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welcome back to fortitude everybody the giggling voice is that one of Brenton Payne my co-host JW Wilson here we have
with us today the infrastructure King Mr Bill Meadow sit between us hello Mr Bill how are you guys Bill thanks for being
here with you to cap text bank for making this all possible we know Mike up upstairs at cap text you know pushes all
the buttons and pulls all the strings to make all this beautiful stuff happen and he allows us to have great guests like this this guy by the way interesting cat
one of the great bills of the world that I’ve looked at is a lot better than It’s You Know The Cosby’s and the clintons
and the Russells and the and there’s lots of bills right this guy is a member of the DFW Airport board of directors
the chair of the high-speed rail commission DFW chairman emeritus of Hub International the most important thing
we’re talking about today coach chairman of the Fort Worth report I’m reading this so I hope you don’t mind that’s fine you’re reminding me it’s like an
obituary yes there’s lots more to go mayor Pro tem which I like to ask you
about that in a second because I don’t even know what that means but I know that’s it’s a big deal former Tech stock commissioner Texas water development
board a pony uh bachelor’s degree from the Southwestern University in some place in Grantham England harlexton
institutes where you’re a graduate from where the hell’s harlexden it’s in Lincolnshire about 120 miles north of
London and how did you arrive there it was a it was a program that was related to Southwestern University okay that was
about 50 years ago who’s the soccer team from there is Lincolnshire have its own I don’t know I don’t remember that was
so long ago I don’t remember well grateful for your time Bill for sure so I’m supposed to I know this
comment is coming out but this guy knows quite a bit about infrastructure in this town because he tells me all the time about it but I got to believe you know a
thing or two more than this guy fair to say I don’t know about that I mean he certainly is an expert well we’re
titling you the infrastructure king or the info King yeah King yes okay well it’s I think at one time you told me
Bill he said look developing economies need what like you can you can answer you know go ahead well it’s about I mean
public infrastructure is is foundational uh to any Community to any state any
region to any country I mean without the the the adequate predictable reliable
um sources of water for example uh wastewater treatment um roadway infrastructure Aviation rail
without those fundamentals I mean civilizations basically are built on the
foundation of infrastructure so what is that important it is foundational and you’ve you’ve managed to find a life
completely surrounded by it but where did that come from I mean was it were you sitting over there in Lincolnshire one day and said damn I’m just so
fascinated by all this hell where the where the toilets flush and all that like how does that come about well I
mean that’s a good question it really is uh 30 years ago I would say as a member of the Fort Worth City Council as we
wrestled with aging infrastructure um very specifically our our public
streets in Fort Worth um and this is 1990 91. also water was a
big issue and you know I became involved as a the city City’s representative
ontaren Regional Water District’s Advisory Board um and got to know water and then began
to really appreciate and understand the complexity of the delivery of raw water to large populations and at the same
time uh Focus somewhat on on City roadway that just led to a lifelong
interest in in recognition of the importance of infrastructure and um
I guess I guess that really was the Genesis of my interest you started off going to school at Pascal High School
correct that’s right did did you have when you were at school then is this kind of what you want to do with your
life or did you when did this become part of the thing and from Paschal High School what was uh what was going on in your life at that time and let me ask
you this it’s 17 or 18. did you know what you wanted to do or have an inkling at all right
I know what my yeah I know what my focus was and it was not on infrastructure right right leave it at that yeah fair
question fair question what was happening in Fort Worth when back in those days Paschal high school if you mind me asking uh Fort Worth is is just
bigger but it’s the same you know I mean it really was I mean it was a Fort Worth is a wonderful place to grow up and I
believe still is yes sir city council then to water development board right
somewhere was that because of this aha moment of boy the city pays for this water where
does this water planting that kind of thing come from you know because you seem to be a curious guy like the next well there actually was in the in the
lieutenant governor Bob Bullock in this legislative session in 1997. uh
recognized that Texas was really deficient in terms of water planning planning for the entire State and he
created a a plan uh it was actually embodied in Senate bill one out of that
session yeah and they they came out with a process by which we we uh was dictated
stipulated as to what the what the actual um process would be
um to plan for for Texas future water needs over a 50-year horizon and each
part of the state was divided into into smaller units and those those units produced plans that became Amalgamated
