PORT ANGELES – A City Hall secret in Port Angeles is now official.

Port Angeles Police Department Chief Tom Riepe plans to retire on May 1, after exactly three decades in uniform.

Riepe said Tuesday that he mailed his retirement paperwork on Monday.

But Port Angeles City officials have known of Riepe’s plans for months.

The city’s finance department, for example, had to budget for Riepe’s retirement last year.

For his part, Riepe tried to keep his upcoming retirement under wraps, at least until mid-April.

“For the last year on the job, I wanted to keep focused on the day-to-day job,” Riepe said.

But Monday, when members of the Port Angeles Chamber of Commerce attended a weekly meeting, they were told not to miss Riepe’s speech on April 23.

It was billed as Riepe’s “final appearance before the Chamber as Chief of Police prior to his retirement.”

It was the first public notice that Riepe planned to step down.

“The mayor, the city manager knew about it and word slowly got out,” Riepe said.