Opposing sides battle in court over spaceport

Jan. 12—A Superior Court judge will make a decision by Jan. 23 that will determine if Camden County can purchase land for its planned spaceport.

Brunswick Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Stephen Scarlett announced his plans for a decision after listening to arguments Tuesday from opponents and county officials on the issue.

Camden County Attorney John Meyers argued the request by opponents for a countywide referendum to determine if the voters should decide if the county should be allowed to purchase the property from Union Carbide is too late.

Meyers said organizers of the petition drive intentionally submitted petitions signed multiple times by the same people and questioned the motivation and timing of the petition.

Dana Braun, a lawyer representing two plaintiffs who filed the complaint, said the civil complaint in Superior Court to stop the land purchase could not be filed until the petitions went to Probate Court in Camden County.

County officials said the deal to close on the property this week could be jeopardized if Scarlett grants the request to delay the purchase until Probate Court certifies if there are enough valid signatures to hold a referendum. About 3,200 valid signatures from registered voters are needed to hold the referendum.

"They are taking the position the offer expires in two days even though they showed no evidence," Braun said.

He said opponents have a right to see the agreement stating the land deal has to be completed this week. Meyers said those records are exempt under the real estate clause in the state's open records law.

"They're claiming some type of home rule based on these documents," Braun said. "Our hands are tied."

Megan Desrosiers, president and CEO of the environmental group One Hundred Miles, was the first person called to testify.

She said her organization got involved with a mail-in petition drive at the request of organizers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she submitted all of the signed petitions, including the ones signed multiple times by the same people, to show transparency in the process rather than making the decision to remove them. She was concerned that removing duplicate signatures could damage efforts to make the petition drive transparent.

"I wanted to count everything that was done," she said.

Meyers accused her of submitting the duplicate signatures as a way to slow down the verification process.

If the signatures are approved, voters will have a chance to vote in a special election in early March.

"You did that to make the votes hard to count," he said. "One Hundred Miles appears to be the driving force behind this petition."

Meyers asked Desrosiers if she was a Camden County resident or if she owned property in the county. She answered no, but she said her organization follows environmental issues throughout Coastal Georgia, not just Glynn County, where One Hundred Miles is based.

Camden County Administrator Steve Howard said the county commission's unanimous vote to enter into an option to buy the Union Carbide property in 2015 has been extended three times with the county paying the company more than $900,000 to extend the option two times. The second payment went toward the purchase of the property.

Howard said he expected the process to take about a year to get Federal Aviation Administration permission for a launch operator's license when he first started the effort. He expressed concerns the deal to buy the property could fall apart with another delay.

"It's possible they don't extend it. I don't know," he said. "Until something is executed, I wouldn't consider it a done deal."

The first step is to own the property before anything else can be done.

Scarlett asked Braun what irreversible harm would occur if he denied the request to halt the sale before the decision by Probate Court.

"If they purchase the property (before a referendum), there is no vote to be taken," he said.

Meyers made a motion to dismiss, which Scarlett said he'd take under advisement.

Howard said the site has been "strategic property" since the effort to establish a spaceport began in 2015. He said there has been continued interest in the site by commercial space companies such as SpaceX.

He said the county has spent $10.3 million on the effort, with about 25% of the money spent on permitting, followed by another 25% on the land deal.

"We were successful in meeting the FAA's criteria," he said. "Now we have to acquire the property. You have to show control. You control your destiny."

Howard referenced a University of Georgia poll showing a majority of county residents support a spaceport and a Georgia Southern University study showing an annual $22.5 million impact on the region's economy.

If the judge rules in favor of spaceport opponents, the money already spent would be wasted, Howard said.

"It's gone. The taxpayers would lose," he said.

Howard said a delay takes away some of the county's options.

"These companies are watching very closely," he said.

Shannon Nettles, the county's elections supervisor and registrar, said the verification process for petition signatures is time consuming and will likely take another month.

"We're doing the best we can with them," she said, adding the pandemic is slowing the count.

If enough petition signatures are ruled valid, the Probate Court judge will have to then verify the wording on the referendum before put before voters for consideration.

A special election will cost taxpayers $10,000 to $15,000, she said.

Several people who signed the petition multiple times were called to testify.

Jo-Ann Kurney testified she submitted three signed petitions she cut out of a local newspaper because she owns three lots in Camden County and she believed that entitled her to sign three petitions. She testified no one encouraged her to sign multiple petitions.

Another person said she signed three petitions because no one told her she couldn't sign more than once. She said her husband signed her name on two of them at her request.

Another woman said she signed the petition at the request of a neighbor, who later told her that her signature had been rejected, so she signed another one to ensure she had a valid signature on one of the petitions.

"I was sure one of the signatures would be invalid," she said. "I feel it's very important for the citizens to voice their opinions before this goes through. It may be everyone in the county is for this. We just want our voices heard."

Paul Harris, one of the county residents who filed the civil suit, said he signed the petition after learning more about the proposal.

"After learning more I wasn't convinced this was the right path for the county, and a very expensive one," he said. "That site has environmental problems that could burden the county for years to come."

Harris said the university studies indicating a spaceport would be a financial boon to the county are inaccurate.

"You can get a university to say anything you want if they are compensated," he said. "The license does nothing at all except give the county more excuses to spend more money."

Harris said his background as a commercial airline pilot helped him decide to oppose the spaceport. He said none of the other spaceports in the nation have been a positive impact on local economies.

"Show us another county where they have been successful," he said. "They don't attract tourism. They don't attract development."

Voters should have the opportunity to decide if any more money should be spent on the project, he added.

"The voters are entitled to have a referendum," he said. "I don't know what the commission is afraid of."

During closing arguments, Braun asked for an injunction just long enough for the Probate Court to determine if a referendum can be held or until a referendum is held in early March. He said the delay would last a maximum of 56 days until the special election.

Scarlett's decision to extend the temporary restraining order until his decision later this month means the county will have to negotiate another extension with Union Carbide.

Meyers said opponents failed to make their case, saying they cannot quantify damages in this case.

"They started too late," he said. "They want to stop the county from proceeding with this real estate transaction. It could kill this deal."

Braun argued the county failed to prove a delay will prevent the sale from being completed and said the allegations of fraud were "offensive."

"They haven't proved petition fraud to the court," he said. "It's beyond creative legal theory."