BY NICK DIAMANTIDES
Staff Writer
After more than 12 years at the helm of the Signal Hill Community Services Department, Kathy Sorensen has retired.
Sorensen holds a bachelor’s degree in park and recreation administration from Western Washington University and a master’s degree in public administration from Seattle University. She worked for the City of Seattle’s park and recreation department before moving on to the City of Rancho Cucamonga’s park and recreation department. In 1997, she was hired as the director of Signal Hill’s community services department, which oversees the park and recreation programs, the library, and a multitude of programs and services offered to the residents of Signal Hill.
Sorensen noted that park development during her tenure is one of her greatest sources of satisfaction. “We have been able to accomplish a lot, including making some signature parks that are well loved by the residents and people in this whole area,” she said. “Hilltop Park is pretty hard to beat.” The park opened in 1999 and was the first park developed under Sorensen’s leadership. In the next few years, she also opened Discovery Well Park, Sunset View Park, Raymond Arbor Park, Calbrisas Park, and Panorama Promenade.
She also oversaw the renovation of the Signal Hill Park Community Center and Hillbrook Park, and she started the planning process for the future renovation of Reservoir Park and Signal Hill Park. “I have pretty much touched or created every park in the city,” she said with a smile. “I am very proud of that.”
The inclusion of public art on city-owned property is another source of satisfaction for Sorensen. “You can build a fence or a wall or lay a floor,” she said. “But it does not have to look like just a fence or a wall or a floor.” She explained that incorporating art on city facilities makes them much more pleasing to the eyes and inspires a sense of pride in the community.
Sorensen also noted that she is very pleased with the way the city seeks input from the residents. “We do spend a lot of time asking the residents what they think before we make decisions on future developments and programs,” she said. “I don’t think more than three or four years go by without us seeking input from the residents and that, I believe, is what has led to the success of what we do in all departments.”
Sorensen has nothing but praise for the members of the city council and all other department heads. “I have always had a good working relationship with the council members, and they have always been supportive of what I was trying to do,” she said. “And I can’t say enough of how wonderful the city manager and all the department heads are. We are a group of people that work together to accomplish the goals set by the council and the residents.”
Sorensen also praised her own staff. “They are a great bunch of very dedicated people that really enjoy working with each other,” she said. “That’s the key to the successes my department has enjoyed over the years.”
Sorensen said she also remembers three disappointments during her tenure. “The first is that we have not yet been successful in building a new library,” she said. “The time will come for that, but I just wish it could have happened while I was here.” Sorensen has worked on three separate studies undertaken by consulting firms to determine how to best meet the city’s need for expanded library services.
Another disappointment for her was the slow progress made by the city in preserving a part of the north slope as a nature park. “The citizens really want to see as much of that set aside as possible,” she said. The site to which she was referring encompasses about 32 acres and is owned by Signal Hill Petroleum. The city has been negotiating with the company for the acquisition of the land, but an agreement had not been reached. The company does have the legal right to develop residences on the land.
Sorensen also remembers the stress she experienced while the Unity Monument was being constructed just above Discovery Well Park. “I call it my “gray hair” project because it was literally done in 12 weeks,” she said. “The amount of energy that my staff and I, and the artist, and the fundraisers had to put into that was just incredible,” she said. “We dedicated it a couple of days before the one-year anniversary of 9/11.
Sorensen, who lives in Orange, put in her last day of work on Dec. 24. Now she and her partner Ruth Raheb plan on traveling, mostly to some of the National Parks. “It has been a pleasure working here,” she said. In the past 10 or 15 years, Signal Hill has certainly changed the way it is perceived by the public. I have been very glad to be part of that.”
Pilar Alciear-McCoy is the city’s new director of community development.
