Kenmore City Clerk Patty Safrin retired at the end of 2016, after four and a half years in the position and 11 years total as a City of Kenmore employee.

“She was a godsend,” Kenmore City Manager Rob Karlinsey said, calling Safrin a “steward of democracy.” “She did a lot to improve the overall function of the city clerk’s office.”

“Patty really immersed herself in this important role,” Kenmore Finance and Administration Joanne Gregory added.

Safrin said not seeing her co-workers as much is what she will miss most about the job.

“I’ll miss the people here and the excitement of all the great changes that are happening in Kenmore right now,” she said.

She also has enjoyed being able to facilitate the communication process between the city and its residents. “I’m proud to have worked at a city which tries to keep its citizens well-informed and to provide as many opportunities as possible for citizen input,” she said.

Over the course of the last few years, Safrin has put in quite a few late nights at Kenmore City Council meetings, and she said she is looking forward to that being over. “I will really appreciate not having to stay late to attend meetings,” she said.

In her retirement, Safrin plans to spend more time with her grandchildren, do some volunteer work, read more, cook more, spend more time outside, travel and work on various crafts.

Kenmore’s new city clerk, Kelly Chelin, started Dec. 5 in order to have adequate time for training with Safrin. She previously was the public information director and city clerk in Mill Creek, where she worked for 16 years.