The city's annual Arbor Day ceremony on April 25 had additional significance as Cuyahoga Falls' first rain garden was dedicated that day. Approximately 200 people attended the ceremony on Sixth Street between Lincoln and Silver Lake avenues.
The city purchased three homes in the 2800 block of Sixth Street and one home in the 2800 block of Seventh Street in May 2007, as a means of stormwater management. The Bojo, Conner, Nighman and McVan families worked with both Federal Emergency Management Agency and city officials to sell their homes so the rain garden project could proceed. The homes were demolished and a rain garden was created as a means of stormwater management. The majority of the rain garden is on Sixth Street, with a permeable walkway between Sixth and Seventh streets.
The area was severely affected by flooding in 2003 and 2004.
"I think it [the rain garden] turned out very nice," former resident Pat McVan said. 'We had some serious water problems out there. Hopefully this'll work out well for the neighbors."
McVan added he and his children and grandchildren have visited the rain garden several times and McVan described the site as "very peaceful."
The cost for purchasing the homes and their subsequent demolition was divided among the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state and the city. FEMA grants paid $420,000 (or 75 percent), while the state and the city each put in $70,000 or 12.5 percent each.
The city funded the rain garden project itself, a cost of approximately $150,000 minus donations valued at about $13,000, according to the city's service director, Valerie Wax Carr.
During the Arbor Day festivities, a tree was planted in memory of Peggy McVan who lived in one of the houses affected by the flooding with her husband, Patrick. She died of cancer in August 2006, just one month before plans for the rain garden was approved.
Vendors, organizations and individuals who partnered with the city on the project included: A & C Welding*; ANSCO Machine Co.; APARCO Security Systems; Cuyahoga Falls Oktoberfest Committee*; Dick's Gun Room; Extreme Flexi-Pave*; Friends of the Crooked River*; Habitat for Humanity; Johnson Controls Inc.*; Kollman's Greenhouse Inc.; Kurtz Bros. Inc.*; Marhofer Chevrolet Inc.*; Perrin Asphalt & Concrete*; Pro Tree & Landscape*; the K Co.*; The Peggy McVan Family*; The Great Lakes Basin Program for Erosion and Sediment Control*; and URS Corp.* (Asterisk denotes a platinum sponsor who donated at least $500 in cash or product).
For more information on rain gardens or to make a donation, contact the service department at 330-971-8240.