Swampscott heaps praise on Ron Mendes as assistant TA enters final days
Officials describe outgoing employee as unwavering, loyal, helpful and patient
Wicked Local
Before the town hired Ron Mendes as the town treasurer and tax collector in 2014, he was the business manager in the Newton Department of Public Works for a year and seven months.
Mendes recalled the job required what one might consider professional sleepovers and all-nighters during blizzards and nor'easters. From the headquarters of the public works department, he helped coordinate and supervise the city’s snow-removal response.
“I would have to drive into Newton – which is a significant drive – before or during snowstorms,” recalled the Lynn native in a recent interview with The Swampscott Reporter over Zoom. “I had a cot that I slept on there – literally a cot in my office because I practically lived there through the duration of snowstorms.”