DELAWARE — Barb Lewis has begun her 12th and final year as a Delaware County commissioner.
During that time, she has actively participated in leading the fastest-growing county in Ohio — and one of the fastest-growing in the United States, with a population projected to exceed 248,000 in 2026.
Given the county’s proximity to Columbus, the Intel Ohio project and the positives of suburban living, the Delaware County population surge is triggering massive infrastructure investments to accommodate the rapid development.
The question for Lewis and her fellow commissioners, Gary Merrell and Jeff Benton, is how to help manage that growth as the budgetary authority for county government.
“Governing Ohio’s fastest growing county requires sound planning and cooperation among our county, municipal and township officeholders,” Lewis recently told Delaware Source.
“We certainly have that dynamic going for us in Delaware County.”
Lewis pointed to the county earning dual AAA credit ratings from both S&P and Moody’s in 2025, one of only two counties in Ohio to achieve the distinction.
“These top credit ratings save our taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and serve as the best grade card for the commissioners’ overall management of our resources,” she said.
In terms of remaining challenges, she said Delaware County “still has 25,000 food-insecure residents and too many workers who find it financially challenging to reside within the county.”
“Our excellent network of nonprofits (which we commissioners actively support) dynamically address the first challenge while private efforts to construct adequate workforce housing are underway,” Lewis said.
“In 2025, we needed more of both.”
Progress is slow-going
Benton, a Miami University graduate who worked in the banking industry for 30 years in executive positions with three different banks, said the key is found in not slowing down the process.
“Our biggest opportunities in 2026 are to implement our strategic plans for roads, sewers, facilities and economic development,” he said.
He said developing the second interchange at I-71 and U.S. 36 will open up large areas for economic development in the Northstar area and the Berlin Business Park.
“Regarding sewers, we continue to move forward on a new sewer plan that will service that area — significant development won’t occur without sewer,” Benton said.
“The biggest challenges we face is the slow process and bureaucracy to make those things happen.”
When/where do Delaware County commissioners meet?
The Delaware County Board of Commissioners usually meet every Monday and Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at The Historic Courthouse, 91 N. Sandusky St., in the second-floor hearing room.
Sessions are livestreamed at https://co.delaware.oh.us/media-room/video and the recorded sessions are archived there, as well. On that same page, the left-rail menu provides a variety of links to session agendas and journals.
The board’s online calendar provides a list of when sessions are scheduled, as well as if they have been cancelled or the location changed. You can access the calendar here: https://co.delaware.oh.us/events/
In terms of recent successes, Benton cited many, including:
- Breaking ground on an affordable housing project with Homeport on the city of Delaware’s east side
- The opening of a large new transformative apartment project on the east side of the city called Mill on Flax
- Numerous demolition and brownfield successes by the county Land Bank
- Helping Delaware Transit triple its ridership in the last three years
“Our missed chances (in 2025) were the slow progress with some of the projects mentioned above and no progress on creating a regional airport authority with a new business model and strategic plan for potential related economic development,” Benton said.
Successful collaborations
Like Lewis, Merrell pointed to “cooperative relationships” the board has built with cities, villages and townships.
In terms of the biggest successes of 2025, he pointed to the Cologix data center in Orange Township and the Maridel mixed-use development in the city of Delaware that is in the planning stages.
“The county plays a critical role in supporting projects throughout the area, regardless of jurisdiction,” said Merrell, elected to his first term as Delaware County commissioner in November 2012.
The former newspaper executive also cited work underway on constructing a new Social Services building that will house Job & Family Services, the Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Delaware-Morrow Mental Health & Recovery Services Board and Veterans Services office.
“We are proud of the fact that because of our conservative fiscal management practices, we will be able to build this facility without incurring any debt,” Merrell said.
He said be believes missed chances in 2025 will translate to opportunities in 2026.
“We lost out on a data center project for our Berlin Business Park district, but I know we will have more opportunities in the near future to attract new businesses there,” he said.
“We also have not been able to expand the offerings at the Delaware Airport, but we are working hard with the city of Delaware to develop a more responsive management structure there.
“That airport is perfectly located for the region and is of great interest to many businesses that would consider locating here,” he said.