into the state water plan I would was appointed to by the water development board to our regional Planning Group
okay and really learned a lot and I I for some reason um ended up basically being elevated if
you will from from the region our Region’s Planning Group to the actual state water board which is a five-member
board appointed by the governor I was actually appointed by by then Governor Bush okay will you tell us about some of
the issues that we’re facing as far as water’s turned out yeah absolutely Hot Topic it is and it’s it’s it’s it’s it
seems to be always uh more pronounced in the middle of a drought because we recognize the challenges you know the
state water plan basically as I mentioned focuses on a 50-year horizon
and it’s it’s real it’s it’s basically simple in terms of the in terms of the components it is an assessment working
with a state demographer of what the state’s population will look like and then from that
um a calculation is made of what the demand per capita will be and you
project out over a 50-year period Then do a calculation of what current supplies are and reliable supplies are
and then at some different points in in in in in the future you can determine very quickly if there is a deficiency
and how great that deficiency is and what parts of the state very specifically and so what it basically
says is that this state is going to be water short in that 30 to 50 year
Horizon and very closer to home in our region uh despite some significant
efforts advancing and increasing our water supplies a lot to conservation and reuse
um but we’re going to have some challenges that are going to need to be met and many will argue that that
conservation and reuse will not enable us to accomplish it and we’re going to need to look for a new water source
within the state or or possibly across state lines I mean well possibly across
state lines it certainly has been a possibility although as we’ve looked to Oklahoma there are many obstacles
statutorily and legally that have come into play that that that that that that that will that will be make that
difficult uh there is a a proposed Reservoir in East Texas on the sulfur
River um called tentatively called the Marvin Nichols Reservoir huge uh would be a
huge water supply but but with an undate vast areas of of pristine and
ecologically important lands so probably be a major fight over that was already
controversial when I was on the board in 2000 2001 and it’s even more controversial today there’s been a lot
written about it there have been other other possibilities uh Toledo Bend is an existing Reservoir be a long long pull
by Pipeline and mostly uphill and that’s very expensive but that too is an alternative there are many Alternatives
have been that have been identified and so you know you you got to applaud tarent Regional water district and
Dallas water utilities is working together in a collaborative fashion they’ve got a project right now that
that’s that’s bringing water into Lake uh Palestine and
Palestine up to up to uh Cedar Creek it’s a billion and a half or more dollar
project very Innovative and going to to extend uh our capacity extensively into
the future so I think the I think good forces are at work here to address those issues but I think the bottom line of
all this is we’re going to need more water and it’s going to be more expensive and we’re going to witness that maybe from States out in the west
sure beforehand to help them yeah this is not meant to be a funny question but do you guys ever discuss like the
50-year plan like what happens in in a severe drought when water does not come what happens to a city like Fort Worth
is there an idea what would happen like Doomsday worst case scenario no because because because of the because of
planning and uh and and water infrastructure development beginning in
the 1950s really after the 1950s drought our region got very serious about water
because it recognized exactly what you’ve said that that in in the 1950s we were really water short and we you know
leadership in the 50s ended the 60s 80s and 70s said this isn’t going to happen again so we’ve been developing
systematically and thoughtfully Water Resources ever since the 50s yes sir and
um I I think with with a with a planning Horizon of 50 years
um I I I think we will I think we’ll figure out a way to meet our water needs and I don’t think we’re going to be
there because we’re going to be ahead of it but I I’d have to emphasize again the
expense of that you know that the next Water Resource that we develop is going to be very expensive that’s an amazing
conversation you I mean I so like you remember the story or we’ve all read the story about Lake Mead out in Las Vegas
sure it’s so low that Las Vegas is talking having these same conversations and I got to believe any city is doing
the same thing you’re talking about right now planning for the future water so while we’re doing this you’re doing these things everybody else is doing the
same thing so water is obviously being talked about a lot and being stretched thin and then a city like Las Vegas is
saying that they’re going to be out of water in the next 10 years or something and they’re finding all these ships and bodies and things in the lake now
because it’s so low yeah but this is an amazing topic like people take for granted such a simple thing like water it really could be a a bad deal if we
