After 47 years of shaping parks, programs and public service in Santa Maria, Recreation and Parks Director Alex Posada is retiring, closing out a career that began in 1978 and ultimately helped define the city’s modern recreation landscape.

Posada, 71, said in a recent interview that the decision had been in motion for some time, though he did not give a date for his last day on the job.

“I had actually been looking at it for about the last year and a half,” he said. His plans were delayed when he stepped up as interim city manager, a position he held from September 2023 to September 2024, when the City hired Fillmore city manager Dave Rowlands to fill the position.

“When I had the opportunity to go over and be the interim city manager while the council looked for a new city manager, th

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