Oak Bluffs harbor master Todd Alexander will retire after 29 years on the job, it was announced at the town select board meeting Tuesday.

“Just wanted to make it public and thank everybody,” Mr. Alexander said at the meeting. “It’s been a hard decision and I don’t know what to say — it feels it’s time to move on.”

Mr. Alexander’s retirement is effective July 1, but he said he will continue to work part time through the summer.

“I can’t leave there that quickly. It’s not like pulling a band-aid,” the harbor master said. “It’s an emotional decision . . . I want the transition to be as seamless and unobtrusive as possible . . . I will be there all summer — for all the main events.”

A succession plan was not clearly outlined at the meeting.

In a letter to the board, Mr. Alexander recounted his beginnings working on the harbor at age 12 — first working on the party boat Ranger, then as co-owner of the Skipper.

“In what seems like the blink of an eye, three decades later I find myself realizing just how much this harbor has meant to me,” he wrote in the letter dated March 7. “In all this time, I have come to love the harbor community, the locals, the businesses, the regulars, and yes, even the tourists.”

Board members thanked the harbor master for his long service to the town.

“You, more than any other employee in town, have had interactions with probably more than tens of thousands worth of people through your career — which is pretty amazing,” board member Ryan Ruley said.