If you use grouper jars outside of the container, you no longer need to have the base properties file in the classpath.  Just use the jar and you can have the non base properties file in the classpath.  In fact, if you use a base properties file in your classpath, you might want to remove it, so when you upgrade the jar you automatically get the new base properties (in the jar).  If you need to refer to the base properties file, you can unzip the jar and grab it, or you can git it from git.