After 17 years as State College Borough Manager, Peter Marshall announced his intent to retire during Monday night's council meeting.

Marshall's last day will be around Aug. 1, he said.

A typical day for Marshall begins when he arrives at the municipal building at 8 a.m., and ends at 5 p.m., he said. The borough manager oversees practically everything that goes on within the borough, he said.

"It's a very interesting and challenging job," Marshall said.

The manager's duties include meeting with local school district officials, overseeing the police and coordinating events between the university and the borough, among various other things, he said.

Prior to taking the job as borough manager, Marshall held similar jobs as city manager in other communities including Newark, Del., home of the University of Delaware.

Seeing the new State College municipal building completed was one of the more memorable events of his tenure, Marshall said.

The debate over the new building, he said, has been raging for 13 of the 17 years he has been manager.

Marshall has also worked closely with the Downtown Improvement District to diversify the area on projects such as renovating the library and creating several new theaters downtown.

"I'd like to see all those things come to pass," he said. "I think we're going in the right direction."

Following his retirement, Marshall plans to stay in the State College community and help out with a bed and breakfast he runs with his wife.

Working as manager has afforded Marshall some very unique opportunities for travel, including visits to Thailand, England, Mexico, the Caribbean and Hong Kong.

Although he has had a successful career as a city manager, Marshall said he has not had the desire to move to a larger city.

Quality of life for a city manager does not have much to do with city size, he said. Members of borough council expressed their regret after learning of Marshall's retirement.

"He's always on top of things," Council President Richard McCarl said. "We're all very sad to see him go."

The council is working on selecting a new borough manager, McCarl said, and hopes to have one who will be in the office by Marshall's last day.

It will be difficult finding a replacement with Marshall's experience, said Mayor Bill Welch.

"He is an absolutely outstanding professional," Welch said.

"He makes a very difficult job look easy."