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Passions ignite as commission looks at more Project Ranger approvals
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BERNALILLO — More business regarding the proposed Project Ranger facility on Sandoval County land was handled during last week’s commission meeting, though not without some strong opinions coming from those both in favor of and against the proposal.
Castelion Corporation CFO and cofounder Andrew Kreitz gave a shortened version of the the presentation he made at a community meeting the night prior highlighting what the type of work that would be done at the facility, the production process, why they’re looking at Sandoval County, the potential economic impact, safety and security measures and more.
However, the business during the Oct. 22 meeting was a vote to approve Local Economic Development Act funds associated with the project. County Manager Wayne Johnson said the the money would be used to pay for land acquisition for the site as well as building infrastructure out to the facility, such as power, water and roads.
He noted it’s a three party agreement between Sandoval County, the state of New Mexico and the city of Rio Rancho. Sandoval County would be in for $4 million, the state for $5 million and Rio Rancho potentially for $1 million, set to be voted on during the Nov. 13 Governing Body meeting.
“The county is acting as fiscal agent for funds from the state and potentially Rio Rancho, should they choose to participate,” Johnson said. “The LEDA dollars will be used to expand those utilities, and the utilities are handled by the company as part of this $100 million investment.”
One utility he noted in particular was the water usage the facility estimates it will need. Castelion estimates it would need the equivalent of 50 households of water for mainly bathroom and staff usage, but Johnson placed those estimates even lower, saying it’s in the range of 14-50 homes, also noting that 250 home sites were taken off the market as part of the land purchase.
“That’s one of the attractive things about this project: low power user and low water user. You don’t find those types of unicorns just anywhere.”
Ron Burpo, the county financial advisor, noted that the ordinance may be amended “if there are some issues involving the city that need to be changed within the document,” he said. “It will allow us to bring those changes back to you in the form of a resolution, so any changes that are made, you are still going to see them. It doesn’t give the county manager the authority to make any willy-nilly changes.”
However, several people signed up to have their say about Project Ranger during public comment.
State Sen. Jay Block, R-Rio Rancho, spoke in favor of the LEDA funds and the facility.
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“This is a great opportunity for Rio Rancho, Sandoval County, New Mexico and our nation,” he said. “I’ve been excited for this project for months, and I want to publicly thank people on both sides of the aisle.”
“This is the finest team I’ve seen in aerospace in my 20-plus years, serving as an Air Force officer and 10 years in the industry,” he added. “I have complete confidence in this team with their risk management framework, because safety is the No. 1 priority in Sandoval County, and this team understands that and they prioritize that.”
Block also noted that no matter what studies are presented, no matter what safety precautions are outlined or third-party or outside experts say, citing Sandia and Los Alamos National Labs specifically, there will be naysayers. However, he noted that he was “very impressed with the amount of rigor that they put into the safety study” and that there are “rigorous regulations at every single level.”
“This is a critical moment in our nation’s history,” Block concluded, noting that “we have to be ahead” of adversaries such as Russia and China in hypersonics, cyber access to space, drone warfare and AI but that we’re currently behind. “This is our chance, right here in Rio Rancho, to do something very special that is much bigger than ourselves that will make a huge impact in our national security.”
However, there were several members of the public that expressed concerns or additional questions about Project Ranger.
Mary Jo Streets spoke of the community meeting the night before, noting the amount of concern, distrust, worry and aggravation people in the room had, saying that community has “zero confidence that decisions made with our tax dollars aren’t in the best interest of ‘we the people.’”
Ramona Goolsby questioned the lack of track record for a company as young as Castelion and asked if taxpayers will be “left holding the bag” if the project doesn’t deliver. Jay King echoed a similar sentiment, asking who would be responsible for cleanup if there is a “catastrophic event” at the location.
Kreitz said that Castelion has the “capitol on hand to execute Project Ranger” as well as other substantial contracts with the Army, Navy, Air Force and others. “We feel very confident in both the trajectory and longevity of the company,” he said.
He also noted that the lease requires the company to carry a bond for removal of the structures that requires them to set aside funds to have the facility dismantled something were to happen to the company. “We are also required to carry substantial environmental insurance, so if there is an accident on site, either Castelion will pay directly or the environmental insurance company will pay for cleanup efforts,” Kreitz said.
“This is an investment but they do have clawbacks,” said Peter Mitchell with the New Mexico Economic Development Department. “If they do not meet the performance measures as laid out in these project participation agreements, we are able to get up to 100% for monies invested by our taxpayers. Secondly, security is required for any investment the state, county or city makes, so we do have that security in place.”
Johnson also noted the clawbacks after the meeting, saying Castelion would have to meet certain milestones in order for the funds from the LEDA agreement to be distributed, similar to what was in place when Intel came into the community.
Elaine Cimino followed up her previous letters of concern by saying a public hearing on Project Ranger is needed, including an opportunity for the public to review studies and that the “approval was going forward without a public hearing,” asking the commission to postpone the vote. “We don’t want to accept the risk as citizens, as taxpayers, and we deserve our say.”
“There are numerous codes and restrictions that need to be followed,” Commission Chair Mike Meeks said, with several commission members noting their confidence in the safety of the site’s plans and mitigations. “A lot of the questions that people have addressed are in those codes.”
Kathleen Burke echoed some of Cimino’s concerns on transparency and due process, saying “there are lots and lots of questions from the community.”
“It appears to me that it is quite surprising and also exquisitely extraordinary that you have two members who sit on this commission who have been historically gainfully employed in the aerospace industry,” she said. “I suspect that Commission (John) Herr and Commissioner (Jordan) Juarez may have conflicts of interest and should be recusing themselves from any votes involving Project Ranger, and I would ask for an investigation into any conflicts of interest that may exist.”
Both Herr and Juarez made strong statements in response to the accusation of a conflict of interest.
“I’m an engineer, and I have worked in the aerospace industry,” Herr said. “However, there’s a stretch of reasoning it takes to say that I have a conflict of interest. ... It’s like saying your dentist can’t recommend a certain kind of toothpaste. I don’t benefit from this at all. If anything, it might inform me a little bit, being an engineer, as to some of the safety standards and methods that they have and their approach to making sure this facility is safe for the general public.”
“I do want to address the one thing I found glaringly obvious, which is the slanderous comments made against myself and Commissioner Herr,” Vice Chair Juarez said. “The fact that I have the knowledge in aviation and aerospace ... does not mean that I am sitting here trying to pull a fast one on the public. I think it is very important to note that our experience in the industry means that we can make informed decisions when bringing a company like this to Sandoval County and to go ahead and run that kind of baseless attack out in the public like that during this meeting, I found was very unneeded and something I expect children to do when throwing tantrums. ...
“I ran on the need of wanting to bring economic development to this county. The space isn’t doing us any good sitting as a barren desert, and it’s not doing the taxpayers or our working class community any good when it’s sitting there as barren desert,” he continued. “I think it’s important that while we do take the necessary precautions and do the research, like I did from the time we heard about this until now, to actually make sure what we are doing is best for the community.”
He also noted the work that Castelion put into the plan. “These guys have done the work, and they are willing to invest in us, in New Mexico,” he said. “We can’t say everyone’s willing to do that, but these gentlemen are, so maybe we show a little big of New Mexico hospitality, as a lifelong New Mexican, to take care of our community and grow our working class and actually bring good, quality jobs to the area.”
The commission passed the LEDA funds on a unanimous 5-0 vote.
