What Craig Bickley said was something about the TRWD needing some adult supervision.
When I heard the adult supervision line I took it to be a reference to J.D. Granger's inept mangling of the Trinity River Uptown Central City Panther Island Vision Boondoggle.
Regarding The Boondoggle, part of that which Craig Bickley said which triggered the Cowboy Napoleon's nonsense filled rant was about The Boondoggle.
Following is my best attempt at transcribing what Craig Bickley said which triggered the Cowboy Napoleon's unfortunate outburst...
"If you look at the Trinity River, whatever the name is now, it is one of the worst managed projects I have ever seen, having gone from a two hundred million something project to now close to a billion dollar project and all they've done is put up an amphitheater, built a restaurant, and started building three bridges over dry land. So, you look at a project like that and you wonder where is our money going? The project is completely backwards. They are trying to get people to get into a nasty river. Why don't you clean up the river first?"
Well. I am assuming by "amphitheater" Mr. Bickley is referring to what The Boondoggle calls Panther Island Pavilion. Where there is no island or pavilion. Mr. Bickley is being very kind in referring to that outhouse serviced eyesore as an amphitheater.
I digress.
So, regarding The Boondoggle being one of the worst managed projects Craig Bickley has ever seen, let's turn our attention back to The Boondoggle's manager, J.D. Granger.
The Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island Vision Boondoggle is a relatively simple project. As we learned in a blogging from a week or two ago titled The Incredible Alternative Universe Of J.D. Granger & America's Biggest Boondoggle J.D. Granger's involvement with The Boondoggle began in 1999.
In 2006 one of J.D.'s drinking buddies, the TRWD's Jim Oliver, hired J.D., apparently with no TRWD board input, to be the Executive Director of what has become America's Biggest Boondoggle.
J.D. Granger is paid well over $100,000 a year to mis-manage The Boondoggle.
If The Boondoggle was a well run public works project of the sort other town's manage to accomplish, the Trinity River Vision would have long ago become something the people of Fort Worth could see, and possibly enjoy and benefit from.
The Boondoggle dawdling along in slow motion greatly amps up the cost. Just consider the fact that J.D. has been paid over $100,000 a year for years longer than he would have been paid if The Boondoggle was engineered and managed like public works projects are managed in towns which do such things the right way.
Fully funded with a project timeline schedule.
And get them done. On time.
Not the corrupt, nepotism tainted, damn the public, Fort Worth Way.
In addition to J.D. Granger being paid for years after the project should have been completed, what about the salaries of all the other people The Boondoggle employs, being employed all those extra years?
By now J.D. Granger should have been deep into messing up whatever new job his mama got him, instead of still drawing money from The Boondoggle, and the taxpayers.
Regarding the reference to nepotism. In looking for the blogging with the photo of J.D. Granger and his kids touting their beer consumption I happened upon a blogging on that subject, titled Today We Learn How TRWD Nepotism Can Lead To Tacky Cheesy Signs. In that blogging there is the following paragraph....
Speaking of Matt Oliver. Does anyone know how many of the Tarrant Regional Water District's General Manager Jim Oliver's relatives are nepotistically employed by the TRWD?
I believe Matt Oliver is the son of the guy who hired J.D. And he was J.D. Granger's accomplice in the Beer Butt Sign Scandal.
Since that blogging from way back last June we have learned that hiring his son is just the tip of the Jim Oliver/TRWD nepotism iceberg. In a blogging from a couple weeks ago, In Fort Worth Weekly Is J.D. Granger Exhibit A For The TRWD Prosecution Or The Defense? mention was made of Fort Worth Weekly's mention of multiple examples of TRWD nepotism, including the controversial hiring of J.D. Granger.
So, here is what I currently think about America's Biggest Boondoggle.
I think it is time to pull the plug on The Boondoggle. Stop with the slow motion building of three little bridges over dry land connecting the mainland to an imaginary island. Fire J.D. Granger and all his minions.
Then re-think the entire concept of re-developing the Trinity River as it flows past downtown Fort Worth. I have long thought some iterations of the ever changing project were a good idea. What I have long thought was not a good idea was how the project was being implemented.
You do not hire the unqualified son of a local congresswoman to run a public works project in the hope it will motivate his mama to secure federal dollars. That is just a wrong thing to do, a wrong thing which would not be tolerated in progressive, democratic, non-oligarch run parts of America.
The merits of the project should have been sold to the public who then should have been allowed to vote on it, yes or no. If a public works projects has merit the public usually can be convinced to go along with it. I witnessed this more times than I can remember when I lived in a more progressive, more democratic part of America.
If the people of Fort Worth can be convinced to help finance a public works project, then design that project with a project timeline.
And get it done in the lifetime of people currently living on the planet....
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