don’t do the things you’re doing the 50-year plan you’re speaking of well it’s interesting the the we are I guess in uh
uh probably the fourth plan because the state the statute dictates that that the
plan be revised every five years so it extends out that 50 years continues yeah 20 years ago it’s like 2001 when Senate
bill one went through right approximately well it was 1997 was the was the session in which Senate bill one
was passed okay um and every fifth year and so the first plan was was produced I believe we I was
on that board then I believe it was in 2000 or 2001 that we actually produced the very first plan
um but that plan is dynamic you know it’s revised every year a lot of interesting components in those plans I
mean for one thing you know the primary the the largest consumer of water in the state of Texas is agriculture okay I
mean that’s just you know you’d think it would be Agriculture and irrigation I guess that’s the way to say it because
you know golf courses and Lawns and you take an area like the Dallas Fort Worth area where where we landscape
extensively uh versus an area like El Paso where they don’t and there’s a
reason they don’t is because their water resources are so limited so our per capita of
consumption of water I mean per person in the Dallas Fort Worth area probably still averages about 250 gallons and I’m
going to guess El Paso is 120 per per person per person per year per day per
day holy cow the showers you know and and also we need to stop
showering I think to do our part Britain’s I didn’t shower this morning because it’s an honor for Bill well but
it’s yeah it’s about you know you can appreciate what’s what’s into all those numbers is the uh uh is the irrigation
sprinklers I mean this is you know we run our sprinklers well I mean you know the long term the long-term uh uh one of
the long-term fixes if you will is going to be continuing to to reduce that that that
consumption and but that’s that’s into the future I think we can we can all still have our St Augustine Lawns for a
little while long well but then to take it to a more macro level that’s something that I asked you you know we
talked about water rights and who’s able to pull from various sources like rivers and who’s able to jam this up because if
I damn up a river here I’m stopping you from your use so who has the rights but then you were really articulate one time
and you said to me well Britain I mean the source of marine life begins in these bays and so maybe get into that
bill well there’s the there’s there’s there and then there’s that I mean it is it is it’s you know some of our our our
our our reuse efforts are really interesting utilizing these Wetland cells in the in the Richland Chambers uh
Richard Chambers Reservoir southeast of Fort Worth which is one of Tarrant Regional water districts uh Premier
reservoirs and really very important to our system you know the Trinity River Flows that direction we actually they
Tarrant region water district pulls water out of the Trinity that is that is largely treated Wastewater from Dallas
Fort Worth if you get Downstream from Dallas that water is pulled out and pumped into a series of several thousand
acres of wetlands these Wetland cells and then that natural process cleans
that water remarkably well that water goes back into Richmond Chambers and is piped back up to to Fort
Worth so it’s basically a circulation system and what that means though is that water
as it continues to say in circulation does not stay in the river and ultimately go into Trinity Bay you know
and what we know is that that much marine life you know is is is is is is
created in in our base systems and that means
that fresh water is an essential element to that the mix of fresh and salt and
you know we have to ensure that we have a constant flow of fresh water into our
Bay and Estuary systems so there’s a whole environmental overlay that further complicates this this this question yeah
this is not a simple question no and and far too long has been probably spent on
it because you’ve lived a big life and we need to get to other parts well it’s just that and I must say that that Mike
you know my water experience was I left the state water board in 2008 so I’m a
little rusty on some of this but I still remember a lot of it then so water oh go
ahead Jayden I was like can we step into the the International Airport board that you’re currently serving on real briefly
tell us about that and what what issues you’re facing with the airport real quick if we can go to TxDOT because yeah you went water to TxDOT right I did much
I did well I did I actually uh stepped down from the water board and within a month or so I can’t remember exactly but
very quickly uh in the in Rick Perry’s Administration I moved to uh the the
TxDOT commission so we’re going from flushing the toilet taking a shower to driving to work that’s correct and the
importance of that and moving of the goods that we have in our home so take us through that then just a again a very
complex proposition uh hugely expensive I mean the Texas Department of
Transportation operates uh the most extensive system of system of roadways and bridges in the entire country that
probably comes as no surprise it’s 80 000 miles of road it’s a it’s a it’s extraordinary and
um with a population that was growing dramatically
um and not enough Capital capacity to meet uh demand
that equation yields uh congestion in the extreme and we begin to to the
