Water district sued over Panther Island Oktoberfest conflict

In this lawsuit, acrimony overflows from a beer stein. Conflict that appears to be connected to the financial entanglements and the branding of an Oktoberfest event in the Panther Island area in Fort Worth this week led a former Tarrant Regional Water District project coordinator to file a lawsuit against the district. The district in March issued a permit to Shanna Granger that allowed her to rent a structure known as the shack to be used in late September for the German cultural celebration. The water district on Thursday withdrew the permit and had telegraphed its plans earlier this month. The lawsuit, filed on Monday in 48th District Court in Tarrant County, sought a temporary restraining order to require that the water district restore the permit. Judge Chris Taylor on Tuesday denied the order application. Granger is the wife of JD Granger, who in April stepped down from his 16-year role as head of the Panther Island/Central City project. The district signed a six-month, $72,000 consulting contract with JD Granger.

The district’s board adopted in October 2021 a new policy on nepotism that prohibits employees from directly supervising relatives. Granger had been his wife’s direct supervisor before she left the district the following month. A water district representative suggested on Thursday to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that it may have a response to the claims in the lawsuit on Friday. From 2014 to 2019, the district-affiliated Trinity River Vision Authority produced Oktoberfest Fort Worth under Shanna Granger’s management, according to the lawsuit. No Oktoberfest event took place in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned in September under Shanna Granger and was funded by the district’s recreation allotment. As she neared her departure, Granger told district management that she planned to privately produce an Oktoberfest this year. She created a business, Prost Production, LLC. Water District General Manager Dan Buhman called Shanna Granger in May and said that TRWD was considering rescinding the permit because of concerns that the event would appear too much like the Oktoberfest that TRWD produced last year, according to the lawsuit. Shanna Granger changed the event name and hired a firm to create new event branding, including a different logo.