Federal agency clears way for Emmet County’s negotiations with tarnished disaster-response privateer

The Federal Aviation Administration has granted Emmet County the right to lease some of the Pellston airport for commercial use, reviving concerns in the Petoskey area about a controversial company that has pursued space at the airport for a training center.

The FAA approval is not an endorsement of Sovereign Deed, spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory, said, but it is a necessary step for the county if any sort of business is to develop at the airport.

Last fall, the Emmet County Planning Commission approved Sovereign Deed LLC to build a national disaster response training center on 700 acres of airport property.The privatized civil defense project sought $14 million in state grants plus millions in tax breaks. In January, Michigan Messenger revealed that company founder, Barrett Moore, had lied about his military record and business history. Democratic State Rep. Gary McDowell responded by announcing that he would not support development plans by the company until Moore explained his misrepresentations.

Fred Gray, Emmet county spokesman, said he expects the county will now pursue a lease agreement with Sovereign Deed.

Continued – Sovereign Deed has said that in order to locate at the airport the county must build 10 million dollars in infrastructure. The county has said Sovereign Deed must put down millions before it will invest anything. The county is hoping to leverage state grants to build infrastructure at the airport, improvements which they say would benefit any business that would locate there, and by trickle-down effect the county as a whole.

The following was written by the Petoskey News about the new phase for the Sovereign Deed project:

Earlier this year, there was much stronger opposition to Sovereign Deed. Some locals decried privatized disaster relief as wrong and raised questions about past business dealings of Barrett Moore, the company’s CEO. However, given the nature of the region’s economy some say it’s hard to continue to oppose Sovereign Deed.

“I’m not surprised, but I’m disappointed things are moving in this direction,” said Cindy Mom, a Petoskey resident who had voiced her opposition to Sovereign Deed earlier and admitted to letting the issue fall by the wayside as of late. “Everyone wants a better economy and more jobs, but I think they duped Northern Michigan into accepting and embracing this thing without being honest about how many jobs they are really bringing here.”

Moore did not return repeated requests for comment by press time.

The County Commission meets tonight and is expected to discuss Sovereign Deed. Members of the group We Don’t Need Sovereign Deed plan to attend and voice concerns about the company.