Sandoval County Manager Phillip Rios has announced his intention to retire from public service on May 31, 2017.

Mr. Rios has worked for Sandoval County for nearly 20 years, serving as director of community services and public works, respectively, before being named interim county manager in April 2011.

In October 2011, Mr. Rios signed his first contract to become permanent county manager. His second contract was signed in 2013 and expired in June 30, 2016. At that time, Mr. Rios signed a new three-year contract that was scheduled to run through June of 2019.

However, circumstances in his personal life—including the death of an older brother—caused him to consider an early retirement.

Mr. Rios said he was especially moved by a poem written by his nephew in the wake of his brother’s illness. The last stanza of the poem reads, “The hands of time turn too quickly. Listen to your heart and stay true to yourself; live for the moment; it won’t last forever. Time passes and so it goes.”

“It’s time for my wife (Cindy) and me to start enjoying family and friends and begin a new chapter in our life,” Mr. Rios said. “I have enjoyed working in Sandoval County and meeting so many wonderful people, but I know it’s time for me to start living for the moment and doing the things Cindy and I have planned for many years.”

Mr. Rios originally planned to retire on March 31, 2017, but the commission asked him to stay on board through May to guide the search for his replacement.

The commission is expected to formally approve Mr. Rios’ retirement date at its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, February 2, 2017.