Wareham's longtime director of Planning and Community Development, Ken Buckland, has officially entered his retirement.  

Town Administrator Derek Sullivan announced in January that Buckland would retire come Feb. 29. 

Sullivan said at that time that Buckland had been "key" in making changes to planning and zoning, and that "his time here — it's been really great." 

Come Buckland's final day of Thursday, Feb. 29, he was presented with a proclamation of thanks from Wareham Redevelopment Authority Chair Dan Butler. 

The proclamation celebrated Buckland personally — it referenced his "impeccable taste in cookies, muffins, corn bread, candy, donuts and any and all sundry items high in calories or caffeine legally obtainable within Wareham's borders" — as well as his impact on the town. 

"His decency, dignity, uncommon courtesy, honor, humor and humility have endeared him to colleagues and residents throughout the great town of Wareham and beyond,” wrote Butler. “Buckland has had an important, enduring, highly commendable impact on Wareham, and his imprint on our great town will be felt for generations to come.”

While Buckland has left his role as director of Planning and Community Development, he might not leave the town behind for good.

According to Butler, he would like to retain Buckland's "expertise and prodigious work ethic in some limited capacity as a private contractor/consultant focused on Wareham Redevelopment Authority priorities and projects," but is unsure at this time whether that will be possible.

“Buckland’s well-deserved retirement from government civil service will leave several important WRA initiatives virtually dead-in-the-water until new town planners can be hired to keep them on track,” Butler added. “We’re also on the lookout for a college intern to breathe life into some projects.”