Three departing members of the Hamilton County Commission said good-bye today at their last commission meeting together, and one left constituents a parting gift.
Commissioner Bill Hullander, who is leaving to become county trustee, gave $80,000 of his remaining discretionary money to build a boys baseball field at East Hamilton Middle/High School and $75,000 to assist with building a fire hall and community center in Apison.
The move follows a trend of outgoing commissioners depleting their discretionary accounts, tax money allocated to them to spend on projects as they see fit. Commissioner Richard Casavant, who is being replaced by Jim Fields, recently gave $100,000 of his money to the nonprofit Mountain Education Foundation.
It was a morning of fond farewells as commissioners recalled their time together, goals achieved and friendships made. They promised to keep in touch.
In other news, County Mayor Claude Ramsey announced the director of the Building Inspection Department, Pat Payne, will retire. Ramsey said he will nominate David E. Thorne as the new inspector.
For more on this story, read Friday’s edition of the Times Free Press.