In an unexpected move, Carbondale Mayor Joel Fritzler announced his resignation Tuesday.

Fritzler announced he would forego his final 15 months as mayor as he accepted a position at Northern Arizona University.

His last official day as mayor will be Feb. 3.

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Fritzler, who also works at SIU as a research project specialist in the Office of Sponsored Projects Administration, will be taking a similar position at Northern Arizona University in the Grant and Contract Services Office.

The Carbondale City Council will hold a special city council meeting Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 7:30 pm where a sitting member of the council will be nominated to serve the remainder of Fritzler’s term. Whoever is selected will serve as acting mayor until they resign his or her council seat and officially becoming mayor.

The new mayor will nominate a member of the community to fill the vacant council seat, who will need city council approval before officially becoming a member.

Fritzler was elected mayor in April 2011. Prior to his election, he served as a member of the city council.

However, he said he does not see a foray into politics in his future.

“I don’t really foresee myself getting into politics there,” he said. “It was sort of accidental even here. That’s another long story because it had to do with my cat.”

His cat was run over by a car on Dixon Avenue near his home but survived. After the incident, he asked for stop signs to be placed, citing concerns for children walking in the street.

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Fritzler was rebuffed by city hall and then-mayor Brad Cole and decided to take matters into his own hands.

“I was just dumbfounded,” he said. “You know, you’re a council member. Your purpose is to provide for the public health and safety of my neighbors and their kids. That just blew me away that he had no sympathy.”

Eventually, he was elected to the city council, serving in that position for six years until being elected mayor.

One of his first actions as mayor was to legalize the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores, something Fritzler said he was proud of.

“The liquor stores were screaming, ‘You’re going to put us out of business.’ Well, they’re all still there. Two and a half years later and they’re all still there,” he said. “They’ve had to clean up their shops and have competitive pricing because at the time, beer and wine was cheaper in Carterville or Murphysboro.”

Fritzler said he was proud of restarting street-sweeping services, building a new fire department and emergency services building and allowing ice cream trucks to operate again.

“My claim to fame is I got liquor in the grocery stores and ice cream in the streets,” he said.

There was one project that he would have liked to see through: the renovation of the downtown area. However, he said he is not worried and thinks the council has the right mindset to see the project to completion.

“Once they get the downtown renovated, it’s just going to escalate or snowball and things are going to improve,” he said. “I’m excited that the council does have that focus and that I’m not going to be walking away and that’s not going to fall apart.”

In his 17 years in Carbondale, Fritzler served in capacities such as the director of Carbondale Main Street, president of Carbondale United Way, a board member of the Southern Illinois Irish Festival, treasurer of the Southern Illinois Adult Soccer League and an ex officio member of Carbondale’s Planning Commission and Sustainability Commission.

While he said he is unlikely to return to politics, he is looking forward to helping with an organization dear to him.

“What I’m really looking forward to is getting back involved with the Red Cross,” he said. “That was one of my loves when I was here was being a disaster service volunteer. I don’t know, I just really enjoy helping other people.”

City Manager Kevin Baity said he was surprised by the revelation but wished Fritzler the best in his new position.

“He’s always been very pleasurable to work with,” he said. “He has some good ideas, some of which we’ve been able to carry out and bring to fruition. Like a lot of council they have some ideas, and you always don’t get all your wishes and desires. But I think we’ve worked well in the two-plus years I’ve been here as City Manager and the six-plus years I’ve been working for the city.”

Councilwoman Jane Adams said she was surprised to see him go in a press release Tuesday afternoon.

“We citizens of Carbondale owe him a debt of gratitude that he has been willing to serve our community in so many roles,” she said. “I wish him all success in his new position.”

Sarah Schneider contributed to this story.

Seth Richardson can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter at @EgyptianRich or at 536-3311 ext. 268.