Set to retire at year’s end, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff gave his final State of the County speech Oct. 12, reflecting on past professional achievements and offering a brief look to his post-public service career that dates back to the 1970s.

The San Antonio Chamber of Commerce hosted the event at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk, and numerous past and present local political and business leaders were in attendance.

Preparing to retire as county judge after 21-plus years in office, Wolff provided perspective by saying he thought of a book he is reading, Paul Halpern’s “Flashes of Creation,” while writing his speech.

Wolff said humanity’s spot in the universe may seem small and fleeting; there is meaning to life and the work that people do to help make the world a better place.

“We can build a better society by reaching out to each other, looking for the good in each other, by ensuring love and care for all our children, providing the best of health care, supporting education, providing economic opportunity, and creating a city of culture that blends nature with urbanization by creating transformative projects,” Wolff said.

Wolff briefly highlighted such transformative projects that have been completed or started during his time as county judge, including efforts to boost higher education locally.

Wolff said the four major local four-year universities enroll more than 136,000 students each year. He added that The University of Texas at San Antonio is enhancing local educational offerings in data science, cybersecurity and other academic programs with the development of the UTSA School of Data Science, which will open in January 2023 on the western edge of downtown San Antonio.

In the same area around a restored and improved San Pedro Creek, Bexar County is providing land to UTSA to build an innovation, entrepreneurship and careers building—an expansion of the university’s college of business.

Additionally, the county through the Bexar County Hospital District brought 65 acres near Texas A&M University-San Antonio on the south side to build a 200-bed teaching hospital for UT Health San Antonio.

Wolff outlined the county’s recent and upcoming public health initiatives, saying the county and city governments learned much from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID[-19] took a toll on our community and showed us how important access to health care is,” he said.

Wolff said the county is doubling down on public health by allocating $10 million to develop a new preventative health department to focus on promoting healthy living, including reaching out to restaurants and providing nutritional advice to residents.

The county is providing another $10 million toward the development of a School of Public Health, a collaboration between UT Health San Antonio and UTSA.

Wolff said Bexar County has worked to reform its criminal justice system by focusing on therapeutic justice for nonviolent offenders with mental or drug issues. The county launched 14 specialty courts during Wolff’s tenure as county judge.

Additionally, Wolff said, the county rolled out a public defender’s office, created a new case management division concentrated on mental health and began staffing the Bexar County Jail with more than 100 health care professionals.

Wolff said Bexar County is committed to helping grow local high-tech industries through the creation of a $1 million innovation fund, which is designed to foster job recruitment, talent development competitions, business expansion and technical workforce training.

Wolff noted growth of the local advanced manufacturing sector and the ninth anniversary of BiblioTech, the nation’s first all-digital public library that has had more than 1.2 million site visitors and checked out 2.2 million e-books since its inception.

Additionally, the county is building a new BiblioTech EDU digital library to serve magnet programs residing on the Fox Tech High School campus downtown. The new BiblioTech EDU library will open this December and feature a recording studio, study rooms, a community room, maker spaces and a robotics room, Wolff said.

Wolff said the county has supported local environmental improvements and backed initiatives in San Antonio’s arts and culture scene.

Such measures here included a $200 million investment in the restoration of the San Antonio River Walk Mission Reach, the nation’s largest urban river ecological project of its kind affecting an 8-mile stretch of public land.

The county has also invested $250 million for the improvement and restoration of San Pedro Creek. The county and the San Antonio River Authority will have a 6 p.m. Oct. 14 lighting ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the restored downtown section of the creek.

Wolff said enhancing the creek has yielded many cultural and environmental benefits.

“The San Pedro Creek project has helped generate numerous economic projects as well as [restored] the ecosystem with flood control, cleaning the water, and planting trees and native vegetation for wildlife,” Wolff said.

Wolff also said two “transforming projects are blending nature with urban life as we rebuild the heart of the city.” Those initiatives include development of 10,000 housing units, renovation of the historic Alameda Theater, planning for a new federal courthouse, completion of a new Texas Public Radio headquarters, mixed-use development of Hemisfair and restoration of historic buildings through the Bexar County Public Facility Corp.

“We are also funding $244.2 million linking nature with other parts of the city—27 creeks and trails; 35 new miles of hike/bike trails—and restoring 12.5 miles of rivers and creeks, connecting our community and spurring new economic activity,” Wolff said.

Wolff also said the county remains committed to creating amateur and professional sports facilities, and expanding parks and recreation opportunities.

Wolff reiterated the Spurs co-owners’ pledges of further growth in San Antonio, with the county investing $13 million in a new 22-acre park near the Spurs’ new human performance center that is scheduled for completion on the northwest side in 2023.

“Commissioners court will continue to support [the Spurs], and we are committed to enhancing the county arena where they plan as well as the surrounding area,” Wolff said.

Wolff said, on the whole, the county has raised spending, expanded or streamlined operations, and sought out tax relief wherever possible while managing a population that has grown from 1.3 million in 2001 to more than 2 million today.

Wolff said he and wife, Tracy, who also has long been active as a partner in local business ventures and civic activities, are not necessarily retiring as they are “transitioning to a new way of life.”

“We will continue to try and make a positive contribution to our community. So, as I leave this stage, I will not say farewell, but ask you to join Tracy and I in seeking to protect nature and taking our humanity to a higher level,” he said.