News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena Building Division Head Mike Kieliszewski poses for a photo outside Alpena City Hall on Wednesday. April 1 will be his last day at work, as he is retiring. He said his wife is retiring at the same time and they are going to spend more time with their grandchildren.

ALPENA — The City of Alpena is saying goodbye to another employee who has decided to move on and retire.

Building Division Head Mike Kieliszewski is slated to retire on April 6, but his last day in the office is April 1.

Kieliszewski coordinated his retirement so it aligns with his wife Becky’s. She is retiring from Alpena Public Schools, where she worked as a bus driver. The couple intends to spend more time with their grandchildren.

He added there is a long honey-do list waiting for him at home that he intends to get to work on.

Kieliszewski was hired by the city in 2003 to run the city’s rental inspection program. He also acted in the absence of the building officials for city business. He played a large role in the maintenance and renovations to the city’s facilities.

Kieliszewski said the time is right for a change in his life and he wants to devote more time to his family and friends. A health scare, and the seriousness of the pandemic also weighed into his decision-making process.

“Well, COVID came along, and not a lot of people know this, but I fell and broke my back in June. The fall was not related to the city,” Kieliszewski said. “I was off for a number of weeks and some realizations came along, and I knew it was time.”

There are things he will miss about coming to the office every day. He said dealing with the public and meeting many new people were the highlights of his job, but the thing he will miss most is spending time with his fellow workers.

“I have the best co-workers at the city, and the citizens of Alpena are also the best,” he said. “It has been an honor to work with them and for them. It has been challenging sometimes, but it has been an honor to serve the city that I love.”

Kieliszewski said he will have more time on his hands, but he isn’t walking away from local government work for good. He said he was recently hired as the Alpena County Soil Erosion Officer. He is excited to help the county, and new title, but added the new position isn’t as demanding as the one he is vacating.

“I just started and I’m excited about it, “he said. “It isn’t going to consume a lot of my free-time, so I consider myself retired.”