Congresswoman’s daughter-in-law to exit water district

 Folks,

There’s a new reporter in town, and her name is Jessica Priest.

If you haven’t been reading her articles in the Fort Worth Report, you can just start here.

Get your popcorn.

THIS is what reporting looks like. This lady has only been here a hot minute and she’s reported better articles on the TRWD than half of you combined. Maybe more.

Try and keep up, would ya?

Congresswoman’s daughter-in-law to exit water district

Welcome Back!

The stats say you've been missing us, though we are pretty sure it was Mary Kelleher on the Water Board you were actually missing.

Look, we know you had high hopes-

Mary was reelected, there were some newbies on the board and Jim Oliver's 30 year reign was over.  But alas...we've learned except for Mary's return, it's more of the same.  The ousted President, Jack Stevens, (Kay Granger's candidate that came in dead last by the way) made his last act an embarrassing one by signing over $360,000 of your money to Jim Oliver and JD Granger.  Supposedly, unbeknownst to the board (there is some question as to when Marty Leonard knew).  

The board voted to stop the payments and Tarrant County residents breathed a sigh of relief, that they finally had a board representing THEM.

Then came Dan Buhman, the new GM, who was trained by WHO?  You guessed it, Jim Oliver.  The voters had questions on how the process worked when there were no mention of the other candidates and all the emails lead right back to the plan of Dan taking over the show.

And last but not least, when Oliver leaned he wasn't getting his payment, he threatened to sue the board for age discrimination - "one of the things threatened in lawsuit".  Many thought the newbies would stick to their guns and not give the taxpayers money away on another frivolous lawsuit.  Some of the old school knew better.  The vote was once again 4-1.  Welcome back, Mary Kelleher.  We, the taxpayers, have missed you. 

The TRWD has never been afraid to spend your money on a lawsuit.  From employee harassment cases, eminent domain cases, suing Oklahoma to take their water, the IPL pipeline...the list goes on and it's long and very expensive.  So if you run into TRWD board members out and about ask them what they were really afraid of.  YOU deserve to know.

And if you're not reading the Fort Worth report, you're missing out.  They've blown the doors of that Startlegram "news" rag.

Tarrant water district to pay former GM about $257K

Water district board strikes down former president’s attempt to pay retiring GM

Former Tarrant water district manager hired girlfriend despite past nepotism criticism

Water Monopoly

About the TRWD Water Monopoly Mr. Durango had a few words---

Fort Worth's Perplexing High Water Bills & Possible Bypass Ditch Bond Vote

Regarding the TRWD's defense of its water billing problems there is this paragraph in the Star-Telegram article...

“We want to be fair about this,” said Fran Peterson, the Water Department’s customer relations manager. “You always want your customers to feel that we’re not a monopoly. We want to have a good, respectful relationship. This is a way to show we’re there for them. If there’s a problem, we need to identify the problem.”

The TRWD wants its customers to feel they are not a monopoly? But, the TRWD is a monopoly. And the TRWD acts like a monopoly with no competition. The TRWD imposes upon its customers things like the Trinity River Central City Uptown Panther Island District, also known as America's Biggest Boondoggle, without its customers allowed to vote on whether they want to support this pseudo public works project touted as a much needed economic development flood control scheme, where there has been no flood for well over half a century, due to levees already preventing such from happening.

Woodard says....

Dozens of citizens lost their property to the Trinity River Boondoggle. They had the will to preserve their property but did not have the wherewithal to continue the fight.

Eminent Domain! It’s been around a very long time. Its use is recorded in the Bible in the story of Ahab and Jezebel, who coveted and seized poor Naboth’s property. (KJV 1st Kings – Chapter 21).

Dozens of our citizens through the use of eminent domain lost their property to the nepotistic Trinity River Boondoggle which they believe was more for economic development than for flood control. They had the will to preserve their property. They did not have the wherewithal to continue the long fight against their government. They fought bravely, but like the defenders of the Alamo their meager provisions ran out and they were financially slaughtered.

Now comes along Monty Bennett, a man of wealth will who will not be bulldozed or bamboozled by those who hold the levers of authority in their hands. He supports Craig Bickley and Michele Von Luckner for the Water Board. The incumbents are running big ads that blare forth: DON’T LET A DALLAS BUSINESSMAN TAKE CONTROL OF TARRANT’S WATER BOARD.

