Ladies and Gentlemen, Citizens of Leon County, as I stand before you this evening on the conclusion of my term as Chairman, I am reminded of the words of the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty I`m free at last".

The Chairmanship has been a lot of hard work but it has also been a wonderful experience and one I have been very honored to perform on your behalf.

The role of Chairman is a peculiar activity to define. The closest analogy I come up with was a trip I once took on Disney`s Space Mountain- a frightful roller coaster fully encased within a make-believe mountain.

The ride started off tamely until the cars began to ascend. On the ridge of the first peak the lights went out and I was thrust into utter darkness before the roller car plummeted at what felt like 90 degree turns.

With my heart in my stomach, and a prayer on my lips, lights flickering as I flew menacingly towards steel pillars at speeds over 100 miles an hour. With inches to spare, the cars were mercifully jerked back from the abyss - and my certain doom. Then, just as I caught my breath, I discovered I was once again climbing leisurely to the top of yet another summit!

Being Chairman of the Leon County Commission this year has been quite a bit like that ride on Space Mountain. The peaks and valleys have been lovely, the ascent to the top fulfilling and rewarding.

And then there are those sudden terrifying plunges down slippery mountainsides!

In 1848, one hundred fifty-three years ago, on a night much like this, James E. Broome stood at a lectern in the earliest Leon County Courthouse to sum up for his colleagues and the good citizens of Florida`s capital community the achievements of his historic year as one of Leon County Commission`s first chairmen.

Commissioner Broome spoke about the great need to get from Tallahassee to Thomasville faster than the 20 hours it took in those days in a horse and buggy. It was a matter of commerce, of economic development. He then expressed how the Board would have to deal with a small pox epidemic that was spreading like wildfire through Leon County plantations.

So here we are more than a century and a half after Broome made his farewell remarks on the doorstep of not only a new century but a new millennium - Isn`t it ironic that we are still grappling with health care concerns, economic development challenges and modern transportation needs?

I will address these issues but first I`d like to thank the many people who have shown me kindness and helped me in my efforts as Chairman. You have helped to make my Chairmanship a remarkable experienc. You have helped me perform this job the very best I could.

My deepest thanks are reserved for my lovely wife Georjean. Your quiet temperament and guidance help me keep my perspective and help me take nothing for granted.

To my parents, who provided me with a quality education and values which showed me that the world is rich in diversity of people and places.

Thanks...To my aide, Denise Williams, you performed an incredible amount of work this year on my behalf and helped me stay focused on the work at hand.

To Parwez Alam, County Administrator, you made yourself available to me on nights or weekends to help strategize solutions to one problem or another.

To Herb Thiele, County Attorney who probably managed the largest docket of litigation in the county`s history, you managed to maintain your sense of humor through unparralelled legal pressures on our county.

To the Group Directors - Gary Johnson, Brenda Trimble, and Mike Willet, thank you for your commitment to public service.

Special thanks to Laurie Rinquist who stepped in at a crucial time during our budget deliberations last summer and took on the dual role of interim OMB Budget Director. Laurie, you did a great job helping us prepare this year`s budget.

Many thanks to Jamaine Dickens, our Public Information Coordinator. You are a creative professional. It hasn`t mattered what I`ve asked of you and how fast I needed it done you were always reliable.

To our Division Directors and program supervisors who bring county government home to the people we serve and to all county employees who work day in and day out, with little or no recognition, and get the job done for the people of our community, thank you!.

People like Kent Gilliam our courthouse mailman who always has a smile for someone and never fails to get the mail delivered.

People like Leo Porter, who manages the Miccosukee Roll-Off site, and whom I recently recognized with a Chairman`s Proclamation for his outstanding sensitivity to the citizens who use this facility...people like Martha Greene, our fifth floor telephone receptionist. I want to personally thank Martha for her consistently positive demeanor.

And last but not least, I acknowledge the members of this Commission for your help and support. Each of you, in your own way, was marvelous to work with. It has been a privilege to serve you as Chairman.

Senior members Bruce Host and Rudy Maloy, both have previously served as chairman and understand the demands of the job. Both of whom were wonderful supporters.

