‘It’s going to be weird’: After 13 years in Costa Mesa, city’s executive assistant prepares for retirement

The most eye-catching decoration in Kelly Shelton’s fifth-floor office at Costa Mesa City Hall is a large picture of Audrey Hepburn in her iconic role in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

It’s a character that resonates with Shelton. Like Hepburn, she has always tried to balance elegance “with a touch of sass.”

That mix has served her well during a career in local government that has spanned 34 years, including the past 13 in Costa Mesa, where she is executive assistant to the city manager and City Council.

At the end of this month, Shelton will walk out of City Hall and into retirement. Time long spent organizing schedules for municipal leaders will instead go toward scheduling play dates with her grandchildren or trips to places she’s always wanted to travel.

The decision to retire, however, was not easy.

“When I walked in the doors at City Hall, it was a sense of ‘I’m home,’ ” Shelton, 61, said this week during an interview in her office. “It was very emotional for me the first day because I walked in and said: ‘This is where I’m meant to be. This is where I feel home and where I can contribute more than I can anywhere else.’ ”

Over the years, that sense of belonging has never faded, she said.

Working behind the scenes

As executive assistant, Shelton’s job, in a nutshell, is to provide city leaders with whatever support or assistance they may need.

She’s responsible for managing scheduling for City Manager Tom Hatch, and at times the council as well, to make sure they’re always where they need to be when they need to be there.

She also combs through Hatch’s emails to make sure questions and comments are directed to those best equipped to respond.

Shelton also has served as the city’s liaison to the OC Fair & Event Center, apprising city officials about the goings-on at the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa — and has been a contact person for community members trying to navigate the inner workings of City Hall.

“I always felt that one of my most important roles, other than supporting the city manager, was being that conduit to the community and business owners so they felt they had someone at City Hall that they knew would pick up the phone,” she said.

History in government

Shelton’s career in local governments began in 1983 when she took a job as an office assistant for the city of Rancho Cucamonga. She went on to work for the city of Rialto and the West Covina Chamber of Commerce.

In 2000, she took a job as a department secretary in the city of West Covina, where she had grown up.

It was there that she first worked with Hatch, who was then West Covina’s community services director.

“That’s where we first developed our working relationship, our admiration and respect for each other and for what both of us could accomplish,” Shelton said.

In 2004, Shelton assumed her current job at City Hall. Hatch joined the city two years later and took over as Costa Mesa’s top administrator in 2011.

“It was like having an old friend around again,” Shelton said.

Hatch said Shelton has been an “integral and critical” part of the city’s operations, as well as a valued confidant and adviser “about how to approach things and how I should do things.”

“It’s hard to see such a loyal and trusted partner leave, but I’m excited for her to enter the next chapter in her life,” Hatch said.

“She has made me better.”

Looking ahead

During its meeting last week, the City Council expressed gratitude for Shelton’s work.

Mayor Pro Tem Sandy Genis praised Shelton for “her sense of organization — which to me is beyond belief — her professionalism, her class” and said she handles herself with aplomb that’s not unlike Audrey Hepburn.

Mayor Katrina Foley said Shelton shows up to City Hall every day “dressed to impress and ready to work” and that she’s “been a great ambassador for the city.”

“We’re going to miss you so much,” she told Shelton. “You’re a staple on the fifth floor, and we’re so grateful for all your service.”

Shelton said she isn’t sure what she’ll do in retirement.

“It’s going to be weird,” she said of her first day after leaving. “I’m not going to set the alarm. I’m not even going to set the coffee pot. ... It’s really interesting, because I don’t know how I’m going to react.”

She recently returned from a bucket list trip to Bora Bora, and as a country music fan, she’d like to visit Austin, Texas, and Nashville.

She plans to spend more time with her children and grandchildren, who live near her home in Corona.

Shelton also hopes to do more volunteer work to support World War II veterans — a goal stemming from her good relationship with the late Jack Hammett, a Pearl Harbor survivor and former Costa Mesa mayor.

Shelton said the part of her job she’ll miss most is the camaraderie at City Hall and the friendships she’s made during her time there.

“I always told myself [that] the first day I walked into work and didn’t want to be here was the day I would think about retiring, but that day never came,” she said. “That day’s never going to come. I love working here. I love the people. This is family.

“But if I keep saying that,” she added with a laugh, “I’m going to be 100 years old and still coming to work.”

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter @LukeMMoney