Ignoring Public Protests, County Officials OK Plan Without Hearing from Sovereign Deed

Plans for a 700-acre private emergency reponse center at the Pellston Regional Airport were approved by the Emmett County Planning Commissioners last night, Thur. Nov. 1,  even though the commissioners admitted that they didn’t know much of what is planned by the private security firm Sovereign Deed which sought the approval.

“I’m uneasy with certain aspects, but, oh well.,” said Commissioner John Eby, who vehemently discouraged public comment and questions from people who attended the hearing.

Another commissioner, Kate Derrohn expressed concerns that the facility would be used for paramilitary training. Sovereign Deed said it will offer disaster services to subscribers who pay a $50,000 fee. Sovereign Deed CEO, Barrett Moore, has a history of involvement with private military contracting.

No representatives of Sovereign Deed were on hand to answer questions about their intentions for the facility, leaving commissioners to speculate on how the land and buildings would be used.

Continued -Ron Engel, a consultant with Mead & Hunt, who typically works on projects for the county, was on hand as a representative for Sovereign Deed. He said he did not know what the firm planned to do with the buildings.

The building plan is divided into four phases, according to Engel.

The first phase involves construction of a 150,000 sq. ft. hangar large enough to accommodate a C-130 cargo plane. This would involve a variance so that the building can be built 50 feet high. Later phases involve construction of a “crisis action center” a “training center” and receiving center, warehouse and additional hangar.

The development would have 2,000 parking places.

The commissioners modified Sovereign Deed’s site development plan, relabeling the “training center” as a “private school” and the “crisis action center ” as an “office building.”

The plan requires that the county issue a 25-year lease for 700 acres of airport property, approximately half of the airport land. Emmet County Controller Lyn Johnson said the lease would be renewable in 25-year increments.

The county’s lease of airport property to Sovereign Deed still depends on the Federal Aviation Administration approval of re-designating the land for non-aeronautical use. Two of the parcels that Sovereign Deed seeks to lease were purchased with federal grants. Pellston Regional Airport manager Kelley Atkins said that the FAA is now in discussions with the county about the lease request.

Dozens of community members expressed concern about the project, including managing the run-off from acres of new pavement, public access to a river that runs through the property, and the possibility of scaring off commercial aviation development and competition.

“I’ve lived here over 50 years and I’ve never seen anything pushed through so fast,” Petoskey resident Ken Koper said, “Sovereign Deed pushed through (the) bureaucracy that normally takes two years in two months. That’s when the red flags started going up.”

Koper credits the uncommonly swift approval process to Moore’s ties to Bush friend Richard Rainwater, the State Department, the CIA and the Special Forces.(Moore has stated that his last company, Triple Canopy, brought together the largest group of U.S. Army Delta Force Special Operations personnel ever to work for a private enterprise.)

Paul Loweley, a former planning commissioner for Emmet’s County’s Springvale Township said he was astonished that the planning commissioners refused to ask questions about Sovereign Deed’s plans.

“There is no advantage to this coming here,” retired psychological counselor Mike Cromely said, “The people they are going to bring to this facility are not going to be shopping in our stores, they are going to be here hiding from reality.”

“There may be 300 or so jobs involved with building the thing but in nine months those jobs are gone and the only jobs for locals will be cleaning waste baskets and mowing the lawn — locals are being suckered,” he added.

Mostly people expressed distrust related to the vagueness of the plan, the speed with which it seems to be clearing bureaucratic hurdles and the intentional lack of oversight for armed security forces.

Petoskey resident, Ruth Paterson, said she attended the recent community forum on the Sovereign Deed project and noted that the company would not say whether it plans to carry out military training at the airport.

“I think we would like to know.” she said.

Brennt Michalek, director of county planning, zoning and building enforcement said he expects the county commission will soon approve the planning commission’s recommendation.