Retirements and resignations in Suttons Bay Township “are breaking out all over,” according to township supervisor Rich Bahle.

Last month, the township board learned that longtime trustee Dick Catton was resigning his post effective Aug. 31. Acting at its regular monthly meeting on July 11, the township board agreed by consensus to accept a letter of resignation from Catton.

Then, township trustee Ron Send announced that he intends to step down from his seat as township board representative on the Planning Commission. Send cited an unspecified “conflict” as his reason for stepping down from the Planning Commission.

Send said he expects that whoever is appointed to replace Catton as a township trustee would also be appointed to serve as the township board’s representative on the Planning Commission.

Township board members also learned last week that Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire Chief Bill Calhoun has announced that he plans to retire when he turns 62, about two years from now. In the meantime, a committee of the Suttons Bay-Bingham Fire and Rescue Authority Board will meet with rank-and-file members of the department to discuss criteria for hiring a new department chief, according to Bahle.

Bahle, who also serves as president of the Fire and Rescue Authority Board, said the consensus of board members seemed to be that a full-time chief will be necessary now that the department is providing 24/7 Advanced Life Support ambulance service that places firefighters on duty around the clock.

Calhoun, who has been serving as part-time chief since 1994, has been a member of the department since 1964. Calhoun became chief when Catton stepped down from the post.