Bennett’s answer, as reported by a local newspaper: “The entrenched incumbents continue to try and scare the voters with grandiose stories about an evil Dallasite trying to steal their water. This is absurd. For the record, I have no interest in Fort Worth’s water, or the Trinity River Vision or the Integrated Pipeline project. I’ve successfully blocked the TRWD from snatching my mother’s family land in east Texas. My only interest now is to help Mary Kelleher continue the fight against a heavy handed government agency with numerous allegations of corruption, cronyism, and self-dealing, that treats citizens, including me, very poorly while neglecting its core duties of water provision and flood control.”

Bennett is disparaged by his opponents as a Dallas hotelier. True, but the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce could well take note of the fact that Bennett is also a Fort Worth hotelier. He owns the Hilton and Ashton hotels in downtown Fort Worth. Monty Bennett a Dallasite? Horrors! The Chamber might also consider that the Fort Worth Star-Telegram is printed in Dallas but the Fort Worth Chamber reads it just the same.

Texans rose up when the governor of Texas a few years ago proposed a grand multi-lane boulevard all across the state. Its construction would have uprooted farms, ranches and homes from the Gulf to the Red River. Like those Texans at San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, today’s Texans fought and defeated Rick Perry’s land grab, and the Perry super highway was consigned to the dust bin of history.

Even now, ranchers and farmers are up in arms over a proposal to build a bullet train railroad from Dallas to Houston. They are ready to do whatever it takes to preserve their property.

In the 1700s, William Pitt, the prime minister of England, stood up to King George III. Pitt is remembered for his powerful defense of the rights of American colonists. One of his memorable “a man’s home is his castle” speeches that bespeaks the limits of eminent domain rings down the halls of history:

“The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail – its roof may shake – the wind may blow through it – the storm may enter – the rain may enter – but the King of England cannot enter – all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!”

Don Woodard is a Fort Worth businessman and author of Black Diamonds! Black Gold!: The Saga of Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company.

TRWD candidate withdraws

TRWD candidate, Andra Beatty, has withdrawn from the race and is said to be supporting Michele VonLuckner and Craig Bickley.

The ballot drawing was held this morning for the 5 candidates.

The VonLuckner and Bickley campaigns look forward to working with Andra and thank her for her interest and continued involvement in local politics!

Game on!

Drowning in Fort Worth

The Tarrant Regional Water District just keeps on giving.  Not only do they give your money away, they give writers worth their weight all kinds of fodder.

Durango tells you about the latest (probably Fort Worth Star-Telegram driven) attack on Mary Kelleher.

And Don Woodard has been keeping the masses informed by sharing Committees of Correspondence.  Many folks sharing their thoughts on the Trinity River Vision Boondoggle and the TRWD daily.

We'll share one of the more colorful ones here.

Shame on you, Don! 

Criticizing all of those folks just because they’ve found a way to get rich through slick governmental maneuvers regarding the Trinity basin, or the Panther Plain or Rip-Off Acres. Whatever you want to call that area -- and related projects.

That’s called entrepreneurship.

Sounds as if you are jealous that you haven’t dipped into that money bucket. After all it is only taxpayers’ money and so what if none of us had a chance to say yea or nay about these multi-million (soon to be billion) dollar expenditures as they rampaged over the various small businesses that had the fun of being displaced—like it or not. Those Folks know what’s best for us and, of course, it’s just coincidental that it happens to be good for them, maybe you might say, even overwhelmingly good for them…and their relatives and buddies. Like building bridges over water that doesn’t exist—and may never exist!. And anyway, who says bridges have to be built over water. But you should be pleased, because as a taxpayer you’ll be able to cross  over them to get to NoWhereVille. And use them instead of the perfectly adequate bridges that already exist – but aren’t shining, new and sexy—and unexcitedly, are already paid for!

So, Mr. Woodard, rather than complain, why don’t you do something positive—like getting into the action. Just offer the city a contract to build another bridge to go no where and where there is no water. (When you think of it, it makes a lot sense because it is easier to build a bridge where there is no water.) And you must have some brother or son or third cousin once removed you could assign to draw pictures of the bridge-to-be. And they certainly shouldn’t do it for free. And others to be consultants and managers. And every project needs a supreme director with at least a half dozen assistant directors. You certainly must have a son or daughter that would accept an appointment to that position. And, remember, a perquisite definitely is: no experience necessary.

