Episode 2: Why Cities Are Drowning

Jax Harper

Alright, we’re back with Dirt-2-Doors Radio! So, Cody, last episode you laid out how the industry shoots itself in the foot with silos, busted communication, and everyone passing the buck. Today, though? Man, we gotta talk about what it's actually like for cities—because from where I’m standing, it just looks like chaos. Like, I don’t think people get how wild it is inside public works.

Cody Douglas

Yeah, you hit the nail right on the head, Jax. It’s not just “difficult”—these cities are up against a tidal wave. We’re talking explosive growth, but then they’ve got the same old budget, half the folks they need, and infrastructure that belonged in the ‘80s—or earlier. It’s a perfect recipe for breakdowns everywhere. Waterlines, power, sewer, drainage, you name it. Every little failure turns into, well, the next fire drill.

Jax Harper

I totally get that now, but there was a time—I mean, like, last year—when a tiny water leak in my old apartment took, what, two, three weeks to fix? I just thought, “Wow, these guys are slow.” But I didn’t realize, until I started bugging city hall, that, uh, that wasn’t just me. They were juggling, I think the lady told me, like hundreds of emergencies at the same time. So that little leak? Bottom of a pretty gnarly pile.

Cody Douglas

Right. And that’s not lazy work—these folks care. But you’ve got maybe a dozen workers for an entire city, and pipes bursting at all hours. Sometimes, honest to God, it’s like playing whack-a-mole blindfolded. They fix one thing, five more blow up somewhere else. It’s not that they don’t want to keep up—they literally can’t. And that’s how the backlog just keeps climbing.

Jax Harper

And then the public’s, like, “Why isn’t anything working around here?” But it’s almost invisible if you’re not inside it, right? All we see is the pothole and a puddle—never the mountain of busted stuff they’re dealing with every single day.

Cody Douglas

Exactly. It all builds up until cities are kinda stuck in permanent crisis mode. And the worst part? Even small, everyday fixes get kicked down the road because they just can’t get ahead.

Jax Harper

So Cody, this is what blows my mind—how does something small turn into the nightmare headlines? Like, I remember you talking about that storm drain before we recorded. That just started as a small fix, right?

Cody Douglas

Yeah, it’s a textbook case—and it’s not even rare. That drain probably just needed some routine maintenance, but because the city had bigger stuff screaming for attention, they put it off. Nobody meant for it to go sideways. But once a real storm hit, that small clog became a massive, fast-moving flood. Downtown businesses—gone underwater. Clean-up and repairs? That’s no longer a two-grand job. More like, I don’t know, a couple million, easy.

Jax Harper

It's wild. You think you’re saving money skipping the little stuff, but everything compounds. Like interest on a bad loan.

Cody Douglas

That’s the perfect analogy, Jax—even if it stings a bit! You defer five pothole patches, next thing you know you’re staring at a collapsed road. And the thing nobody sees—most contractors just don’t wanna touch this work. It’s mountains of paperwork, the pay’s inevitably slow, and every job turns into a puzzle because the scopes are all tangled up. It scares off most of the guys you’d hope would jump in to help.

Jax Harper

Honestly, it’s kinda like school group projects—nobody signs up for the boring part, so eventually, everything just falls apart. Except with cities, you know, actual stuff starts failing and it ruins real lives.

Cody Douglas

That’s exactly it. The unseen stuff—gutters, manholes, water valves—isn’t glamorous. But when you ignore it? That’s what leads to the million-dollar nightmares.

Jax Harper

Okay, now for the solution. Because if nobody wants these jobs, Cody, why did you decide Tex-Star should run straight at this mess? Wasn’t it tempting to stick to the “shiny” projects?

Cody Douglas

Ha! Look—I’d love to only build shiny new things, but that’s not how you serve a community. Tex-Star was built to take on the tough jobs—the rapid, repeated, kinda thankless stuff. That’s how we support the city crews and keep facilities from, honestly, falling apart. We’re like the city’s ‘special ops’ team: get in, fix what failed, don’t let it spiral. It’s not glamorous, but it means a kid can drink clean water or a business doesn’t float out the front door during a rainstorm.

Jax Harper

And some of these calls—dude—I still can’t believe the stories. Wasn’t there a time you had to send your guys out, like, after midnight for a sewage backup?

Cody Douglas

Oh yeah, that one. If we hadn’t been there fast, could’ve been a full-blown health emergency for the city by morning. That’s the thing: it’s not about building one big thing. It’s the grind, the constant clearing jobs, staying ahead of the next failure. Our partnership model means cities don’t have to pick between the “urgent” and the “important”—we help them handle both. And it isn’t just about cities, either. Tex-Star backs anyone who’s got a vision—businesses, builders, dreamers. We help find you funding, design the project, and see it over the finish line. It’s problem-solving, front to back.

Jax Harper

That’s what I love about this, honestly. It’s not just putting out fires—it’s actually changing the whole way things get done. You take the problem, you make a real plan, and you don’t shove it off to the next guy.

Cody Douglas

Well, that's the mission. Change how America builds—one tough fix at a time. And hey, I think we’re just getting started.

Jax Harper

Alright y’all, that’s a wrap for today. Cody, thanks for dropping the insider stuff. If people listening have ever wondered why their street’s still a mess, or why projects drag forever, well—now you know. We’ll be back soon, digging into more stuff nobody else talks about. Cody, catch ya next time?

Cody Douglas

Absolutely, Jax. Looking forward to it. Take care out there, everyone. See you on the next one.