Three Vermilion Parish residents and a non-profit are suing the parish government for allegedly violating the Open Meetings Act when it gave the green light to the SpaceX development. William Most of Most and Associates, who is representing the plaintiffs, says they were kept in the dark as the state offered SpaceX a $24 billion tax exemption to build its spaceport in Vermilion Parish.
“For something that big, the law requires that the public have an opportunity for input, be able to attend meetings, be notified about what will be decided and have an opportunity to give their say,” Most noted.
Most says the Vermilion Parish police jury was very secretive in its proceedings, including in its revival of the industrial development board, which had been inactive since 1997, using a code name to conceal the identity of SpaceX.
“The codename was ‘Project Osprey,’ which was part of a pattern by the Governor Landry administration to keep the public in the dark about these big development projects until after it’s too late to do anything about that,”
Most says by using a code name, the Vermilion Parish was being very deceptive in how it went about approving the SpaceX project.
“We see ‘Project Osprey’ on the agenda, where SpaceX should be; and what it appears to be is a use of a codeword to keep the public in the dark, which is the opposite of what the law requires,” Most said.
The citizens and the non-profit, dubbed the Vermilion Citizens Coalition, are asking a judge to void the actions taken by the industrial development board, as well as damages, attorneys’ fees and court costs.
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