Today's entry is titled It’s a $1B project, but Panther Island’s head honcho has never had a written job review.
Before we take a look at all of this latest Star-Telegram propaganda let's jump to the end of the article, with its last sentence a bit of defiance delivered by the disgraced Head Honcho, J.D. Granger, responding to demands that a forensic audit take place looking at the twelve years J.D. has been mismanaging the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District Vision...
If the independent review showed the need for organizational change, J.D. Granger said he’d be open reporting to the board or receiving written evaluators. “I’m fine with that,” he said. “I think I’ve done a great job for 12 years, so bring it on.”
Oh, it's on, J.D.
Now, let's just look at one or two other odd items in this latest Star-Telegram article about the Boondoggle...
J.D. Granger, the executive director of the Trinity River Vision Authority, said near constant communication with his boss has ensured that his work is up to par during his 12 years on the job. The authority oversees promotion and coordination of the Panther Island project and is a political subdivision of the Tarrant Regional Water District.
J.D. thinks his constant communication with his boss has ensured his work is up to par? What is that par? An extremely low expectation? As in a low bar par? Up to par for 12 years on the job? Can we get some sort of accounting telling us what J.D. thinks he has accomplished during this over a decade period? Let's start with Cowtown Wakepark and go from there.
And what is with this now multiply repeated assertion that the (TRV) authority oversees promotion and coordination of the Panther Island project? This seemingly absurd assertion comes up again deeper into the article where the actual project somehow becomes the sole purview of the Army Corps of Engineers...
The authority has been the public face of the project, promoting Panther Island events, coordinating government agencies and vetting design standards for development of the future island, but the Army Corps of Engineers would manage construction of the channel and other federally funded flood-control pieces.
There we have the new propaganda repeated again. The (TRV) authority's purpose is to promote events, coordinate agencies and vet design standards. Yet, somehow, due to the revelation of email exchanges between J.D. and his mother, we learn it was J.D.'s interference with an Army Corps of Engineer's plan to use the West 7th Street Bridge design for the Boondoggle's Panther Island three simple little bridges. J.D. insisted the now controversial V-Pier design be used, to the consternation of multiple engineers who have called a stop to the bridge building multiple times, hence the bridges being nowhere near completion after beginning with a TNT explosion way back in 2014.
We blogged about J.D.'s interference in the bridge design in America's Biggest Boondoggle Unravels As Trinity River Vision Scandals Grow. The Army Corps of Engineers approved of the West 7th Street Bridge design, included federal funds paying for the bridges, and indicated the bridges would be built in a timely fashion, long ago completed, unlike J.D. Granger's V-Pier Bridge Debacle, with the three simple little bridges being built over dry land now not expected to be completed until possibly, maybe, hopefully, in 2020, six years after starting construction.
But, the bridge building debacle is not J.D.'s fault, because, as we now have learned, he is only responsible for event planning, such as Rockin' the River Happy Hour Inner Tube Floats, Octoberfest, and other music type events at the imaginary world class music venue at the imaginary island with the imaginary pavilion.That and J.D. is also responsible for vetting design standards.
Let's see how much J.D. has been paid for event planning and vetting design standards...
Granger, son of Republican U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, earns $213,000 a year in his publicly funded position.
What designs have J.D. vetted one can not help but wonder, with J.D.'s vetting expertise worth millions if you multiply his annual salary by the 12 years he has been busy boondoggling? Did J.D.'s law school training teach him how to be an event planner? Is this why his event planning skills are worth paying him so much money?
This Star-Telegram article brings up a new confusion not seen made mention of previously. Three paragraphs illustrate this...
Fort Worth city manager David Cooke said he asked about evaluations for the executive director’s position when he first joined the authority’s board. At the time, having the position report directly to Oliver, who reports to a separate water district board, made sense and “didn’t raise any red flags.”
But Cooke said the independent review should address whether that command structure works.
“It’s an appropriate question,” he said. “You’ve got the director of the TRVA reporting to the TRWD director, who reports the the water district board, not (the TRVA) board.”
So, apparently we have a Trinity River Vision Authority board of directors (unelected) whose director, J.D. Granger, reports to the Tarrant Regional Water District director, who then reports to the TRWD board of directors, who are elected.
And somehow this mess of nonsense has mismanaged itself into being America's Biggest Boondoggle....
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