Bruce, thank you for your continued focus to ensure that Leon County functions efficiently and effectively for all our citizens.

Rudy, I appreciate your fiscally conservative approach to government and your willingness to encourage economic development that provides better jobs for all our citizens.

Bill, your staunch commitment to addressing historic inequities experienced by residents of district one has expanded our awareness of the everyday difficulties faced by our neighbors on the south-side. I value you for that.

Dan, you have prompted us to recall why many of us sought office in the first place - that our purpose is to listen to the people that we represent. You have demonstrated that it`s not just the destination, it`s the ride... it`s how you get there that really matters.

Bob, you have been as civil an advocate as has ever served on this board. You have been resolute in pointing out the way other cities and counties have successfully planned alternative transportation and and you have shown us how we can do the same in our community.

Jane- soon you will step into this role as chairman. You are as gentle a person who will ever serve in this position but I believe you have a firmness of resolve for doing the right thing as strongly as anyone I have ever known. The people of Leon County are fortunate to have the kind of leadership and integrity that Jane Sauls will bring to the Chair. We are in good hands!

(PAUSE)

Important issues and tremendous challenges have been the hallmark of this past year.

From Blairstone to Bradfordville and all points between, these trials have provided us with remarkable opportunities to provide leadership and propel our community forward.

When I accepted the Chairmanship last year, there were several things that I wanted to focus on over the course of the year. Sustainable water quality, increased citizen involvement, a better planning process for the new census, access to health care, better transportation, equity for the southside and resolution of the transfer station.

From my perspective, our important accomplishments this past year include:

Our prioritization of sustainable water quality standards distinctly demonstrated by the board`s commitment of $2 million dollars to clean up decades of pollution in the bottom of Lake Jackson. We not only contributed financially, but we have aggressively sought financial partners at the regional, state and federal levels to take advantage of this historic opportunity to preserve a national ecological treasure.

Our commitment to a clean and healthy environment is fundamental to our future. The remarkable natural resources we cherish are treasures we must protect and preserve for the enjoyment of future generations. We have come to learn the painful lesson that it is far less expensive to preserve our natural assets than to try to clean them up later.

Citizen involvement in government decision-making is crucial to our success as a community and a priority I set last year when I accepted the Chairmanship. I was never more proud of county government and this community than on the night of the transfer station public hearing. You will rememeber that this chamber was packed to standing room only capacity. People were also sardined into the rest of the fifth floor, on the second floor in the Training Room, on the Plaza level...all wanting a chance to speak. That night, everybody who wanted to speak had the opportunity. And because of the quick response and sensitivity of our staff, and despite some heated tensions, everyone kept their cool, spoke their mind and even injected a little humor into the situation.

Another great example of public involvement was demonstrated just last week during the Town Meeting on Health Care at the Center for Professional Development. Certainly one of the largest audiences to ever attend a public meeting of this nature, people again were courteous and thoughtful in their comments. A potentially volatile topic was discussed with great civility and people left with more information and knowledge of a complex and difficult subject than they previously had.

Using the Bradfordville experience as another example, this board solicited an incredible amount of community input and involvement. We moved the discussion out of the courts and into the community through numerous mediation efforts and worked with residents to resolve complex issues. The bottom line is that we are conducting the Bradfordville Storm water Study, we will comply with every requirement of the Comp Plan in Bradfordville and we will identify a date certain when citizens and landowner`s in that part of the county can be assured they will be able to develop their property.

I want to thank all of the citizens of Leon County for their continued and considerate participation in the affairs of their local government.

Over the previous ten years, our community lost out on over $60 million dollars in direct federal funding because of an undercount of over 4,100 individuals in the 1990 Census. In hopes of not repeating history, I thought it was important for Leon County to encourage greater participation in Census 2000. We established the Leon County Census 2000 Complete Count Committee and it has become a model for other Florida counties. This effort is critical to our future financial health since many federal programs our citizens rely on are funded on a per capita basis.

Tonight, 46,000 Leon County residents, including some 10,000 who are children find themselves with no access to health care when they become sick. Representing a ratio of one in five of our neighbors, we must no longer tolerate a system that allows working parents and their children to go without basic preventative medical care due to the prohibitively high costs of health insurance.