MOUNT VERNON — Democrat Chuck Rogers is challenging incumbent Republican Bill Pursel for a four year-term as Knox County commissioner.
Pursel has served as county commissioner for eight years and previously served as a Monroe Township trustee for eight.
He is vice chair of the Knox County Land Bank Board and the General Government and Operations of the County Commissioner Association, a former secretary and president of the Knox County Township Association and serves on the executive board of the Delaware-Knox-Marion-Morrow Solid Waste District.
Rogers was born and raised in Mount Vernon and graduated from the Knox County Career Center in 1993. After high school, he worked at Ward Kraft before moving out west. He served his community for 20 years as an EMT Paramedic.
In 2019, he and his wife, Amanda, moved back to Knox County where they started the Shady Owl Ranch animal sanctuary. His passion for workforce housing led him to Habitat for Humanity where he was instrumental in moving the ReStore to its new location in Heartland Commerce Park.
Both candidates responded to a Knox Pages questionnaire. Their answers are printed below.
Bill Pursel
What do you see as the most pressing needs for infrastructure or capital projects in the county?
Infrastructure will be handled by the county engineer. If we have the revenue in the General Fund to supplement his budget, we will. However, the revenue has not been available.
As to capital projects, we have six projects to monitor and complete. The first is to finish the business center, which will house the transit offices and vehicles and other offices. This facility will provide additional office space for EMA and have a large conference room.
The second is the waste/water new administration building near the Apple Valley front entrance. It should be complete before Christmas, which will allow services to be more convenient.
Both the business center and waste/water facilities are expected to be complete in 2026, but we will be prepared to finish in 2027 if necessary.
The other four projects are:
• New elevator in the courthouse. It has caused major issues over the past two years with people needing to be rescued by the fire department. Also at the courthouse, the roof will need to be replaced but can possibly wait until 2028.
• An awning will be installed on the west side entrance of the service building so that those using the handicap button will have some protection from the weather while waiting for the door to open.
• A morgue facility will be made in 2027 near Opportunity Knox. We have been fortunate to have had other businesses take care of this need. It is now time to secure a proper facility for this purpose.
• And finally, battling cybersecurity is an ongoing need. We have developed an IT department which provides great service and safety. This will continue to be in the forefront of what they do.
Would citizens get more effective services at a better rate if more functions of the county were accomplished by contracting wih private providers?
We do use private providers for projects that the county endeavors. Most projects require a bid process in which the private businesses are told the specs of the projects and the approximate costs. This provides the best rates possible while using the required prevailing wage mandated by the State.
What can you as commissioner do to protect the county’s water supply?
The Ohio Revised Code and our prosecutor will assist in protecting the water rights in Knox. We want to make sure that the water we have is used for the benefit of Knox County residents.
With the discussion of data centers and water being shipped out of the Knox County, we must stay vigilant to protect this great and valuable resource.
If the Regional Planning Commission transitions to a county planning commission, the Board of Commissioners will take on the expense of a county planner, estimated around $150,000 a year. Where will that money come from? Will any department’s budget be cut?
The RPC is going through a change which has finances and planning as key issues. As to finances, it is projected that the RPC would exhaust all of its revenue in the next 2-3 years without some major changes.
Seeing this need, some tough decisions were made by the executive officers and the members. Current fees and services will be reviewed as a plan is developed to move the county ahead. No other departments will be adversely affected.
What should the ratio be of county employees to residents in the townships?
We have a total of 532 employees who work for the county. Most of the employees are not directly receiving oversight by the county commissioners.
Approximately 400 employees are controlled by elected officers or other departments such as the Veterans, Board of Developmental Disability, and the Health Department.
Some examples of the numbers: Health department (88), Board of Developmental Disability (37), Probate/Juvenile (18), Veterans (10), Sheriff (79). The ratio is very small.
Why should voters re-elect you as county commissioner?
Working with public money is different than in the private sector. There are different procedures and requirements to do business.
My experience as a Monroe Township trustee and now as a county commissioner will allow me to hit the ground running instead having to learn from the other commissioners.
I have been constantly working in the community while developing great partnerships with other elected officials and leaders in the community.
I want to continue leading the county forward and not lose any ground that we gained during my time. The voters would be making a wise and solid decision by returning me as their commissioner.
Pursel’s civic/volunteer activities include serving or previously served on the following boards: Experience Mount Vernon, Knox County Visitor’s Bureau, Kiwanis, First Church of the Nazarene, former president of the Mount Vernon Babe Ruth, Mount Vernon Developmental Center Citizens Advisory Council, and Kno-Ho-Co Community Action.
Other activities include Upward Basketball referee, Lifepoint Church’s Backpacks of Hope director for children experiencing food insecurity and YMCA coach; coached football at East Knox, Mount Vernon, Clear Fork and Northridge; and sports broadcast for WMVO and sports writing for the Mount Vernon News.
Chuck Rogers
What do you see as the most pressing needs for infrastructure or capital projects in the county?
I believe the county needs to work on our Knox Area Transit. It is great that they are moving into their new building in the Heartland Commerce Park, but we need to figure out how to sustain the program and grow it as our community grows.
I was very disappointed when the businesses wouldn’t support their employees getting to work by supporting the industrial park route.
Would citizens get more effective services at a better rate if lmore functions of the county were accomplished by contracting with private providers?
I believe privatizing certain departments is a mixed bag. It might seem like we save money on outsourcing those departments, but then we lose oversight, and we are at the will of the vendor to make changes.
The county knows that we have a tight budget. We have lost a lot of funding from the federal government, and I feel that the county has done a good job maneuvering those changes.
What can you as commissioner do to protect the county’s water supply?
So far Knox County has no data centers built or planned, and I want to keep it that way. However, the data center planned in Delaware does affect Knox County’s water resources.
Del-Co draws water from Knox County and sends it to users in Franklin and Delaware counties. We need to stay on top of their usage by monitoring current and future usage.
What one part of county government would receive more attention if you are elected?
For anyone who knows my wife and I, they know that we are passionate about animals, so I would give more support to the dog shelter. That seems to me to be at the bottom of the list of priorities for the county. I would love to see how we can support the community and their animals, not just regulate them.
Name one recent decision the Board of Commissioners got wrong. How would you have voted and why?
Banning commercial wind and solar in Knox County. We, the residents of Knox County, are seeing the results of bad policy at the state level with escalating electric bills, not only for the residents but for all the county departments that now need more tax dollars to cover the utilities. We need to re-evaluate that decision.
Why should voters elect you as county commissioner?
I want voters to know that I’m here to support our community. I am out trying to make things better in our county everyday, and I will continue to do that for the residents of Knox County as a commissioner.
Rogers currently sits on the board of trustees for the Winter Sanctuary, the local homeless shelter; Kokosing Valley Art Alliance (KVAA), which brings the Summer Front Porch Concert Series to East High Street; and is a board member of the Knox County Beekeepers Association.