So here’s my advice to you young man:

Simply stated: Rather than complaining, join the gang…oops, sorry about that. I mean…join the civic group, and as a good parent should do: hire your sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, godfathers and godmothers, second cousins once and twice removed. I hope this helped you to see the light! Now get busy and get rich. And don’t bother to clutter up citizens’ minds and the news media with announcements letting them know what you are proposing. And definitely don’t let them give their opinions and by no means should they be able to vote on such boondoggles…Oops again! I meant to say: “such civic projects.”

P.S. Belated thought: Besides taking care of relatives, don’t forget your friends…and I think of myself as one of your good friends and admirers. That fourth bridge you would be designing could be a toll bridge and
because I thought of it, you could make me chief toll collector (so,OK, OK…I’ll give you a percentage kick back). Just a thought.

WHO pays?

That would be YOU.

Read Clyde's editorial in the Fort Worth Business Press.

Between them and the Weekly, FW does have a newspaper after all.

Don't mess with Texas Women

Or the Fort Worth Weekly.  They are the only game in town.

What's your other local "news" paper up to?  We'll show you that later.  Right now we're sharing real news.

fwweekly.com/2013/06/27/breaking-news/

Kelleher said Wednesday evening that, following delivery of her letter, she had received an e-mail reply from Oliver indicating that some of the records did not exist, that some of them would be mailed to her, and that on others, the water district staff would seek an opinion from the state attorney general as to whether they had to release the documents. She said Oliver wrote that the water district staff would search for records regarding lobbyists and respond later.

She also asked for e-mails sent to political consultant Bryan Eppstein, documents reflecting contracts with and payments to lobbyists, records of payments to the engineering firm of Freese & Nichols over the last three and a half years, and all of the e-mail correspondence of TRWD board members, Oliver, planning director Wayne Own, and J.D. Granger, executive director of the Trinity River Vision Authority, over approximately the past two months.

Additionally Kelleher asked for numerous documents relating to any real estate transactions between the water district and Oliver or any entity controlled or owned by him.

She said that Oliver’s response, following her letter, indicated that there are no records of any real estate transactions between Oliver and the water district.

Kelleher said that in response to her initial request, King had earlier told her that no minutes or recordings exist of executive sessions or of meetings of the construction committee.

In the letter, she wrote that if Oliver continues to block what she considers to be proper oversight of the water district, “I will be forced to take all necessary actions to fulfill my duties. … I will not be stopped or intimidated in my efforts to fulfill my responsibilities.”

Bad Boys, Bad Boys

What you gonna do when she comes for you?

KERA gives their take on what went down in the TRWD board meeting Tuesday.

Whichever side you're on, you have to admit, the woman has a point.

And by the way, "balked" can be translated into was rude as hell.

From the KERA article.....

Board member Jim Lane balked.

“Why would we want to spend taxpayer funds on another lawyer if we have lawyers already hired by the taxpayers?” questioned Lane.

To which Kelleher pointed out, the district had just lost a legal battle with Oklahoma over water rights that cost the district more than $6 million.

“No offense to our current council but we just lost a huge suit, quite embarrassing. If that was the opinion of our legal counseling I would like an outside one,” responded Kelleher. 

Then some rolled their eyes as Kelleher asked why the engineering firm of Freese and Nichols seemed to be awarded an abundance of work on a new pipeline and other projects.

“When you look at the agendas all you see is Freese and Nichols. Are they the only engineering firm?” Kelleher asked.

Just.Stop.Talking.

The manager of the TRWD speaks on the 6 year, $6 million dollar lawsuit against Oklahoma.

WHERE do you think they got the $6 mil?  If you guessed YOU, you guessed correctly.

Notice how “continued growth and prosperity” remain one of their top priorities.  Funny, we thought their priorities were supposed to be water and flood control.

Did you Float with Feces at the Rocking the River event Thursday?  What did that cost?

Someone tell Oliver to put our money down and hush.

At least they “will look at other options to provide water” now.  Citizens have been asking them to for years.  They were too busy wakeboarding and restaurant building.

If they think the answer is the pipeline (the one their own staff doesn’t recommend and they are being sued over) or Marvin Nichols, maybe we need a new manager…

While we're at it, could we get some new attorney's too?  Cause any who thought this was a good idea need to go.  Stat.

Jim Oliver, general manager of the Tarrant Regional Water District, said that he is disappointed with the decision and that the district will look at other options to provide water for the region.

