Former Panther Island chief tried to quit in August. The district convinced him to stay
JD Granger, who recently stepped down from his 16-year role as head of the Panther Island/Central City project, intended to leave much earlier, according to emails obtained by the Star-Telegram through a public records request.
Granger gave his 30-day notice in an Aug. 19 email to district officials, and did not list his reasoning for stepping down.
The email came a month after the board revoked $60,000 of extra paid time awarded to Granger by outgoing board president Jack Stevens.
Granger’s initial resignation letter came shortly after a conversation between him an general manager Dan Buhman about proposed management changes at the water district, Buhman wrote in an email to the Star-Telegram.
District emails show Buhman reached out for a second face-to-face meeting with Granger to allay his fears about the changes.
“As a result of a second discussion with him about the organization’s path forward, he decided there were some additional things that needed to be accomplished on the Central City project before his departure,” Buhman wrote.
The two agreed Granger would stay on until at least March 2022 while working on a transition plan for when Granger left the district, according to the emails.
Granger announced his intention to leave the district and form his own consulting company in a Facebook post on April 21. On April 25, the district announced it signed a six-month, $72,000 consulting contract with Granger, although emails suggest this arrangement was being discussed as early as February.
In an April 25 interview with the Star-Telegram, Buhman said Granger received the consulting contract because of his years of experience with the Central City and Panther Island project.
“He brings a knowledge of all the project elements, all the project history, and how we can use this information to get the project completed,” Buhman said.
In January, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it would spend $403 million on a 1.5 mile bypass channel as part of the Central City Flood Control Project. The funding will come from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November 2021.
Granger did not responded to a request for comment.
The water district’s board was not made aware of Granger’s intention to leave nor his new consulting contract, board member Mary Kelleher said.
“I’m disappointed in Dan and I think the board should have been made aware of what JD was doing,” Kelleher said.
However, the board rarely gets involved in staff level decisions, board president Leah King said.
The board only gets involved in egregious cases of employee misconduct, King said, referencing the $60,000 paid time off decision by Stevens and a separate payment of $300,000 worth of unearned paid time off to former general manager Jim Oliver.
“JD’s decision to leave would have no bearing on the board, and is something he’d have to work out with the general manager,” King said.
Granger’s $72,000 consulting contract is under the district’s $75,000 threshold that requires board approval for contracts.
“Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should,” Kelleher said.
Granger, the son of U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, has long faced scrutiny for accusations of nepotism.
The board adopted new rules regarding nepotism in October 2021 that prohibit employees from directly supervising family members.
Granger had been his wife’s direct supervisor before she left the district days before the board adopted the stricter policy.
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 2:47 PM.
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