Burnet County spaceport talks brought down to earth

If formed, the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corp. could bring jobs, economic growth, infrastructure improvements, and affordable housing to the area, but it could also permanently change the face of Burnet County. County commissioners are addressing the pros and cons of such a venture before joining forces with neighboring Williamson County. 

The project took center stage during the Burnet County Commissioners Court’s March 25 meeting. As presented, the Spaceport Development Corp., a partnership between Burnet and Williamson counties, would be a nonprofit entity with the explicit purpose of further developing the region’s already present aerospace industry. This would be done through the acquisition of state and federal funding that is being made available for space work.

The primary driver for an SDC for both counties is Firefly Aerospace, which has a 200-acre manufacturing and testing facility in Briggs in northeast Burnet County and its headquarters in Cedar Park in Williamson County. The company has about 774 total employees, most of whom live in Central Texas, and it has a growing impact on the commercial space race, having been the first private company to safely land on the moon March 2.

The Burnet County Commissioners Court held a public workshop Tuesday, April 1, to discuss the benefits and concerns surrounding a potential spaceport development corporation. The court dove deeper into issues and concepts that were initially discussed at the March 25 meeting and shared insights with the public in attendance.

“On this particular issue, I want to make sure that the scary sides of this get addressed, and if they can’t get addressed, then we don’t take action,” Place 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle told DailyTrib.com following the workshop. “The balance is hard. I’ve got a lot more questions to ask before there is an actual vote.”

WHAT IS AN SDC?

A spaceport development corporation is a nonprofit organization with the purpose of developing and managing a spaceport, an area that includes specialized industries for the manufacturing, launching, or support of spacecraft. In the case of the Central Texas SDC, the “spaceport” would be all of Burnet and Williamson counties.

If formed, the Central Texas SDC would be only the sixth spaceport development corporation in Texas, behind locations in Houston, South Texas, and far West Texas.

“This very much is an organizational tool to help us acquire the resources available to support an industry that is already here,” said Scott Smith, the city of Cedar Park’s assistant director of economic development, during the Burnet County workshop. He was in attendance to advocate for the SDC’s formation, as Firefly Aerospace is a major employer in Cedar Park.

Spaceport development corporations exist under Chapter 507 of the Texas Local Government Code, which clearly lays out what SDCs can and cannot do under four categories:

• promote or fund infrastructure improvements that could be connected to the benefit of the spaceport, including roadway, water, sewer, and transportation development;
• promote or develop expansion of business enterprises relating to a spaceport;
• promote or develop educational programs or job training relating to the spaceport;
• promote or develop the expansion of affordable housing within the spaceport.

All funding and projects done through an SDC have to be made within the context of the above categories.

The Central Texas SDC would be run by a board of seven volunteer directors appointed by the commissioners courts of Burnet and Williamson counties. Each director would be unpaid and serve two-year terms. 

In the initial proposed bylaws pitched, and approved, by Williamson County to Burnet County, Williamson County would have four of the seven directors, creating an imbalance. Burnet County is negotiating a change to three directors for each county and a seventh director alternating between counties each term. The seventh member would be from the aerospace industry and have at least 10 years of experience in education or in the field.

Before the Central Texas SDC can be formed, both counties must agree on a set of bylaws.

The SDC would initially be an organization with no assets, just an entity with the mission of advocating for the development of the aerospace industry in Burnet and Williamson counties. It would not be an actual spaceport but would have the power to develop its own facilities, hire staff, and pursue projects if they served the greater purpose of furthering the overall local space economy. 

Under the current proposed bylaws, the Central Texas SDC would not receive funding from either of its parent counties. The money would come from state and federal sources, like NASA or the Texas Space Commission, which is offering $150 million in grants this state budget cycle.

While an SDC can purchase land, enter into contracts, accept grants, issue bonds, take out loans, or invest money, it is still beholden to the laws of the entities that form it. If formed, the Central Texas SDC’s board of directors could not alter its bylaws without approval from both counties.

The corporation would be subject to the Texas Open Meetings Act and required to hold a board meeting at least every three months that is open to the public.

WHY FORM AN SDC?

“The national and international potential exposure of having a spaceport development corporation really can’t be understated,” said Smith of Cedar Park. “It’s not just Houston anymore. It is literally statewide. Midland and El Paso are getting state and federal funding for their projects, as they should, and we have the ability now to say that Central Texas is a real hub (for the space industry).”

The main point of the corporation is to more easily acquire state and federal dollars. According to Smith, that funding could mean massive growth for jobs, training, and education in Burnet and Williamson counties.

“It helps the companies, it helps the government, but more importantly, it’s preparing our workforce to either transition to a new phase of their career or to be prepared out of high school to get exposure to jobs that we can have close to home,” he said.

While Firefly Aerospace is present in both counties, and would benefit from an SDC, the company would not be connected to the corporation. The SDC would be for the benefit of any space industry company, educational institution, or government entity within its coverage area.

“If Burnet County participates in a spaceport development corporation, those benefits are not just for Briggs (where Firefly’s manufacturing site is located), it’s for the entire county,” said Burnet County Judge Bryan Wilson.

