Commissioners bid farewell, leave money

Hamilton County commissioners gave three of their departing colleagues a heartfelt send-off Thursday, and one of them used his last meeting to leave voters a parting gift.

Commissioner Bill Hullander, who is leaving to become county trustee, spent $155,000 of his discretionary money Thursday, giving $80,000 to the Hamilton County Education Department for a baseball field at East Hamilton Middle/High School and $75,000 to build a new fire hall and community center in Apison.

“I want to point out this is something I’ve been saving for,” Hullander said.

He is the second commissioner to deplete his discretionary account before leaving. Discretionary funds are taxpayer money that commissioners can spend on projects of their choice.

Commissioner Richard Casavant, who along with Commissioner John Allen Brooks was defeated in August elections, gave $100,000 to the nonprofit Mountain Education Foundation, which supports Signal Mountain K-12 education.

The county’s Finance Department was asked Monday to provide the balance in commissioners’ discretionary accounts but had not complied as of Thursday.

Three new commissioners will take office Sept. 1. Joe Graham will replace Brooks, Jim Fields will replace Casavant and Chester Bankston will replace Hullander.

“I hope the next four years are as good as the last,” Brooks said.

On Thursday, Hullander, Casavant and Brooks thanked their colleagues and reflected upon their last four years in office.

“If I can help, call on me,” Casavant told commissioners, adding, “I wouldn’t ask me for political advice.”

County Mayor Claude Ramsey thanked each man in turn, pointing out their good qualities. He told the three that, if they doubted their accomplishments, they just need to drive around the county and see the good things happening. He also invited Brooks and Casavant to serve on county boards.

“I think about public service quite often,” Ramsey told them. “We really don’t have a function except to serve the public.”

There are more goodbyes in the county’s future. Pat Payne, the director of the county’s Building Inspection Department, will retire after 15 years.

Ramsey said he will nominate David E. Thorne, an employee of the city of Chattanooga who has experience with the county inspection department, to replace Payne.

Payne said he will return to being a building contractor.

“It’s just time to go on,” he said.