commission right before I came on had already embarked upon or launched a
pretty uh ambitious and Innovative program of utilizing public-private Partnerships where we actually put State
monies into projects with private developers and we were able to leverage
oh probably three a dollar three times
so we were building roads in some cases with 30 cents of State dollars if you
will and 65 to 70 cents of of public dollars which enables us enabled us to
stretch the state resources out significantly and while I was there it was really interesting in the metric
lights alone in in combination with the North Texas Tollway Authority board and I also served as Vice chair of that one
previously but but that was a a really interesting because we developed in that
six-year period of just over 18 billion dollars in roadway infrastructure in
this region including for Fort Worth the uh the the the uh Chisholm Trail Parkway
which we’re sitting right on today so you know it’s really it’s amazing to see what all was developed and since I left
the Commission in 2013 I think about the population growth in this region and
we’re not building roadways um uh our expanding roadways at the rate we need to to continue to meet this this
growth when you’re looking at a million people every 10 years um it would be it’s going to be
difficult it’s going to be really challenging to do that it may not be possible I think we’re going to live with congestion but
um we’ve got to continue to commit to do that it and the state has some some
fundamental challenges that I don’t think people really think about that and that is everybody thinks we pay for our
road because we buy uh we there’s a uh there’s a gaslink tax and you think well
Tesla think about electric cars you look at electric vehicles and they
are driving on that roadway consuming the same basic amount of space that you are having the same basic roadway impact
and they’re not paying anything and you’re paying all of it but more interesting to me and maybe more
complicated is the fact that that when the gas tax was last increased in the early 90s in Texas you know the the the
the the the gas mileage of the average vehicle was probably 15 miles to gallon
it’s probably 30 today well we vowed to continue to drive SUVs for that so for that just to keep keep that Revenue keep
that Revenue coming in well that’s again yes so yeah I mean a lot of us still you
know have a ranch truck you know we we’ve earned plenty of gas you know particularly put a trailer but you’re right it’s just like and I think that
that’s where we are without getting way into this sure and then we’ll get to the DFW sure because you’ll probably be able
to articulate it on airlines too there there’s ideas and movement and Technology but there’s still this old
school if you will way of doing things that is still providing the the basis of
all of this stuff right right well I mean the the bottom line of that of that Finance conversation is very simple and
that is there are many many more roads on the on the on on our roadways in Texas that are paying less
on the roads yeah and and and so we’ve had to look at other sources of revenue
and we’re going to have to figure out the the electric vehicle a question that will have to be it’s only fair to
everybody um so you know I I see Texas continues to advance in advancing uh roadway
infrastructure we need to get back to utilizing uh public-private Partnerships
again in a major way um you know I I always the projects that
I was involved in uh at the TX top level if there were tolls involved there had
to be a free alternative you know and that’s true with the projects we did in the Metroplex their toll Lanes but if
you don’t want to pay the toll you don’t have to pay the toll and um I think and as a result of utilizing
those again we probably developed three times more miles of roadway than we
would have just straight up financing those with State dollars yeah so that’s kind of where I see the state’s
Transportation feature that’s really interesting bill I seriously we could spend an hour on each of these times but yeah now we move to the DFW Airport okay
what are some issues that are facing the airport right now and what what’s going tell us what’s going on well let’s begin with this DFW airport right now
um is from a passenger side number of passengers that come through DFW Airport
we’re positioned as as the second busiest airport in the world oh wow I don’t think people know that absolutely
I mean we have we serve over 250 non-stop destinations uh on a daily
basis you could get to anywhere in this country
um virtually anywhere in this country from DFW Airport non-stop not to mention 71 International destinations people
don’t recognize that we have probably 12 to 14 million it’s off a little bit
because of covid coming back but but International passengers and we serve Asia
you think about the the countries that that we serve International extensive
system in Europe South America Mexico and the Middle East number two in the world who’s number one well Atlanta from
a passenger standpoint I’ll be them and what’s interesting about that I just just throw this out you know Atlanta
as a single airport and they have about they have just over a hundred thousand passengers we’ll have 78 probably some
sorry 100 100 million passengers we have we’ll probably have I think budgeted to
have 78 million in this in the in this year um Atlanta is a single airport serving