Commissioner Beierle said he would rather Burnet County have a hand in the aerospace industry’s rampant growth.

“I think the formation (of the corporation) could help us be at the table,” he said. “Without a seat at the table, all we have is state law that helps us regulate what businesses can and can’t do, which is pretty minimal. What I don’t want is as these businesses come to Williamson and Burnet (counties), because we take no action, we’re just sitting on the sidelines watching it happen, which I think would be the case.”

During the Tuesday workshop, Burnet County resident Josh Parker spoke in favor of an SDC and the opportunities it would give future generations.

“What is next?” Parker asked. “What’s for my kids? What’s for my grandkids? What’s for my great-grandkids? We have to have something. And so we can have some seats and try to guide that development, or we can sit back and watch it happen.”

Burnet High School senior Alex Davis also spoke in support, mentioning a former student who now works at Firefly Aerospace.

“We’ve been talking about economic opportunities and employment opportunities for citizens in Burnet, and I actually personally know somebody who is currently working at Firefly,” he said. “Those are opportunities that people in Burnet deserve. I really admire him, I’m incredibly proud of what he has done, and I think more students deserve that.”

CONCERNS

Water: Commissioner Beierle questioned Firefly staff at the workshop about water usage on its 200-acre manufacturing facility near Briggs, noting that portion of Burnet County has water availability issues, according to the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District.

“(Water) is a precious resource for all of us in the community here, and so because of that, we’re quite sensitive in terms of not using water or limiting the water that we have,” responded Firefly Chief Operating Officer Dan Fermon.

According to Fermon, the manufacturing site and its 350 employees only use the equivalent of six standard households’ worth of water every year.

The water used for vertical engine testing at the site approximately 10 times a year, based on manufacturing pace, is recycled. The rest of the usage is from employee restrooms.

“Firefly is going to get better workers (from the SDC), but at the same time, we can leverage this corporation to get funding to help pay for a water line if needed,” Beierle said. “That isn’t limited to Firefly’s use.”

Eminent domain: Beierle also addressed fears of “eminent domain,” or the mandatory selling of land to the government for the public good. 

In Chapter 507 of the Texas Local Government Code, which governs SDCs, there is language allowing for the use of eminent domain in special circumstances, like acquiring condemned land, moving utilities, or acquiring mineral rights that would otherwise restrict surface development.

The statute also states that eminent domain cannot be used without the explicit approval of the governing body in which the property is located. In the case of Burnet and Williamson counties, eminent domain approval would have to go through the commissioners courts before it could happen.

Firefly Chief Operating Officer Fermon offered to include a restriction on eminent domain in the bylaws of the Central Texas SDC, but Burnet County Judge Wilson said SDC bylaws cannot remove the power of eminent domain, as it is a Texas law and part of the state constitution. Wilson did note that eminent domain can only be used in very particular cases.

“It can only be used for a common and public purpose,” he said.

Rocket launches? Technically, a spaceport development corporation could fund and develop projects that support rocket launches, but Fermon said Firefly does not currently have plans to do so.

“We are not launching off of our property,” he said.

He said Firefly had no intention to launch from its Central Texas facilities, just manufacture, and even offered to have a “no launching” clause included in the Central Texas SDC’s prospective bylaws, which would apply to any other space company that came to the area.

Firefly does test its rocket engines at its Briggs location. Residents can sign up for testing alerts online.

Rocket launches would also require permitting through the Federal Aviation Administration, which has its own set of standards and regulations. Firefly does not have this permitting, Fermon said.

Local impact: Burnet City Manager David Vaughn and Marble Falls Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Christian Fletcher voiced their views on the potential formation of the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corp.

“Obviously, people want to say there are good sides to this. There’s also other sides to this, and I think that needs to be really understood because it’s our community that is impacted by this,” Vaughn told the Burnet County Commissioners Court at the workshop.

Fletcher sees the economic benefit of the SDC but asked that the community be at the forefront of any decisionmaking.

“This is a pretty amazing economic development project,” he said. “I would just encourage you (the court) to ensure that there is a community development component to it as well. I think it’s a very valid question of how many (Firefly) employees actually reside in Burnet County.”

Fermon told the court he did not have the exact number of employees living in the county but named three anecdotally.

Burnet County rancher Richard Holifield told the court he fell off his tractor after being startled by testing at Firefly in Briggs. He questioned why the county should partner with Williamson County at all.

“I am (Firefly’s) neighbor. I worked next to them, I work the land,” he said. “I know what it does, I know the noise. I fell off the tractor because it went off just as I was stepping on.

“There is no reason to partner with Williamson County. We don’t need Williamson County. We can do our own,” he continued.

After the Tuesday workshop, Beierle gave his view on partnering with Williamson County.

“When we compete with (Williamson County), Travis (County), and others for transportation dollars, we typically lose,” he said. “My fear is that if we don’t have a partner in (Williamson County) that can help us, we’ll be fighting for the same federal and state dollars that they are.”

dakota@thepicayune.com