The Tarrant Regional Water Board held a meeting on February 15 to discuss numerous policy changes and provide updates on several critical projects that are underway. The Board was tasked with deciding whether to extend the contract of Mark Mazzanti.
Mazzanti is a consultant on the Panther Island project who has faced criticism recently over past employment relationships between himself and the Army Corps of Engineers, who are tasked with completing the flood control portion of the Trinity River project.
Despite questions about the appropriateness of Mazzanti and his role on the project, the Tarrant Regional Water Board voted unanimously to extend his contract for another year. Project General Manager Dan Buhman told the Board that retaining Mazzanti was an important step toward ensuring that the long-delayed project would continue to move forward.
Buhman described the role played by Mazzanti on the project as a coordinator between the Corps and local agencies working on the project.
“The purpose of this work is for Mr. Mazzanti to help us as we continue to coordinate with the Corps,” Buhman told the Board. “There has been some question, for example, now that we have $403 million, do we still need assistance? The reality is that the coordination with the Corps has just begun. There is so much more work that will need to be done as the Corps continues to execute the project.”
Significant concern critics have raised about the retention of Mazzanti is regarding his previous ties to the Corps. He was employed with the Corps until accepting a role with the Trinity River Vision Authority in 2019.
Last year, the Tarrant County Water Authority modified the contract to roll the responsibility of reporting from the Trinity River Vision Authority to the Water Authority board. Questions were raised regarding the legal and ethical implications of a former employee of the Corps being paid to advise on the project.
“I want to say unequivocally that there is zero ethical issue with Mark joining the Water District, and there has been zero legal issues with Mark,” said Buhman. “Mark and I have talked about this, we have talked to attorneys about this, and there have been zero ethical violations and zero legal violations.”
Buhman further explained that Mazzanti was required by law to restrict certain activities for one year following his departure from the Corps, preventing him from specific conversation types. Buhman added that Mazzanti followed the law to the letter through the period required by law.
The new contract will make some changes to the previously reported agreement. Most notably, the contract signed by Mazzanti and Trinity River Vision Authority President G.K. Maenius in November 2019 stipulated that Mazzanti would earn $25,000 per month. The new agreement revises that amount down to only $7,500 monthly.
Buhman explained to the Board that while it may appear that there are two project managers, Mazzanti and J.D. Granger play vital leadership roles on the project, the jobs executed by the two are significantly different. Buhman explained that the difference is reflected in the fact that Granger is an employee of the District, while Mazzanti is solely a consultant.
The Board voted unanimously to extend the contract with Mazzanti for another year, ensuring that the project management will retain continuity as the next phase of construction begins.
