Tuesday is election day and aside from several state races, a referendum concerning the possible return of Cecil Field to the United States Navy will be on the ballot. General Counsel Rick Mullaney has summarized his office’s opinion on the referendum in response to a request from City Council President Michael Corrigan and the rest of Council.
On Tuesday, October 24, 2006, I made a presentation at the City Council meeting regarding the Cecil Field Referendum. The following is a summary of that presentation.
Introduction
On Nov. 7, the citizens of Jacksonville will go to the polls. On the ballot will be the referendum regarding Cecil Field.
Unfortunately, great confusion exists regarding this referendum. I hope this presentation will assist you in understanding the legal issues surrounding this referendum and provide some clarification.
Background
In the early 1990s, I was part of Mayor Ed Austin’s administration when we vigorously opposed the closing of Cecil Field as a master jet base. Unfortunately, in 1993, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (“BRAC”) decided to close the base. In 1999, as part of Mayor (John) Delaney’s administration, I attended the base closing ceremony at Cecil Field. It was a truly sad day. I was born at Great Lakes Naval Air Station, my father served 22 years in the Navy, and I ran around Cecil Field as a boy.
At closure, Cecil Field was comprised of 17,225 acres with the federal government as sole owner.
Cecil Field from 1999 - 2006
Jacksonville, however, moved on and Cecil Field has changed dramatically over the last 7 years:
• Today, seven different entities have title to parts of the 17,225 acres at Cecil Field once owned by the federal government. These entities include: (1) Clay County, (2) FCCJ, (3) FDOT, (4) JAA, (5) JEA, (6) VyStar, and (7) the City.
• Over $200 million in public funds has been invested in capital improvements at Cecil Field since 1999, including an equestrian and recreational center. The value of all Cecil Field land and infrastructure today exceeds $1.6 billion.
• There are 36 commercial leases with private companies.
• As wetlands were affected, a conservation easement was placed on approximately 4,000 acres. Twenty-eight-point-one million dollars would be required to remove this easement.
• Many homes, businesses, churches, and schools were built in the accident potential and noise zones after 1999.
In 2005, the City and a coalition of entities supported the jet base’s return before BRAC. When full due diligence was done, however, and the above changes were fully recognized, the City rejected the jet base’s return and recommitted to Cecil Field’s development as a Commerce Center.
BRAC No. 193
The City’s decision, recommitting to a commercial commerce center, was after the issuance of BRAC No. 193, a federal law offering the base’s return to Cecil Field under certain conditions. After Virginia did not meet BRAC requirements, BRAC No. 193 had four requirements:
(1) The $1.6 billion in Cecil Field’s land and infrastructure (seven owners; 17,225 acres) must be transferred by the State of Florida to the Department of Defense (DOD), for free, by Dec. 31. This transfer would constitute the largest transfer of public assets in Jacksonville’s history and one of the largest transfers of public assets in Florida’s history.
(2) The State of Florida must appropriate funds for tenant relocation. Last year the State estimated this cost at $200 million.
(3) The State of Florida must appropriate funds for military housing.
(4) All encumbrances on Cecil Field must be removed.
Meeting these four requirements of BRAC No. 193 would require:
• Clay County must convey title to its 642 acres of the old Cecil Field;
• The State must appropriate funds for the relocation of tenants and military housing;
• FDOT, FCCJ (state agencies) and JAA, JEA (independent authorities) and VyStar (private) must convey their title and infrastructure to the old Cecil Field; JAA would lose $67 million in lease revenue and repay $23 million in FAA grants;
• All encumbrances at Cecil Field, including the conservation easement, must be removed;
• The City must appropriate funds, including funds for easement removal ($28.1 million), liability for lease termination/relocation ($50 million; State required), and millions to acquire and convey title to Cecil Field property not owned by the City;
• The City must convey its title and infrastructure at Cecil Field.
Obviously, these requirements cannot be met by the City alone or by amending Jacksonville’s charter, which only binds the City. Instead, multiple entities must act, transferring assets, appropriating funds, terminating leases, and removing encumbrances.
The referendum
A citizens group, Votejacksonville.com (VJ), supports the jet base’s return. VJ proposed an amendment to Jacksonville’s charter, as part of a referendum, that requires the City to transfer title to the old Cecil Field (excluding Clay’s 642 acres) to the DOD at no cost by Dec. 31, and “assist” with tenant relocation (without funding). The amendment did not provide funding or remove encumbrances. Obviously, the referendum’s charter amendment did not meet BRAC requirements two, three or four, and only partially addressed BRAC requirement number one.
The VJ referendum fundamentally misleads and deceives voters on Cecil Field ownership, costs, the State’s role, financial consequences, JAA, Clay County, and the affect of the vote. Obviously, the VJ amendment does not, and could not, bind Clay, the State, state agencies, or independent authorities to meet BRAC’s requirements, nor did the amendment include essential provisions for easement removal and funding.
On the City’s behalf, I filed suit. After trial, (Circuit Court) Judge (Bernard) Nachman held the proposed referendum invalid and nonbinding, misleading and deceptive in nine ways, and struck it from the ballot. The Court found the referendum did not meet BRAC No. 193, did not result in the return of the jet base, and voters were misled into believing their vote did both. The Court also found VJ concealed the true cost to voters, which the Court found to be millions. An appellate Court subsequently placed the referendum on the ballot and will review the trial court’s findings after the election.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, great confusion now exists. This confusion results from a flawed and misleading referendum and final judicial review after the election. Judge Nachman ruled the referendum is invalid, misleading, deceptive, and legally unenforceable. His legal conclusions and findings have been appealed by VJ and the appeal will be heard after the election.
In the meantime, however, I encourage all Council Members to educate their constituents and the public. Regardless of the legal consequences or outcome of the vote, it is important to educate voters prior to the election.
Rick Mullaney is the general Counsel for the City of Jacksonville. As such, he oversees the entire Office of General Counsel. On Tuesday, October 24, 2006 I made a presentation at the City Council meeting regarding the Cecil Field Referendum. The following is a summary of that presentation.