Mobile, Ala. — Mayor Sandy Stimpson is pleased to announce two internal promotions at the City of Mobile as part of a larger restructuring of its Public Works Department.

Shonnda Smith, who joined the city in 2019 as the Director of the Mobile Parks and Recreation Department, has been serving as the Deputy Executive Director of Public Works for nearly two years. Moving forward, she will be taking on a new role as the Executive Director of Public Services, which will oversee the city’s sanitation services as well as MPRD, City Events and the Office of Strategic Initiatives.

Smith will also be serving as the Interim Executive Director of Public Works following the departure of James DeLapp. After more than four years leading the Public Works Department, DeLapp has resigned his position to pursue other professional opportunities. He will continue to assist the City of Mobile and the leadership of the Public Works department during this transition until April of 2024.

“We greatly appreciate the four and a half years of dedicated service that Col. DeLapp gave to the City of Mobile and its citizens. We wish him nothing but the best moving forward,” Mayor Sandy Stimpson said. “We have exceptional leaders on our administrative team, and I have the utmost confidence in their ability to ensure the continuity of public services and our major projects throughout the city.”

As Interim Executive Director of Public Works, Smith will also oversee the City of Mobile’s Engineering Department, Real Estate and Asset Management Department (REAM) and Programs and Project Management (PPM). As part of the restructuring of Public Works, Build Mobile will become a standalone department of the City of Mobile. Tasked with planning and zoning, permitting, inspections, historic development, and long-range planning for the city, Build Mobile will continue to thrive under the leadership of Executive Director Shayla Beaco, who has led the department for nearly seven years.