Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously appointed Peter Key as the interim executive director for the Harris County Toll Road Authority during its Feb. 11 meeting.

Key, who currently serves as HCTRA’s chief financial officer, will be taking over for Gary Trietsch effective Feb. 12. Trietsch, who announced his retirement in early January, had served as HCTRA’s executive director since August 2014. The HCTRA executive director is tasked with constructing, maintaining and operating all toll roads in Harris County as well as managing nearly 1.5 million customer accounts.

“First, I want to express my gratitude [to the court] for having faith in my ability to provide stewardship for this agency during the interim period,” Key said during the meeting. “I think all of you are aware of the fantastic staff sitting at the Toll Road Authority. It’s one of the largest departments that this commissioners court has to fund and we will continue to implement this commissioners court’s vision ... during this interim period. Furthermore, I pledge [to do] whatever I need to ensure a smooth and graceful transition when this court finds a permanent director for the agency.”

The court also unanimously approved the creation of a search committee that comprises representatives of each court member to undertake a national search and oversee the hiring of a permanent executive director. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo added the search committee should be supported by Harris County’s Human Resources & Risk Management division and that strong consideration should be given to hiring a search firm to assist with the task.