City hires new Public Works director

Richard Mendoza, Atlanta’s commissioner of Public Works, will be the new director of Austin’s Public Works Department, the city announced Wednesday. Mendoza, a civil engineer, is returning to Central Texas after managing two major bond programs in Atlanta, including a $250 million infrastructure bond that voters OK’d in 2015. Previously, he worked in the Public Works departments in San Antonio and San Marcos. Interim City Manager Elaine Hart said in a statement Wednesday that she was “delighted” to have Mendoza onboard. “His more than 27 years of experience in public service management and civil engineering will be vital in leading our public works staff on many critical infrastructure and civil engineering projects,” she said. “I look forward to working with him.” The job opened up this spring, when former Public Works head Howard Lazarus left to take a job in Ann Arbor, Michigan.