serving that region but our region currently is served by two airports and if you had the the passenger totals of
the two our air traffic is in passenger account is very similar uh but but that’s just that’s all about
bragging rights the fact is that more importantly and significantly it has
been the single most um uh important and dynamic uh economic
Catalyst for this region if you look at corporate relocations uh and you look at
new businesses um DFW Airport would be at the very top of their list as to why they located
here I mean if you if we walked over to Toyota in Plano today and say why are
you here absent DFW they would not be here right they’re non-stop I mean they have
non-stop flights on a daily basis to Japan on a daily basis Kubota you know just go down the list of
companies that are here the big relocations The Fortune 500 companies but not just the Fortune 500 companies
you know it’s it is all the the the the smaller business that’s that cumulatively are maybe more important
like the tentacles that come off of those sure absolutely absolutely it’s like an exponential effect so that is a
uh now you know DFW Airport as a facility is is basically a city you know
you’re talking about um the economic impact of DFW is
estimated to be about 40 billion on an annual basis 40 billion amazing it really is and you look at the number of
direct employees I mean the employment base out there is several hundred thousand you know by the time you go
through the the Airlines and the suppliers and the and the concessionaires um DFW we have about 2 000 employees
direct employees in the airport um but it’s really an exciting place and and and and sometimes I don’t think I
really appreciate what we have um you know well think about it you live in Austin you got to get on a little
jaunt to come to DFW like this is the place that you leave that’s right and from all over in in I guess exceeding
Houston too with those flights right well Houston’s about 40 in the 40s 40 40
million passengers we’re at close to 80. yeah so that tells you sure Bill Hoffman is a board meet at the airport how can
you deal with airport issues the actual board meetings are the first week of
every month and there are a series of committee meetings um I currently chair the operations
committee having I cheered the board in the past um but now I chair the operations committee the Committees of the board
meet uh the first Tuesday of every month and then the full board meets
um the full board meets on the third first Thursday of every month um but in addition to that
particularly the committee chairs are pretty involved right on a weekly basis
in a number of different issues I imagine this is some intense meetings you guys are having with all this going on that you just said holy cow it’s so
okay so then let now let’s move to because some people might um think that these compete with each other the
high-speed rail stuff yeah so how does that all work and how does it work in your mind too where clearly you think
there’s enough for everybody enough people here to move all over oh absolutely I mean given you’ll if you
step back and talk about just remember what I was talking about in terms of our roadway infrastructure and congestion you look at the links between uh our
major metropolitan areas in the state of Texas and you know I-35 I-45 both are
congested significantly and not going to get better I mean as as as we grow they’re going to traffic will continue
to increase it’s difficult to even consider expanding we just finished a a
two billion dollar expansion on 35 and adding adding a third line I mean adding
a a third lane on each side for 91 miles from Hillsborough South
um you know that’s that’s that was done when I was on the commission it was funded and was finished a couple of
years ago um and it did well no we never seem to be able to catch up to that to that growth so so it’s natural to think that
there may be another alternative the other thing to note is that that Airlines uh like a Southwest that’s
that’s bread and butter was always Dallas Love Houston Hobby
um and our Houston Hobby Dallas love if you live in Houston um uh if you think about that and you
know their their daily flights in 1995 or something like 38 I mean I can’t I
saw I’ve seen that number before and it’s probably 20 today yeah uh Southwest has better economic opportunities in
terms of deploying that Capital asset you know they can make more money flying to distance and remember you know
about 35 percent of an airline’s cost is few and um that’s just a rough average
um but you know a a jet aircraft consumes its fuel on takeoff and
climbing and once it gets to 30 something thousand feet with that thin air you
know it’s sipping Fuel and so you know you can charge more for the longer flight and and make more money yeah so
the the the the short hauls are not as I assume and I’m not in the airline business but but my assumption is that
that that that that there’s greater profitability on on the longer flights than therefore you know that’s going to
happen so that brings us to High-Speed Rail and why high speed rail might fit if you get to Japan and look at the uh
the high-speed rail system in Japan you know anything that’s a that’s a 200 mile uh or 250 mile distance there is no air
service it’s all high-speed railing yeah you know it’s just the way it is and and and you know very efficient the Japanese
trains move a thousand people or so in per train um at speeds you know up to 200.