Securing additional water resources is essential to North Texas’ continued growth and prosperity and will remain one of our top priorities,” Oliver said, adding that the district spent about $6 million fighting the case in court.

Oliver said the district will continue to work with Oklahoma to see whether a deal can be struck for the purchase of water. “We’re still going to try to continue discussions with Oklahoma to see if some kind compromise can be reached, but I’m not going to bet the farm on it,” he said.

“The population in our service area is expected to double over the next 50 years, so we will act quickly to develop new sources,” Oliver said.

Read more here.

WHAT did he say?

As if you needed another reason to vote for BNK on Saturday.

Jim Oliver, TRWD General Manager gives you one.

Vote em' out!

If anyone knows, it's Adrian Murray.  He ran for the Tarrant Regional Water District last time (the election before the one they voted to cancel).   They went after him the same way they are Timothy Nold.  They aren't very original as they are going after John Basham for the same thing this time, too.  Exerpt from Durango:

Meanwhile, John Basham, an actual contributor to American society, was injured while serving his country, with the consequence, as happens to way too many who serve, of John Basham running into financial woes, whilst recovering from his injuries.

Below is what Adrian has to say about the late taxes, (NOT unpaid).  Any reliable "news" source could have found that information.  Wonder why the ST didn't?

My disdain for the methods of the TRWD board is well known. I have read years worth of board meeting minutes where it is so obvious to anyone with a pulse that the board does not act as an impartial board overseeing the interests of the pu...blic, but is nothing more than a sham, an agent for the private companies they are shelling out money and favors to, a mouthpiece for an extravagantly well-compensated staff who stumbled upon a gold mine known as the Barnett Shale and concocted schemes to share this bounty among themselves and some friends. Whether the members of the board personally gain from this is doubtful and really immaterial. That they look the other way in their marathon sessions voting unanimously to approve everything the staff puts before them is enough to disqualify them from ever being in a position of public trust.

Now, for the first time ever, there is a serious threat to the syndicate which operates out of a sprawling and expanding Taj Mahal on Northside Drive. When I ran for this board in 2010 along with John Basham, we were woefully underfunded and could only scrape together enough money for two mailers. We never really had a chance, but we did open some eyes as to the dirty deeds taking place on the banks of the Trinity River.

But our meager possibilty of actually dethroning Marty Leonard and Jim Lane did not stop stop their campaign team from going all out slime on us. On the day before election day, a mailer hit voters' mail boxes in the district stating that I had recently moved to the area from California "leaving behind a string of tax liens." never mind that the statement was patently false. There simply was no chance at all to refute it as the final vote was the very next day.

They are very good at this, these sultans of slime. They did it last week with Andy (Timothy) Nold. On Monday of last week a letter appeared in mailboxes throughout the area, ostensibly written by Marty Leonard, stating that one of the challengers was a tax deadbeat being sued by the district. (Oddly, this charge came in a letter decrying the tactics of the challengers who were, if they did not stop, about to make our dear sweet board of directors cry.) This was followed a week later by the incumbents with a repeat of the tax deadbeat line.

Of course, none of it was true, as you can see from this pic. It was made up out of whole cloth by a cabal desperate to keep its secrets from being revealed. They'll do and say anything, defile anyone in any way they can, to keep the people out of their vault.

Vote 'em out.

Once a Watchdog,

Always a Watchdog.

Dave Lieber, the 20 year Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter, who was laid off, is still watching out for you.  On his Facebook this week he posted the following:

Pet peeve: When officials running for reelection use public money to send out a glossy 12-page "annual report" that arrives one week before the election. That's what the Tarrant Regional Water District did. Campaigning disguised as public business. And these are the same dudes that postponed their own election for a year. Unchallenged power on an issue of major importance. WRONG.

To be honest, maybe it's a good thing Dave doesn't work for the paper anymore. 

The Fort Worth Weekly had the best article on Dave's departure.  We noticed we got a shout out over there from a reader.  Thanks, LA!

Thank heavens for the F W Weekly and the Star Telegraph website – you both are the best source of real news happening in this area.

And another one had a great point about the paper and politics -

The Weekly continues to surge past the Startlegram as the voice of the people. Time for the Star Telegram to recognize that its political intrigues on behalf of the Fort Worth power structure has caused it to go the way of the dinosaur.

Double Talk

The incumbent endorsing Fort Worth Star-Telegram has been endorsing incumbents today.

