LISA KIM honored by the Garden Grove City Council (Tribune photo).

By Jim Tortolano
Orange County Tribune

Lisa Kim’s tenure as Garden Grove’s city manager will soon end, but the accolades are just beginning.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the city council, she heard city leaders describe her 10 years of service to the City of Youth and Ambition in glowing terms.

Assistant City Manager Matt West – who will assume Kim’s current post in November, called her —“a dedicated leader” who “provided guidance to the city,” first as community development director for seven years, then three as city manager.

Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein said that Kim – the city’s first female city manager and its first Asian American top appointed official – has “left a lasting impression on Garden Grove.”

Kim is credited with playing a key role in attracting the Steelcraft urban eatery to the city, shaping the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the new Public Safety (police) building to completion and other accomplishments.

“When I first came to Garden Grove,” said Kim, “I didn’t know what to expect. I found a family and friends.”

Her last day in City Hall will be Nov. 2.