A surprise addition to the Town Commission’s July agenda made the mayor’s day.
“I’m here this morning not seeking a variance, not seeking an appeal, not seeking an exception,’’ state Rep. Bill Hager said after commissioners ended a lengthy public hearing on exactly those topics. “I bring only positive greetings from the Florida House of Representatives.’’
Hager then read into the record a tribute to Mayor William Koch Jr. he had prepared for the Florida House celebrating the mayor’s being “selflessly dedicated’’ to the residents of Gulf Stream.
The proclamation noted Koch was appointed commissioner in 1956, elected as mayor in 1966 and will mark his 45th continuous year as the town’s leader later this year.
It also said Koch, 90, was an Air Force pilot-bombardier during World War II, a mosquito commissioner and one of the first paid lifeguards for Delray Beach.
“Well, they had some good-looking girls back then,’’ Koch recalled of his lifeguard days, adding afterward that besides being paid $75 a month he got to leave school at noon to head for the beach.
The tribute noted Koch was one of the founding members and still a director of Bethesda Memorial Hospital, as well as a business owner, opening his real estate firm in 1956.
Koch, the tribute concluded, has served the community “with integrity, respect, and honor and has proven himself to be a true public servant.’’
“Thanks for all your services,’’ Hager said as he handed Koch the document.
Hager originally planned to surprise the mayor at the June meeting when he updated commissioners on what the House achieved this year. But a family emergency made Koch miss the meeting without enough time to reroute Hager.
At least one other Florida mayor has served longer than Koch but not continuously. John Land, also 90, became mayor of Apopka in 1949 until a 1968 defeat. In 1970 he was elected again and has stayed in the mayor’s office ever since. In January he celebrated his 59th year as mayor.
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