We know, no surprise.

Thing is, do they read their own opinion pieces?  There's one that says we need a "fresh start" and one that says "Change is inevitable", then they tell you not to change a thing. Over the years, they agree the board is secretive and votes unanimously without discussion and yet they say keep them?  WHY would they say that?

They mention the board members are all in their late sixties and seventies and have served from 10 - 29 years.  If they have served on the board that long, WHO do YOU think they really work for?

Here are some quotes from the OPINION pieces.  Good thing most folks we know think the ST opinion is as worthless as the paper it is printed on.

Do YOURSELF a favor, vote BNK and take YOUR water board back.

But they have been less successful at nurturing younger and more diverse board leadership to continue that work for another 50 years.

Directors also say they want to expand the board's "Lawn Whisperer" conservation campaign.

For voters interested in change -- and with some good reason -- the roster of challengers is thin.

That's true. Directors say they comply with state law, but they could choose to give more public notice and deliberate more openly. They have not.

Nold also is critical of no-bid contracts issued by the Trinity River Vision Authority, a separate agency that oversees the Trinity Uptown floodway project near downtown. Henderson and the water district general manager, Jim Oliver, also sit on the authority's board.

Whats in the Trinity River, again?

Kudos to WFAA for finally testing the water in the Trinity River and calling attention to it.

Mind you the numbers they will be posting are from City of FW and TRWD.  The same who weren't  testing the water while promoting the summer tubing series.  Oh and their spokesman says 'you still would not be able to tell the public it's safe'

Feel better?

Thanks to Chris Hawes and Libby Willis for finally getting it done.  Citizens getting it done.  We like it.

Tarrant County Early Voting Continues Low Turnout for Races Including TRWD

ONLY 1,807 PEOPLE HAVE VOTED SO FAR IN THE

TARRANT REGIONAL WATER DISTRICT

ELECTION DURING EARLY VOTING.

THIS DISTRICT HAS OVER 230,000 REGISTERED VOTERS!

...THIS MEANS YOUR VOTE IN THIS ELECTION
CARRIES MUCH MORE WEIGHT THAN NORMAL...

Murray & Basham Ask Hard Questions

Culture of Corruption at TRWD ?

Fort Worth, Texas - April 29, 2010 - After last weeks revelation in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that board members routinely hold discussions, debate, receive briefings, and make decisions in committee well before their vote in an "open meeting". Adrian Murray and John Basham have question the legal issues regarding these board members ignoring the Texas Open Meetings Laws. Further, Murray and Basham fear these directors have opened the district to serious legal challenge of all decision made while this process has been in place over the last four years.

The Texas Attorney General's guide to open meetings shows this is an even more significant issue with this board as it acts as a "RUBBER STAMP" for all decisions coming before the board over the last fours years. This board has voted unanimously to approve all actions recommended from committees 100% of the time during this period.

Signs Disappear & Owners Intimidated

Over the last few days the Murray and Basham campaign have been getting a number of reports from property owners that they have been called by one of their opponents and bullied into having their campaign signs removed.

Mr. Basham said, "Imagine getting a call from an elected official who has the power of eminent domain, taxing, and your water rates at their control." He went on to say,"I expect that is one tense phone call. When your asked why our signs are on your property. Clearly it's bullying and it's wrong!"

While the complaints from property owners and campaign supporters continue to arrive. The Murray and Basham campaign is reminding everyone, "Signs don't win elections votes do. If our opponents want to spend their days tracking down owners names and numbers where our signs reside to spread around a little intimidation and bullying, so be it." They have also said, "We'll spend our time talking to the voters and spreading the truth about the out of control 'Culture of Corruption' at the Tarrant Regional Water District."

Culture of Corruption? You Bet!

Adrian Murray and John Basham have spent the last few months talking to organizations and voters about the out of control "Culture of Corruption" at the Tarrant Regional Water District.

They have explained how the management, not the board, is setting the agenda and how that same management is living high on-the-hog using your tax dollars as their very own personal piggy bank.

In a mailer set to arrive in homes across the district early this next week. The campaign spells out just a small sampling of the ways this District and this Board continue to operate under this "Culture of Corruption"

About Adrian and John
Find out more about Adrian and John and their plan to put Tarrant Regional Water District back in the business of Water Supply and Flood Control and out of the Overspend "Culture of Corruption" that currently resides in that districts leadership.

Find Out More Here