ALPENA — For the second time this year, the Alpena County Board of Commissioners will need to fill a vacant seat because of a resignation.

The county board has 30 days to appoint a replacement for Kevin Burr, who took the oath of office to represent District No. 7 in January and who has decided to step down because of an employment opportunity that will require him to move to Indiana.

He submitted a letter of resignation to the Alpena County Clerk’s Office stating his last day in office will be May 31.

“This wasn’t something that I was pursuing when I ran, but it is something that is too good to turn down,” Burr said. “I really had to put a lot of thought into it before accepting the job, mainly because I am a commissioner because the people had enough faith to put me in office and I really enjoy it.”

Burr’s resignation comes only a few months after District No. 3 commissioner Nick Modrzynski stepped aside to devote more time on a new job and his family. Dave Karschnick was appointed to fill his seat.

According to County Clerk Bonnie Friedrichs, people who are interested in filling Burr’s seat must live in District No. 7, be a registered voter, and submit a letter of interest to her office. Public interviews will take place before the county board’s 1 p.m. June 25 meeting in the Howard Male Conference Room in the county’s annex building on West Chisholm Street.

Letters must be submitted by the end of the business day on June 21.

District No. 7 covers a large swath of the center and northwestern parts of the county.

Burr said he will still return to Alpena periodically because he will have family here. He said he has already decided that, when he retires, he intends to move back to town.

“When that day comes, I may consider running again, because I really, really enjoy it that much,” he said.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpeanews.com.