After heading the state's liquor control department for nearly three decades, Ken Wynn is stepping down.

"Ken's been there almost 30 years, and I think with the new change in the commission, he thinks it's probably time," said Larry Lunt, chairman of the five-member Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission that oversees liquor sales in the state.

Last week, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. announced he would not reappoint the three commissioners whose terms expire June 30, including Lunt. The governor's office downplayed the decision, noting the three had already served multiple terms.

Wynn, 71, had been thinking of retiring for some time, Lunt said, but the governor's new appointments prompted him to take action. Wynn is in Alaska on a long-planned fishing trip but has committed to staying on as director until his replacement is named, Lunt said.

Commissioners had been expected to consider choosing a new director at their Wednesday meeting. But they had to put off that decision until next month because only three commissioners attended and four votes are needed to approve a new director, Lunt said.

It may be operations director Dennis Kellen, who has spent even longer at the department than Wynn. Kellen started with the department some 32 years ago, while Wynn would have marked his 30-year anniversary as director in October.

The governor has final approval over the board's choice to head the department and Kellen appears to be his choice. "Gov. Huntsman has enjoyed working with him and appreciates he is recognized nationally as an expert in his field," Huntsman's spokesman, Mike Mower, said.

Mower said the governor appreciated Wynn's years of service and the "contribution he has made to this agency. ... In addition to regulatory oversight, DABC is a business and it takes a person with a skill set in both those areas" to run the department.

Wynn leaves "big shoes to fill," said Sharon Mackay, his administrative assistant and the department's spokeswoman. "He's just really beloved by everybody in the department and we're really going to miss him."

Before moving to Utah to become the department's director under the state's last Democratic governor, the late Scott Matheson, Wynn held a similar position in Montana, Mackay said.

"Ken goes out with everybody feeling good about him," Lunt said, praising him for presiding over considerable growth in liquor sales while avoiding controversy. "In this business, sometimes no news is good news."

Huntsman has said he wants to see the state ease up on regulating private clubs by allowing what is Utah's version of a bar to do away with memberships. The governor told reporters last week to avoid "reading too much into" the changes.