It doesn't sound quite like retirement.

Bill Gordon, Fox Chapel manager for 21 years, has bid farewell to the post to focus instead on traveling, home improvements and his newborn granddaughter.

But on Monday -- five days after his official resignation -- Gordon was in his office talking about daylong meetings, a part-time engineering job and his duties as grounds committee member for his home at The Arbors in Hampton.

"I'm not going totally into retirement, yet," the 65-year-old Gordon said with a laugh. "It's a good relationship because I still get to be involved with the borough and my experience and background won't be lost. I can help the new manager transition."

Gary Koehler, former head of Pine Township, has been selected as Gordon's replacement.

Of course, Gordon couldn't quit cold.

Inherent to local government since the 1960s, he first began working for the borough's consulting engineer while enrolled as a student at Carnegie Mellon University.

"I could never have imagined that my life would be so intricately entwined with Fox Chapel," Gordon said.

For the next 20 years, Gordon worked with municipalities across southwestern Pennsylvania as a consulting engineer, including Fox Chapel.

In 1985, when the borough sought to replace then-manager Dick Moore, Gordon designed his own future.

He suggested that council create a combined manager/engineer position and Gordon came on board full-time.

"The rest, as they say, is history," he said.

At the helm of one of Allegheny County's premier communities for two decades, Gordon says the highlights are many. He witnessed rapid development in the early years, followed more recently by finishing touches that perfect the borough.

In the 1990s, for example, Gordon oversaw a sewer management program that he says was at the forefront of similar infrastructure improvements.

In 2002, the municipal building underwent a project to add a council room and police station.

Now, during a bittersweet time for Gordon, he is working to ensure the borough a smooth transition.

"It's a blessing for us that he's staying on," said Fox Chapel Mayor Harry McLaughlin, who calls Gordon a close friend.

"He's excellent in the type of work he does and he easily reacts when something comes up. He's competent and dedicated.

"It's a win-win."

Gordon has agreed to help acclimate Koehler and provide part-time engineering services for at least a year.

That's not to say he won't make time to visit his new granddaughter in Houston and attend to a fix-it list at home.

"I'd like to take some long walks," Gordon said. "And we have several friends who have left the borough. They all said we have a bedroom waiting.

"I'm just looking forward to not having to get up and put on a coat and tie everyday."