Burnet County grounds spaceport talks
Burnet County Judge Bryan Wilson speaks with several Briggs-area residents about their concerns surrounding the proposed Central Texas Spaceport Development Corp. The county has eased off of talks of the project due to low public support and concerns from residents. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
A lack of public support along with concerns from northeast Burnet County residents stalled discussion on forming the Central Texas Spaceport Development Corp. in partnership with Williamson County. The Burnet County Commissioners Court took no action on the issue during its April 8 meeting, and, given community opposition, has no plans to do so in the near future.
The agenda item called for “discussion or possible action on the acceptance of bylaws that would establish the Central Texas SDC in conjunction with Williamson County.” The matter has been at the forefront of county business since it was openly proposed on March 25. Subsequently, a public workshop was held on April 1 to address the potential benefits and risks.
(For a comprehensive overview of the Central Texas SDC proposal, read the April 4 DailyTrib.com story “Burnet County spaceport talks brought down to earth.”)
The spaceport development corporation would have formed a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing the growth of the space industry in Burnet and Williamson counties, mainly fueled by the presence of Firefly Aerospace, which has a large manufacturing and testing site in Burnet County and its headquarters in Williamson County.
“I can relay constituent feedback that I got all day yesterday,” Burnet County Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle told the Commissioners Court during Tuesday’s meeting. “The Briggs area, which I represent, had about 99 percent negative feedback on (the formation of the Central Texas SDC) for various reasons.”
Firefly’s 200-acre manufacturing and testing site is in Briggs, where it has about 350 employees and builds spacecraft and routinely tests rocket engines.
Following Beierle’s comment, the agenda item fizzled. No other comments were made, and no action was taken, leaving the issue effectively dead unless it is put on a future agenda.
According to Beierle and Burnet County Judge Bryan Wilson, that is unlikely any time soon.
“Right now, this is a simple case of doing what the citizens have asked us to do, and right now, they clearly don’t want a spaceport,” Beierle told DailyTrib.com.
Wilson shared similar views.
“I don’t see (the spaceport) fitting into the immediate priority,” he said. “If there were people clamoring for economic development, then it would be a whole different discussion. That’s not happening, so how do we move forward?”
Briggs’ worries
While they did not speak during Tuesday’s meeting, several residents of northeast Burnet County attended, prepared to voice their concerns and opposition to approving the formation of the Central Texas SDC
Among the attendees was Shannon Herring, whose family has resided in the rural ranchland of northeast Burnet County for over 150 years. Her family also owns property immediately adjacent to Firefly’s property in Briggs.
“We have been there for eight generations, since 1852.” she told DailyTrib.com. “I have owned that property for over 50 years. We farm and ranch. That’s where all the hay for all of our cows come from. I have a lot of concerns.”
Accompanying Herring was her granddaughter Callie Herring, who said the windows of her home, over 2 miles away from the Firefly property, rattle during testing.
“I have a horseback riding business,” she said. “How am I supposed to operate like this?”
Callie also referred to safety concerns, recalling a 2020 incident in which several residents were evacuated from the surrounding area when a fire broke out at the Firefly site.
Another resident, Christa Noland, said she was worried about the county committing so quickly to something as major as the Central Texas SDC.
“I’m standing with the position that we need more information,” she said. “My initial gut feeling is opposition, but I am open to hearing more data.”
Resident Tom Green shared similar concerns.
“If it’s the right thing to do, it’ll be the right thing to do in two or four weeks,” he said.
Green and Noland were both referring to the rapid turnaround the public experienced between first hearing about the potential SDC on March 25 and its possible formation just two weeks later.
Those voicing opposition had two primary concerns: the threat of eminent domain and the poor status of northeast Burnet County’s groundwater.
Spaceport development corporations exist under Chapter 507 of the Texas Local Government Code, which does allow for the use of eminent domain, the mandatory selling of private property to the government.
Burnet County Attorney Eddie Arredondo told DailyTrib.com the Commissioners Court would have to approve any type of eminent domain in the county.
“Nobody gets to do any action of eminent domain unless the county Commissioners Court says ‘yes’,” he explained. “But, if the county or the state said it had some sort of need, it could happen. What’s needed or not? That’s a whole different ballgame. I don’t blame them for having the concern.”
Several residents questioned the water usage of Firefly’s testing site and how much more water would be used by even more space industry development in the area. The resident aerospace company has publicly stated it uses about six households’ worth of water every year.
According to Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District General Manager Mitchell Sodek, Firefly’s estimate seems about right.
“I believe them when they say they’re probably equivalent to a number of households on water use because the operation is not water intensive,” he told DailyTrib.com.
Sodek visited the facility in the spring of 2024 and saw the operation firsthand. Most of the water used on site comes from the restrooms used by the 350 employees and for fire suppression during certain rocket engine testing procedures.
However, the groundwater in northeast Burnet County is known to be low-producing and on the decline overall.
“The bottom line is that it’s an area that we know there are low amounts of groundwater and high amounts of growth, so we’re balancing all of those needs together, whether they’re commercial, residential, or industrial (needs),” Sodek said. “In one sense, we are looking at this growth on this industrial side, and it may not come because there’s no resources there or they’d have to depend on an alternate source.”
The Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District is in the early stages of potentially forming a special groundwater management zone for the Briggs-Oakalla area, which would further restrict groundwater use.
County Judge Wilson stepped out of the courtroom and spoke with the Briggs residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting and heard their concerns. He offered potential upsides to the Spaceport Development Corp., noting that it could be used to help curb noise from rocket testing, fund infrastructure improvements, and help direct the growth of the space industry that is already present in the county.
Following the meeting, Wilson shared his thoughts with DailyTrib.com.
“At this point, it’s not on my priority list to place (talk of the spaceport) back on the agenda.”
4 thoughts on “Burnet County grounds spaceport talks”
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Dozens of people showed up that day to speak on this item. But we were told we couldn’t comment-because no motion had been made, and Roberts Rules of Order were cited. That rule might apply to court members, but it should not be used to block the public from speaking-especially when the court allows public comment on agenda items in the past and during the same meeting.
After one commissioner said his constituents didn’t support the spaceport, there was no vote, no discussion, and still NO PUBLIC COMMENT ALLOWED. People got up and left-feeling like their voices didn’t matter.
Then the court went into recess at 10:21 and came back at 10:32. No one explained why. That’s not transparent.
This article was published sating the commissioners would not move forward with the spaceport, because of public opposition. The irony is – the public was never allowed to voice that opposition on the agenda item. That was promised at the beginning of the meeting when the presiding official said there would be a chance to give public comments on specific agenda items. One attendee raised this exact issue to the attorneys who were at the meeting.
This situation raises some real concerns:
1. Who originally added the spaceport topic to the agenda: Wilco or Cedar Park or?
2. What rule says Roberts Rule can silence the public?
3. What happened during that recess?
4. How will your elected officials (and the new judge who was appointed not elected) protect public input in the future?
This isn’t just about spaceports-it’s about public trust.
People showed up in good faith. We deserve answers. We deserve a say.
Copy pasted from a different social media post.
Lame.
Anti- Developing Dept. at it best.