Li resigns

Effective Sept. 9, Watershed Protection Department Director Victoria Li will resign after 10 years of service. According to a memo sent by City Manager Marc Ott to Mayor Steve Adler and City Council, Ott will appoint Joe Pantalion as acting director until a replacement is found. Pantalion is currently deputy director of the department. In his memo, Ott wrote, “Ms. Li has guided the department – and the City – through some of the toughest challenges and biggest opportunities in recent history. Her leadership on projects like Onion Creek, the Waller Creek Tunnel, and the purchase of Water Quality Protection Lands will have an impact on this community for decades to come. Her spirit for innovation helped create new programs to incorporate green building techniques in to traditional flood management infrastructure and cleared the way for staff to create ATXFloods.com. She has challenged us to think differently about the management of our watershed and flood mitigation systems, and Austin is a better place for it.”