Capital Metro announced March 19 that it will appoint Momark Development LLC President Terry Mitchell to replace Frank Fernandez, who resigned in January.

Mitchell has worked in real estate financing and development for 34 years and served as the chairman of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce's transportation committee. He has also served 12 years as a board member for the Real Estate Council of Austin.

"If people who are passionate about stuff don't get up and do things, then who will?" Mitchell said about applying for the position.

Mitchell said the areas of transportation, affordable housing and job location are all intertwined. He said he would like to contribute solutions that consider that connection when building affordable housing.

"Both our agency and our city are going through a great period of growth, and Terry's proven abilities in financing, land development and operations management will be great assets on the board," Capital Metro President and CEO Linda Watson said in a news release.

The Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, which oversees regional transportation planning efforts for Central Texas, approved the nomination at its March 17 meeting. Mitchell will be sworn in during the March 24 meeting of Capital Metro's board of directors. He will serve the remainder of Fernandez's term through June 1, 2015.

Capital Metro board members serve three-year terms, and CAMPO appoints three of those members, including an elected official. Austin City Council and Travis County and Williamson County commissioners appoint the other Capital Metro board members. Austin City Councilman Mike Martinez serves as Capital Metro's board chairman and as CAMPO's elected official representative.