By Bain Serna

Countywide staff

KARNES CITY – After seven and a half years of service to the Karnes City community, Larry Pippen has resigned form his position as city administrator. Pippen submitted a letter of resignation on Nov. 29, and the city council voted to accept the letter of resignation on Dec. 3, making his resignation effective.

Pippen said that he resigned after reaching decision that it was time to retire, and also to focus more personal time on family and health. Pippen resigned on his own terms and on good terms with the City, according to city officials.

“I respect Larry,” said Mayor Don Tymrak. “I’ve had admiration for him for years and years. To have him come work for me was a good thing. The resignation letter was neither solicited nor requested nor demanded of Larry. He chose to voluntarily submit it, and the council acted on it.”

Pippen was retired before he came on as city administrator in 2005. Tymrak said he saw qualities in Pippen that would help the city.

“Larry and I go back a long way and we’re friends,” Tymrak said. “He really came here as a favor to me. He was retired when he came here, and I asked him to come out of retirement. I always respected him and used him as a resource. I would call and ask him questions and he would explain things to me. I had always hoped to get the opportunity to work with him.”

Tymrak expressed his sincere appreciation and gratitude for Pippen’s years of service and commitment to Karnes City and its citizens.

“The city was in poor shape, and Larry knew that when he signed on,” Tymrak said. “We told him exactly what position we were in. He looked at our budget, he looked at our finances, and he recognized he could make it better and improve it. He seemed to be a good fit in that regard, and knew how to get us through those times. He’s done so many good things for the city – you can’t discount that. He’s done a lot of good work here.”