FAIRFAX — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Saturday unveiled its plan to buy out homes in the Little Duck Creek flood basin to a group of nervous homeowners — many of whom had spent the previous 48 hours worrying that rainwater would inundate their homes.

        “I've slept with the window open and one ear cocked to listen for rushing water,” said Shelley Smith, a 25-year resident of Bedford Street. “My house is two doors down from the creek.”

        About 75 residents listened to Corps officials outline their plan Saturday morning at the Fairfax recreation center. The main question was how the village of 1,985 residents would secure funding for its share of the project.

        The village has been told it must come up with $2.7 million of the $7.8 million flood-control project, or risk continued flooding. The money will be spent to buy and demolish 41 homes, to remove bridges on Bedford and Bancroft streets and convert the area into a recreation ground. The area is in the eastern half of the village's Little Duck Creek flood plain.

        Mayor Ted Shannon said the council would call a meeting to review the Corps' finding and decide how to proceed in raising the money.

        Once the village has secured funding, the project could begin within a month, said Roger Setters, project manager for the Corps' Louisville office. The entire project would take two years to complete.

        Mike Bohlen, 47, of flood-prone Simpson Street, pointed out that the Corps study concludes that flooding causes $500,000 in damage annually. That includes property loss, road damage and overtime for emergency personnel.

        “We need to have our council to have the vision and foresight to secure the funds,” he said. “We just want this resolved.”

        This is the second flood-control project proposed for the village that saw 10 percent of its properties damaged by flash flooding last year. They included a Simpson Street home in which a man and his grown daughter were killed when rushing water caused a basement wall to collapse.

        The other plan calls for the purchase and demolition of an additional seven homes in the western half of Fairfax's Little Duck Creek flood basin and the flood-proofing of another 21 homes.

        The majority of the $1 million plan covering the western half of the flood plain is funded by the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

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