Gary Merrell was elected to his first term as Delaware County Commissioner in November 2012 and assumed office on Jan. 2, 2013. In 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2021, Merrell was elected as President of the Board of Commissioners.
Merrell’s career began in Oklahoma where he worked for The Oklahoman newspaper; this ultimately led to several moves and many executive positions in the newspaper field. In 1986, Merrell was recruited to Columbus, Ohio, from Oklahoma and began working at The Columbus Dispatch. After 14-1/2 years and several promotions, he left The Columbus Dispatch in 2002 as Vice President of Advertising. That year he moved to Athens, Ohio, where he served as publisher of The Athens Messenger and group publisher of Brown Newspapers in Southeast Ohio. In 2007, Brown Publishing brought Merrell to Delaware County as Vice President of several papers in central and northwest Ohio, as well as publisher of The Delaware Gazette.
Prior to his election to office, Merrell has served with the Chamber of Commerce in both Athens and Delaware counties (formerly a board member and executive member) and Rotary Clubs where he has lived.
Merrell has also served as secretary of the executive committee of United Way of Delaware County, on the board of the Strand Theatre, and on the development council for the Stratford Ecological Center. He also serves on the board of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAO) and the County Risk Sharing Authority (CORSA); he has also served as a member of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) and on its executive committee. Other boards directly associated with his role as commissioner have included the 9-1-1 Board, DKMM Solid Waste District Board, and the Central Ohio Youth Center Board, to name a few. In addition, he is one of five board members for the Land Bank established in 2018.
Along with his fellow Commissioners, past successes during Commissioner Merrell’s 10 years in office have included the Sawmill Parkway extension, the new courthouse which was completed in 2017, negotiations for the outlet mall at I-71 and Rts. 36/37, the sanitary sewer master plan, reorganization of Environmental Services, an emphasis on economic development in the county, and a revamped Finance Authority.
Merrell believes Delaware County must have a strong retail base, smart residential growth, and—the area requiring full attention—quality job creation. All of this can and should be done while valuing and protecting the rural agricultural areas of our county, which are a truly unique asset.
Facilities projects include the purchase and remodeling of the career center’s north location (an important part of the facilities plan), the preservation and remodeling of The Historic Courthouse, selling unneeded county real estate, completion of the branding project, planning and building a new sewer plant in the Alum Creek area, completing the east/west road corridor and a Big Walnut interchange, to name a few.
Other areas that are included, but not limited to, are advancing shared service with our townships and improving county purchasing to give our taxpayers maximum value for their tax dollars. We are also continuing the process of evaluating our facilities to ensure an efficient use of taxpayer dollars.
Doing more with less is the goal and our outstanding Delaware County employees make this possible.