um I mean it’s it’s pretty extraordinary um in Texas this Texas Central rail oil
project which is a private Venture that was a joint venture really I’m going to describe it as a joint venture I don’t
know its exact structure but it’s but it’s between Japanese interests and and
and and local interests private interests you know that project or that Arrangement seems to be uh in a state of
flux at this point yeah um we created the the uh high speed rail
commission DFW recognizing that their proposal initial proposal had that train
running from Houston to Dallas and we on the west side of the Metroplex were concerned that if that was the Terminus
of the train that it could have a serious negative impact on the western side of the Metroplex specifically Fort
Worth and so some of us in Fort Worth lobbied for that and I agreed to chair that initiative so we’ve worked pretty
closely with the Texas Central rail people and really through the the Council of governments the regional
transportation Council who’s kind of taken the lead for us uh in advancing the project we actually have a Dallas to
Fort Worth project that’s in the environmental evaluation stage we don’t
have we have not identified sources of capital we’ve talked to a number of different International entities who
have had an interest in perhaps joining with us and developing the project I think the project is is a it’s dependent
upon or maybe even contingent upon the Houston to Dallas piece being developed
that would trigger and we probably would work and are already working very closely with Texas Central rail in their
planning so so I think it becomes one project it’s what I think happens well
you think about even something like the Exxon Mobil XTO right down to Houston
and all these guys who are about our age or older going man I gotta retire because I’m not going to move down you
think about what a high-speed rail might have done to that equation like that whether gets him down to an apartment
every night or at least getting some daily trips and things I mean it’s just and who likes to get on 35 or 45 and
drive I mean it’s just no fun one of the things we talked about in this and and just just in the conceptual discussion
was that if you if if you get high speed rail to downtown Fort Worth and we’ve identified an actual station site which
is just North of the Intermodal Center um that sets up for a a an easy turn
down the 35 quarter you know and if if that’s how that would ever if that’s exactly how that would be developed I
don’t know but there’s been that discussion so you know you’re talking about uh probably uh I think Texas
Central rail was projecting an hour and 15 minute run from Dallas to Houston um that’s pretty fast yeah that’s really
faster than you could do it the actual travel full travel time from
Dallas to Fort Worth and well if you’re in a jet aircraft if you get on South was just the time by the time you get to
the airport you check in there’s like you’d this is very different I mean you step on the train an hour and 15 minutes
you’re there yeah um and the Dallas the Dallas station locations just south of downtown
um you know so in our station you know in downtown Fort Worth uh the way we have it uh that would be another uh
probably less than 20 minute run from from Dallas to Fort Worth uh Austin would be maybe an hour maybe yeah
this has been a long-standing issue people talked about this High-Speed Rail thing for a while is there a realistic
expectation of when this might actually go down because no I think it’s it’s so far is it 10 years plus I think so I
really do just because the environmental clearance the Texas Central Rail Project was fairly far along and I don’t again
know what what what transpired they seem to be it seems to be in a state of flux
I think it’s what I said and I think that’s it it’s just it’s kind of unknown and I think they’re working through some challenges I think if they get those if
they work through those challenges identify the sources of capital necessary to develop the project I think
that project could Advance very quickly right I mean but they’ve got it but those are those are big butts I mean
those are big obstacles to get over and I’ve got some confidence in that in that leadership you know that you got a good
Fort Worth guy John kleinheim is very involved he’s as smart as they come um you know you got Jack Matthews in
Dallas is very involved same I mean they you’ve got some good people that are involved in that project and they may
they I’m betting they’ll make it happen right yeah but I couldn’t tell you what the time frame is on that one that one’s
tough Bill your your Civic engagement is incredible whether it be through boards and all these things you’re doing are you one of those guys that we know that
has a hard time saying no to people you seem to be involved in so many things this is incredible well I had the
opportunity I really have been blessed with many opportunities and and and I have to
I have to really carefully assess you know any requests that I get at this point in time because I’d like to slow
down a little bit and you know I don’t do anything unless I really feel like that that I could could
be accretive to a positive outcome I really don’t just don’t I just don’t do it if I feel like I can I can actually
have a positive effect on something you know then I I would get involved and speaking of positive effects your most
recent Endeavor the Fort Worth report look at the way you the guy was going to jump in peace there is this oh God it’s
like you’re figure skating I was holding on to that hook for that beautiful well I mean the thank you for asking I bet
that’s that’s really exciting uh for me and I think for Fort Worth there was a the the the Genesis of that is that
there was a group of of Fort Worth business people mostly that that
informally came together and were concerned about our daily newspaper and we begin with this you know an informed
citizenry is a powerful citizenry you know a City without a voice is a very
weak City it’s fragmented if people if the citizenry is not informed
recognizing what’s going on in their community and if there’s not a source of information that it is reliable and
credible then the city a city suffers and you see that all across the country I mean
