Panther Island Consultant Made $25K Monthly To Shepherd Project

Arlington TX

15 February, 2022

7:37 PM

Description

By Rachel Behrndt, Fort Worth Report February 14, 2022 The Trinity River Vision Authority hired consultant Mark Mazzanti in 2019 to help bring the controversial Central City Flood Project, better known as Panther Island, out of federal funding purgatory. Mazzanti provided inside knowledge of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers because he was recently employed by the agency that oversees federal infrastructure projects, including the construction of the 1.5-mile bypass channel needed to achieve the goals of the Central City plan. To supporters of the Central City Flood Project, his presence was an asset. To critics, it was a conflict of interest. On Tuesday, the fate of Mazzanti's contract will be determined at the Tarrant Regional Water District Board meeting. The board will vote to extend Mazzanti's contract two weeks after the Trinity River Vision Authority, which coordinates the flood control portion of the Panther Island project for the Water District, recommended the contract be extended so that Mazzanti can continue to coordinate with the corps on other project partners. Members of the Water District Accountability Project, an activist group that has pushed for a financial audit of the district, have raised concerns about the legality of Mazzanti's hiring since 2019. Former state Rep. Lon Burnam said the group is concerned with the legality and ethics of Mazzanti leaving the corps in November 2019 and immediately joining the water board as a consultant. To read the full article, click here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.