MOUNT VERNON — It will be a three-way race on the Republican side for the county commissioner seat which commences Jan. 2, 2009, as incumbent Tom McLarnan is being challenged by Teresa Bemiller and Tim Smith.
McLarnan, who has been a commissioner for 12 years, cites fiscal responsibility and commitment to preservation as two reasons for his re-election.
“For the last 12 years we have balanced the budget,” he said. “We have $600,000 left over this year. I want to keep the budget balanced.
“With the price of government, I try to get everything I can to save the community,” he added.
“We’ve saved $250,000 on renovating the Memorial Theater,” he continued. “We also bought Central School, behind the courthouse, and are going to turn that into a juvenile justice system. That way it won’t be considered a dilapidated, run-down school like the old middle school on Mulberry Street.”
In the area of preservation, McLarnan said agriculture is still the biggest full-time job in the county.
“We’ve saved over 3,000 acres in farmland preservation,” he said. “We are trying to control as much growth as we can.
“I am very committed on our bike trails, and the 16 miles, or 167 acres, on the Heart of Ohio Trail,” he said. “We spent $425,000 on it and got $363,000 back.”
In addition, he said, a $1.4 million grant was received for further work on the trail.
“Those are the kinds of things we’ve been working on, and we’ve been very successful.”
Looking to the future, McLarnan said one area which will need to be addressed is that of water supply to the county.
“We need to save over 500,000 gallons every day for the rest of our life. That way it won’t go to Delaware County,” he said. “So far we have not developed any plans, but we need to get on board and save that water.”
Bemiller said she can bring a fresh perspective to the board of commissioners. Even though decisions are made as a board, each member’s perspective is reflected in the information they provide to the board.
“My background is not just government, but over the last seven years as director of Knox Metropolitan Housing, I worked with other community agencies that serve the residents of Knox County,” she said. “In addition, I have actually worked with serving residents.
“I have a wide variety of skills,” she continued. “I’ve not just operated as a group, I’ve had to run an office independently, so I have experience making decisions affecting all aspects of an agency.”
In regard to money, Bemiller said one of the biggest things commissioners do is appropriate money.
“First and foremost, we are going to have to work with budgets over the next two to five years,” she said. “I think you are going to see things tighten up more. I think you have to look ahead and make really good fiscal decisions. I think it’s wise to have some carryover ... as long as you can still provide the services the public expects.”
Bemiller said development will continue to be a big issue in the future, and along with that, transportation and roadways, and water and sewer issues.
“Part of what makes Knox County what it is, is its rural character,” she said. “You have to balance development — roads and that kind of thing — with the fact that we have some excellent farmland and we want to keep that.”
Plus, she said, there’s a need to have good jobs in the county. Bemiller said that as commissioner, it’s important to work with groups such area development foundations and the chamber on this issue. She also said she favors tax abatements and incentives for companies to locate in the area.
Bemiller said it was important to make sure the Ohio 95 to I-71 route was a good route, because companies want to make sure they can get products in and out of the county. She said she would also like to get more information on a possible extension of Ohio 661, and that she would not necessarily be opposed to a bypass. But, she said, this would have to be done with a lot of input from residents as to where the bypass would go through and how it would affect the land.
“It would be good to try and get truck traffic relieved through town,” she said.
Also in the area of development, Bemiller said the Regional Planning Commission is very important. Although zoning is the responsibility of townships and villages, RPC can collaborate with those entities on zoning issues.
Smith is running for the position on the platform of change.
“I feel that the people that currently hold these positions need replaced,” he said. “The position is stale; there’s not a good thought process. Some of the issues are not presented correctly, and a lot of what they do are housekeeping things.”
Smith cited the dog pound as an example.
“I don’t think we needed to be spending that much to build a new dog pound,” he said. “We needed a new dog pound, but we didn’t need to brick it.”
In addition, he said the senior levy needs to be re-thought. As a Fredericktown resident, Smith said he already pays for senior citizen needs through the Fredericktown park levy. Through the countywide senior levy, he’s paying again.
“That’s double taxation,” he said. “That whole process needs to be rethought.
“In my mind, we have a $1.5 million shelter for dogs and nothing for humans,” he added.
“I think one of the wrong things [the commissioners] do is if it’s a holiday on Monday, they only meet once a week. If it’s a holiday, I think they should meet on Tuesday, to take care of things.”
Regarding development and industry, Smith said the commissioners need to be as active as they can be to promote industry and growth. But, he said, it’s a symbiotic relationship with the villages and area development.
“It’s not the commissioner’s job, it’s a county job,” he said.
One area he would concentrate more on is the county airport, which he said is a great thing for business. However, marketing the airport is probably lacking, he said.
“If [the county] has any free money and some of it could go to the airport, I think it’s money well spent,” said Smith.
“The groundwork has been laid for a lot of good projects,” he continued. “RPC does an excellent job. We are watching out that people are building in appropriate areas.
“Townships should probably all be zoned,” he added.
Smith agrees on the importance of improvements to Ohio 95, and said he has no problem with a bypass as long as it gets traffic all the way around the city, and as long as it can be afforded. He said the city of Mount Vernon needs to look closely at Harcourt Road area, because it’s starting to get developed, and he wants to avoid another Coshocton Avenue.
When asked what his No. 1 prior to address would be come Jan. 2, 2009, Smith said that as a board, there might be a top priority, but not as an individual.
“I just want to put a common sense approach to the job,” he said. “If we’re spending money on A, is it benefiting enough people?”
All three candidates said they consider the position of commissioner a full-time position.