A bouquet of flowers marked Terry Hockersmith’s empty chair Tuesday as the Montgomery County Council met for the first time since his death last week.
The council observed a moment of silence to begin the meeting, held in the City Building due to social distancing guidelines. Hockersmith, the council’s president who served in public office for nearly 25 years, died Thursday at the age of 66 after a battle with cancer.
“I think one of the most important things about Terry is that he had his priorities together: He had God first, then family, then community and himself came last,” said councilman Don Mills, who had been friends with Hockersmith since junior high school.
Other councilmen praised Hockersmith’s “servant heart” and his willingness to help newly-elected members wade through government jargon.
“Terry Hockersmith was a mentor, and I learned a lot from him,” Gary Booth said. Mark Davidson called Hockersmith “the voice of the people.”
Hockersmith served on several boards and committees during his time on the council. He also served two terms on the Board of Commissioners from 2009-2017.
Council attorney Rob Reimondo noted that Hockersmith often volunteered to take less prominent assignments.
“He led by example. He wasn’t too good to — even though he’d been ‘the guy’ for so many years and so many positions, he had no problem taking maybe some lesser duties and he enjoyed that, and [that] again I think’s a leadership attribute for him,” Reimondo said.
By a 5-0 vote, the council approved a resolution authorizing the county’s entry into a contract for the courthouse annex. The commissioners passed a similar resolution on Monday as a formality for the property closing process.
Envoy Construction Services, which the county hired to build the annex, is preparing to purchase the former Williamsburg Health Care building.
Councilman Greg Morrison said the closing has been extended to the end of the month to finalize paperwork. Morrison abstained from the vote because he’s the real estate agent for the property.
In other business, Board of Commissioners president Jim Fulwider formally told the council that the board would seek to hire a new county administrator, following the resignation of Mark Casteel. Mills and Davidson served on Casteel’s interview committee.
Fulwider said the commissioners and county offices saw the benefit of having someone oversee the day-to-day operations.
“Many others have reached out already since the resignation saying how much of a difference they’ve noticed it’s made in their offices,” he said.
