TOWNSEND -- Longtime Broadwater County Commissioner Jim Hohn resigned from the county commission effective Aug. 31 after serving 19.5 years on the county commission.

Hohn had decided earlier this year not to seek re-election in November.

Hohn gave no reasons for resigning in his two-sentence resignation letter, which was submitted Aug. 25.

At Monday's commission meeting, Commissioner Keith C. Lynn and Chairman Gail Vennes said the resignation caught them a bit by surprise.

They also said they don't intend to fill Hohn's seat before the election.

Hohn said in a phone interview Monday that he is looking forward to kicking back and enjoying his retirement.

He also retired from Broadwater Realty, where he was a Realtor the past four years.

Hohn said he decided to resign before his term expired because of a recent decision to move to Montana City.

Hohn first joined the commission to fill out an unexpired term when then commissioner Ron Sanderson stepped down.

"The budget was in turmoil at that time," he said. "There were budget cuts and wages were frozen. People were, in general, in a bad mood."

The commissioners who appointed him thought a fresh face and fresh perspective might help.

During his service, he's noticed that the same issues seem to cycle through the county every decade or so, he said.

The county experienced a growth spurt in the 1970s. "Then it stopped. It stopped dead," he said.

Then around 1995, the growth spurt started up again. Subdivision development has been booming until this year.

"I think we'll be selling those lots for the next five years," Hohn said.

Some of the commission's accomplishments that he's proudest to be a part of include:

n making Broadwater County Courthouse one of the first courthouses in the state handicapped accessible;

n establishing the Canyon Ferry Trust Fund, and the subsequent building of the Silos Bay Boat Ramp and taking over management of the Bureau of Reclamation's Silos Campground;

n building a new $2.1 million county jail, without asking the taxpayers for a special levy; and

n taking a lead role in establishing Gateway Economic Development Corporation (now known as Montana Business Assistance Connection).

Monday "was the first Monday morning for a long time, I didn't have to be at the courthouse," he said.

However, that afternoon he made an appearance for his farewell party. He didn't announce it to the community because he didn't want fanfare. "I came quietly," he said, "and I want to leave quietly.

"It was interesting work," he said of his tenure, "and I liked the people."

Hohn grew up on a dryland wheat ranch in northern Broadwater County and attended a one-room schoolhouse in Claysoil. He later was bused to Townsend, where he attended school from seventh through 12th grade.

After a stint in the U.S Air Force from 1966-71, he worked for Mountain Bell. He then returned to the family farm, which he purchased and operated until the early 1990s. In 1988 he purchased a bowling alley in Townsend, Lucky Lanes, which he operated for 16 years before becoming a Realtor.

Broadwater County Financial Officer Natalie Wenzel, who worked closely with Hohn, said she will miss him: "He's been a wealth of knowledge to me. He shared his knowledge of how county government works for the past five years, since I became financial officer in 2003.

"He's been a mentor as well as a boss, and I feel he's irreplaceable. There's probably some who don't realize what an asset he's been, but those who work closely with him know all too well."

Reporter Marga Lincoln: 447-4074 or marga.lincoln@helenair.com