WESTBROOK — To truly be part of a community, according to outgoing City Councilor John O’Hara, you have to give back to it.

“You can live in a community and give back, or you can just reside in a community and not be part of it,” O’Hara said. “I chose to be part of this community I dearly love to this day and beyond.”

For much of the last 20 years, O’Hara has given back to Westbrook by serving as an at-large city councilor. At Monday’s council meeting he received many thanks from current and former colleagues.

Ken Lefebvre, Westbrook mayor for five years in the 1990s, said O’Hara was “the epitome of how to serve.”

O’Hara was first elected to a two-year term on the council in 1996, but ran for mayor instead of seeking reelection in 1998. He was elected to the council again in 2000 and has been a member ever since. He decided this would be his last term after being diagnosed with cancer two years ago. That, he said, “puts your life in a different perspective.”

“It’s been a wonderful journey. I have mixed emotions, but my time has come,” he said in an interview. “It is time for someone else to enjoy their opportunity. You certainly learn a lot about your community and how money is spent.”

O’Hara grew up in Portland, but moved 32 years ago to Westbrook, where his grandparents operated Jack’s Tavern at the intersection of Main and Mechanic streets for 35 years.

He said he will miss making decision to benefit the city and its residents.

“I really enjoyed my time on the council no matter what the level of difficulty of the discussion was,” he said.

O’Hara said the council and city must continue to look into stabilizing taxes, increasing affordable housing and improving schools and city services, as well as balancing preservation of open space and development, and reducing issues with  drug use and crime.

Twenty years from now, “I’d like to think we would be certainly a better community,” he said.

He said he wishes the council would get more accomplished at the committee level and create two new advisory groups: one to help the council determine priorities during budget time and one to help articulate to state legislators what the “hot button” issues in Westbrook are while they work on bills and the state budget.

At Monday’s council meeting, James Garland, a former city councilor, told O’Hara he will remember him for the passion he brought to the position.

“Passion for people and passion for the city. You may not always agree with John, but I can’t think of anyone who has been more dedicated to the city than John O’Hara,” Garland said.

School Board member Jim Violette, who served with O’Hara on the City Council, said his contributions to the city “will be felt for years to come.”

Mike Foley, who  replaces O’Hara on the council next month. said O’Hara “has worked harder than anyone I know” to make Westbrook a better place.

“Your seat will never be the same, this body will never be the same without you,” he said.

Former Mayor Colleen Hilton said without O’Hara’s leadership in advocating and planning for a new middle school, the school on Stroudwater Street wouldn’t be what it is today. Chris LaRoche, executive director of Westbrook Housing Authority, said O’Hara played a big part in renovating the old Westbrook High School into apartment units for senior citizens and was the swing vote in the council’s decision to move forward with the project.

Councilors  Lynda Adams, Victor Chau, Ann Peoples, Brendan Rielly, Gary Rairdon and Anna Turcotte also thanked O’Hara for his service and recounted personal memories they shared as councilors.

“If people could take your example and put it into government today, what a much better government we would have,” Lefebvre said.

City Administrator Jerre Bryant agreed.

“He is clearly the definition of service to the community and municipal service,” said Bryant, who has worked alongside O’Hara for 17 years, said earlier this month. “He doesn’t do it for ego or for gratitude, but does it for the community he clearly loves.”

Bryant said O’Hara frequently comes up to him after council meetings about “something he thinks we need to consider or look into” to more effectively and efficiently provide services or generate additional revenue to keep the tax rate down.

Over the last 20-plus years, O’Hara has often been impassioned while debating issues and council decisions.

“John is the type of guy who can be critical and supportive at the same time. That is a pretty unique ability to have. I have appreciated him greatly during my tenure here,” said Bryant, who has been with the city since 2002.

O’Hara did not go home from Mondays meeting empty-handed. Mayor Mike Sanphy presented him with a plaque with the key to the city. Guy Cote, treasurer of the Westbrook Environmental Improvement Corporation, gave O’Hara a plaque honoring him as a founding member of the organization. Rielly gave him a small printing press, a nod to an inside joke the two had regarding where Westbrook was going to get all the money needed to fund budgets.

O’Hara was taken aback by the kind words and keepsakes.

“We’ve had a lot of meetings, but they have paid off. I have never been prouder to say I live in Westbrook. There is a lot more good moments for us ahead,” O’Hara said after a tearful thank you to his family sitting in the front row and friends in the audience.

Michael Kelley can be reached at 780-9106 or mkelley@keepmecurrent.com or on Twitter @mkelleynews

John O’Hara, left, hands out candy at Halloween on Main Street this year. O’Hara says he always looks forward to the annual event.

Longtime Westbrook City Councilor John O’Hara smiles as former colleagues regale him with accolades and stories during his last council meeting Monday.

John O’Hara poses Monday night with many of the elected officials he has worked with during his 20-year tenure on the City Council. Much of the meeting was spent paying tribute to O’Hara.

Councilors Victor Chau, left, Ann Peoples and Gary Rairdon applaud after O’Hara gavels his last meeting. O’Hara has been serving on City council for more than 20 years.