Longtime Fort Worth assistant city manager to retire, leaving legacy of collaboration | Fort Worth Report (2024)

In Fort Worth, you’d be hard pressed to find someone with a negative thing to say about Fernando Costa. Current and former elected officials, city staff and community leaders describe the longtime assistant city manager as a man of integrity, with a strong commitment to fostering unity and collaboration throughout the city.

After working for the city for nearly three decades, Costa plans to retire at the end of September. He told the Report he’s excited to “turn the page on a new chapter” and find new ways to continue making an impact in Fort Worth.

“I’d like to remain active in the community, so I don’t see (my retirement) as relinquishing responsibility,” Costa, 70, said. “We have plenty of well-qualified folks in city government who can perform the work, so I don’t expect to leave any kind of vacuum here. The future of Fort Worth is bright, and I look forward to being a part of it.”

Costa began his career with the city of Fort Worth as its director of planning from 1998 until 2008, when he was appointed assistant city manager. The longest-tenured of Fort Worth’s five assistant city managers by far, his departure will leave a void in city leadership, community members told the Report.

Costa’s retirement announcement comes just two weeks after Fort Worth’s longest-tenured city manager, David Cooke, said he intends to retire next February after a decade in office. City leaders are now bracing to lose two of the city’s most high-profile leaders and a wealth of institutional knowledge over the next six months.

Mayor Mattie Parker said in a statement that Costa is a “true leader” in Fort Worth, and he should be “extremely proud of his countless accomplishments.”

“We could always count on Fernando to provide a steady presence of wisdom and leadership when we need it most,” Parker said. “I have often joked that Fernando is the professor emeritus for our city, and I am continually thankful for his friendship and guidance over the years.”

‘When the community speaks, he listens’

Officially, Costa oversees three city departments in his role: diversity and inclusion; neighborhood services; and water. However, his reach has extended far beyond those departments, City Council member Gyna Bivens said, and she has witnessed his commitment to helping in any capacity he can throughout his tenure.

“I consider Fernando this North Star, being able to bring all people, groups and organizations together in the same room and on the same page, always leaving with some form of accomplishment,” Bivens said. “Those conversations are not always easy.”

As assistant city manager, Costa has steered many high-profile projects, including development of the Trinity River Vision plan for Panther Island, the hundreds of acres between downtown and Northside that will be redeveloped following a $1.16 billion flood control project. He also helped develop the city’s comprehensive plan, a several-hundred page document that guides zoning decisions, budget priorities, development standards, infrastructure investments, annexations and more.

Costa said the most meaningful projects he worked on were those that involved resolving conflicts and addressing the needs of underrepresented communities such as low-income families, people of color and LGBTQ residents.

Bivens recalled when conversations about repurposing a former Ku Klux Klan hall in Fort Worth’s Northside into a cultural hub began in the early 2020s. At the time, she and others were concerned about the city’s financial bandwidth to launch the project at the same time it was working to secure Fort Worth as the site of the National Juneteenth Museum. Costa was instrumental in pulling people together and charting a path forward on the two projects, she said.

Costa has also been a key figure behind city involvement in a potential African American history museum. John Barnett, chairman of the Fort Worth African American Museum and Cultural Center, said Costa is skilled at facilitating difficult conversations and knowing when to seek input from others. Costa was key in getting Barnett involved in plans for the museum, he said, because he knew of Barnett’s interest in African American culture.

He added that Costa was an expert in mediating conflict and identifying solutions while also listening to resident needs.

“Being a city official, he had guidelines that he had to maintain, representing the city,” Barnett said. “I thought he exercised great integrity there. I never felt he compromised his job.”

Costa was also key in investing in the long-neglected Stop Six community in southeast Fort Worth, Bivens said, adding that he always supported her efforts to boost development in the neighborhood and make sure its residents were recognized and respected.

Wesley Kirk, who runs the Support Fort Worth Art community group and co-chairs two SteerFW committees, said he appreciates Costa’s work in supporting the Fort Worth Community Arts Center redevelopment project. A 2022 inspection report identified $26 million in necessary repairs to the city-owned building — a cost that is now closer to $30 million because of inflation.

Although the city rejected two redevelopment proposals in May, Costa was one of the main drivers in getting the controversial project underway, Kirk said.

“It seems like whenever there’s a project that a lot of people will care about and there’s going to be a lot of eyes on it and it needs to be handled delicately, it seems like Fernando is always the first person (the city) tosses that project to,” Kirk said.

Ann Zadeh, executive director of Community Design Fort Worth who served on City Council between 2014 and 2021, said Costa always rose to the occasion, even when tasked with projects he wasn’t familiar with or hadn’t experienced before. She praised his efforts in leading the city’s race and culture task force and implementing nondiscrimination ordinances after Fort Worth police officers raided the Rainbow Lounge, a newly opened LGBTQ bar, in 2009.

“Every time there’s a sticky situation or a tough situation or a hard situation with people with conflicting viewpoints, it seems like he’s tasked with dealing with them,” Zadeh said. “The way he does it is always so even keel and respectful of everybody’s opinion and position.”

Kirk echoed Zadeh’s sentiment, saying he’s always felt seen, heard and valued when interacting with Costa.

“There’s some city staff who will say that they listen to people just so they can check a box, but Fernando is a person who when the community speaks, he listens,” Kirk said. “He doesn’t always do something about it right away, but he makes sure that whatever the community says is repeated to city staff and city council to make sure that their voice wasn’t discarded.”

City doesn’t plan to replace position, Costa not worried

After retiring, Costa plans to spend more time with his family. He said he’s humbled to leave the city with resounding support from both staff and residents, but he’s reluctant to accept the praise without crediting his colleagues.

“It’s obviously humbling to think that folks would appreciate what anybody’s done,” Costa said. “It’s always gratifying and fulfilling to know that you’ve been part of a team making a difference in the community.”

Reyne Telles, the city’s chief communications officer, told the Report the city is not planning to fill Costa’s vacant position. Costa said he’s not concerned about leaving a vacancy, as the city now has more assistant city managers than it ever has historically, in addition to a deputy city manager.

Kirk said Costa had a “zeal” for his job that was clear in his efforts to go “above and beyond” to address residents’ concerns and collaborate with community leaders on city business. Without him, Fort Worth could be missing out on an important leader who gets things done.

He added that he looks forward to seeing Costa at various city functions as a Fort Worth resident, but he’s worried because he won’t have the same position of power to actually get things done anymore. Fort Worth won’t be the same without him.

“We need more Fernando Costas in Fort Worth,” Kirk said. “So it sucks to lose the one that we have.”

Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org or @bycecilialenzen.

At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

Related