After 25 years of working with municipal government, including 16 years in Apex, Bill Sutton believes it’s time to step aside.

The 72-year-old Sutton recently announced that he would not seek reelection to the Apex Town Council.

He said the decision really wasn’t that difficult.

“I realized it about six months ago or so,” said Sutton. “It’s time to move on.”

Sutton said council would face some important decisions concerning the struggling economy. He believes that more business people are needed to help plan for the future.

“We need some new blood on council in my opinion,” said Sutton. “We have some very talented people in Apex and we need some people with a solid business background. These are tough economic times and there will be a lot of tough decisions next year. I feel very strongly that we need business people getting involved.”

The massive Veridea development, said Sutton, will pose a planning challenge.

“Veridea has a lot of potential and a lot of promise,” said Sutton. “But time will tell. I’m going to do everything I can the next few months to help move that project along.”

Sutton said he was pleased to see seven residents feel so strongly about Apex that they decided to run for town council.

It was a big improvement from the last municipal election when the incumbents ran unopposed.

“That’s good and it’s healthy for the town,” said Sutton. “I wish we had even more. I spoke to people and encouraged them to run. Some did and others didn’t. Last election nobody ran against the incumbents and you don’t like to see that. You want people getting involved.

“We need some new faces and we need some gender diversity, too. I’m doing my part by stepping down.”

Sutton was town manager from 1993 to 2001 during Apex’s huge growth spurt. After retiring he served on the planning board for a couple of years before getting elected to council in 2005. Although he might do a few things differently if he had the chance, Sutton said he was generally pleased with the way things turned out.

“We improved our bond rating from AA to AAA,” said Sutton. “I felt that was very important. The town also has a good reputation and it’s a great place to live.”

Sutton said he would probably experience some mixed emotions when his term ends in early December.

“I think I will miss it but it’s time,” said Sutton. “I’ll always care about Apex but I just won’t be concerned. Those are two different things. I’ll be able to just sit back and watch.”