hundreds of daily newspapers have have failed yes sir hundreds and the the the the the old business model of the
newspaper is in is in serious Decline and we see it and it continues to this day and you see our local newspapers
Morning News and Star Telegram my understanding is they continue to lose readership I mean they’re trying to pick
it up on the on the digital side and maybe they are and I hope I wish them the best um but the our local newspaper the Four
Star Telegram and I’ve been a reader since I was could read and still read today and have a tremendous amount of
respect for the institution but the fact is it was not providing the depth of local coverage that that this group of
men and women felt like that this community needed and so uh Wes Turner former publisher of the
Star Telegram and a really talented media person and a and a wonderful man
um and I were tasked with the responsibility for exploring the creation of a of a new entity a new new
publication to fill that void right and we launched 18 months ago the Fort Worth
report uh we have a great board of directors we have a publisher named Chris cobbler who came from the Victoria
Advocate um he has assembled a newsroom now of we
have a total staff now of 18. we we produce a a digital publication six days
a week Monday through Saturday we produce a business newsletter every Monday and uh a newsletter focused on on
education every Tuesday our readership is is is is pushing
subscription subscribers now pushes twenty thousand fantastic in 18 months
um you know I can’t quantify all I can’t remember all the stuff I see a lot of
analytics and I’m an old enough guys you guys are covering things that the other guys aren’t as much city hall right
Commissioners Court water district yeah Tech I mean I would imagine text you know some some of this infrastructure
speak that we’ve just had where it’s like guys there’s a place where your toilet flushes and it goes you know and
how you drive on the roads that kind of thing you know it’s interesting to me when I was on the city council you all will appreciate this
um I thought about it not long ago and and there were there were there were there were five
Star Telegram reporters or columnists that on a daily basis regular basis
covered for city hall now I want to tell you we had two Dallas morning news reporters one full-time one part-time
covered City Hall in addition to all of the broadcast media and if you don’t
think that builds an element of real accountability into into your elected
officials your elected those elected bodies you’re crazy because I’m telling you you thought about every decision
because you knew every word you spoke and and every action you took was going to be reported and reported on
extensively and and that newspaper was Landing um on the doorsteps of over 200 000
households every day and that was the old adage right you don’t want to be on the cover of that the next day and I
think that is one of the one of the cornerstones of of our democracy and in participatory government if you don’t
have a citizenry that is is informed that really understands what’s going on that ask hard questions of elected
officials and and public officials city managers for example you know those are
those those make a difference and absent that bad things happen what if somebody comes
to you and says but you’re non-profit and you’re taking money from foundations who have their own ideas is there a is
there a firewall there and yes let me just say that’s a great question thank you for asking
um we have a an absolute uh impenetrable firewall between our board of directors
governance if you will and The Newsroom we I don’t I mean I don’t see a story before it’s published I don’t know what
they’re writing about you know I just know it’s important and I know that in order for them to be successful that
they’re going to have to have the financial resources uh necessary to be successful and Wes and I have have led
the effort to raise those funds and we really that our focus on on on on
transparency in that regard is intense I mean if a story even mentions or hints
of say a foundation that’s been a contributor that’s disclosed we disclose we disclose all of our contributors our
board of directors is fully disclosed there is and there are other models for
this in the country yeah so just so everyone our five readers or our five audience members know that was not a
planned question and when I was asking I was like oh man am I going to piss bill off but let’s get this right now I was
like this could go either way well I’m happy to report to you you’re sitting with two subscribers here in front of
you too okay well thank you thank you yeah but I got to tell you so our our parent company rocks the media house
we’ve employed several people that are former Star Telegram yes writers of sorts uh I gotta believe you probably
get calls and have some people on staff now that are former Star Telegram employees as well yes we do is this a
constant thing because listen McClatchy is a beast and they’re they’re okay losing money across the world however
they do it Star Telegram obviously holds a primary place in this in this city but it’s not doing its job to your point we
all agree with that are they gonna one day go go out do we feel that way and and are these people is essentially are
you getting calls all the time from there reporters wanting to come work for you because I know a few of them already are doing that and just seems to be the
constant the default just go to the fourth report or some other place here in town that’s doing what you guys are
doing we certainly we certainly hear from from reporters I mean from not just the start telegram from from across
across print media across the region without a doubt I mean and that would be natural you would you would expect that
and I certainly can’t speak to uh McClatchy or or or or or the the hedge
fund um I I I I don’t know what their plans are and that’s really not our Focus I
mean I feel I really feel like that what we do complements what the Star Telegram does I mean there’s a you know I said
earlier a void well I I think that it was not because the start telegram didn’t want to cover a lot of the things
that that they didn’t cover they just didn’t have the reporting depth to do so and what we basically bring to the table
