(BIVN) – After serving as the Acting Director of the Hawai‘i County Department of Public Works for half a year, Allan G. Simeon was confirmed as the official head of the department on Wednesday.

With Mayor Harry Kim by his side, Simeon appeared before the Hawai‘i County Council in Hilo, as the councilmembers voted unanimously to approve his appointment.

Simeon previously served as the Department’s Deputy Director, and apologized to the room full of elected officials and department heads for taking so long to accept Mayor Kim’s offer to lead the department.

“Each day is a blessing and each blessing is an opportunity to do something good for the people of our Hawai‘i Island Community, for our families, and for ourselves,” Simeon said.

The county says Simeon is a licensed professional engineer and joined the county as a civil engineer in 1997.

Simeon appointed Merrick H. Nishimoto as his Deputy Director. Nishimoto previously served as a civil engineer stationed at the West Hawai‘i office and has been with the county since 2007.