucket of water dumped" on the area. The city's average rainfall is about 60 inches per year, and the 11 inches received in 3 hours represented 18% of the annual rainfall. Residents expressed the need for improved drainage maintenance, including ditch cleaning and potentially larger systems, and emphasized that the current situation is unsustainable for long-term residency. The proposed detention ponds are seen as a potential improvement but are not a complete solution for extreme rainfall events. The city council acknowledged the challenges posed by the extreme weather event and the ongoing efforts to improve drainage infrastructure, including the development of detention ponds.
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