is a slightly different perspective in this sense that we really are focused on
the local institutions of government Arts entertainment I mean we’re not focused if you look at you look at the
Fort Worth report we don’t cover crime start telegram does a fine job of covering local crime they really do they
do they cover Sports we don’t cover Sports yeah you know we both cover some things we overlap in some areas but but
they certainly do a lot of things that we don’t and we never will do right so I don’t really see that as competition I
see it as complementary that’s a great segue because I want to ask you about the future of the Fort Worth report uh
your growth your growth is steady and strong do you feel like at some point you’ll cover more crime more sports or is it always going to be the way it is
because your readership is significant you think it one day you’ll you might actually turn to a another version of
the Star Telegram the new improved version no I mean what I think is that that right now we are trying to we are
really focusing our attention on the things that we feel like we do well and
we would like to do those better but I I do think that there are areas in
which we can enhance our coverage I think that we could certainly enhance our our arts and entertainment coverage
because I think there’s so Fort Worth is such a such a rich place in that regard
and there’s so many cool and exciting things going on in this community yeah I’d like to cover more of that you know
those are the sort of things I think we’ll drill down deeper into the areas that we currently cover if there’s any
expansion uh I think there’s a possibility a of expanding our coverage
geographically if you will right um Beyond Fort Worth but but we felt like we started as a for we we started as a
Fort Worth publication that’s what we are um I think that over time we might
expand that you know Beyond Fort Worth out into Northeast Tarrant County certainly uh Arlington uh but at this
point I think our primary focus really is for how many employees currently I think we have 18 18. yeah commend you on
your job yeah so I’m going to ask a question and then you’ll finish you’ll wrap us up she’ll get you out of your bill uh trains planes Automobiles and
water I mean you’ve done it all what’s next you can’t slow down now I mean and now you’re reporting back you’re kind of
looking but hey look at all that I built now I’m going to report on the status or the progress of it what it where is
there to go you get into SpaceX or something like that or you know I think I’ll end up going to the ranch is what I
think I think that’s probably where I was I’m spending more time at the ranch anyway yeah in in Shackleford County and
uh I enjoy that and there’s enough challenge there and it’s very different than anything I’ve really done before
you know but you enlightened me to Shackleford County and just kind of the um the incredible place that that is as
far as the almost I would call it like Ranch royalty in this in this state that
exists there it’s almost like uh Hamptons of A Sort or something well let’s let’s be clear I’m not Rancher
it’s a beautiful place and a fantastic place and uh it really is really
remarkable it really is a remarkable place in such a uh in many many ways a wonderful retrospective if one wants to
take it look at it that way as to what Texas was in 1920 and 30 and 40. you know it’s and still very vibrant and
alive and that’s a that’s fun to see because it’s one of the things that makes us unique and frankly that element
exists in Fort Worth yeah well why is it so meaningful to you was your were your folks like that did they instill that in
you or I think so yeah I think so okay I think so yeah so a few months ago I was at a dinner for the Clyburn competition
and I had the privilege of sitting next to this lovely lady her name was Hannah you might call her your daughter I
believe uh I learned I’m sorry it’s a wonderful story but there’s a story here about her name and how that all transit
transpired but I love you tell that story real quickly if you don’t mind well it just was a connection between
that and Toy Story which was a the Pixar movie Pixar movie and uh my
brother-in-law is involved was involved at Pixar really from the from the from the from the outset and
um so I believe there was a character and I think perhaps a name might have come from the sister in the the movie
the the daughter of the in the movie but so what daughter the the little boy the girl that plays with all the toys her
name is Hannah oh really yes wait that’s a girl’s toys or it’s a boy I thought it was a boy’s toys I think it’s the boy’s
sister in the movie yeah yeah and so what how did this happen well I’m not exactly sure because but she this this
character’s name I wasn’t your daughter I believe I think I think there may be there may be some truth to that I can
either he’s not getting paid it’s a really neat cool story yeah that’s fun yeah well
Bill we’ve enjoyed the time this is fascinating we always ask our guests uh the last question all familial Affairs
aside no no wife no kids none of that no matter where they get their name do you mind if I tell them yes
no family matters at all but what’s the best day of your whole life oh gosh I
I’ve had I guess I’d have to say when when when when when when I have two kids the days they were they they were so you
can’t do the kids singing oh yeah okay that’s the name that’s a really good one that’s a really
good gubernatorial appointment to something no no no no it would have nothing to do with anything work related
it would be it would be it would be Ranch focused I would say probably the day that we acquired the the uh the
shackford county range oh nice I thought that was just a someplace we’d been looking for for a long time very nice
very good day and then you built that from ground up for the most part right like just kind of the whole Vision put all that infrastructure in that water
and roadways now we see wherever how can folks find the four fourth report if there is
fortworthreport.org I think in a subscription cost zero zero dollars can’t beat that free fair and local so
if you want to know some stuff written fourth report might be a good source for foreign
[Applause] okay thank you guys thank you
