They've Tried To Hide It...

After 15 years’ forewarning, Saint Marys Airport was permanently closed in 2017 because it posed a security risk to Submarine Base Kings Bay. By 2024, Camden County was the only local government stepping forward to sponsor a possible replacement airport.

When the airport closed, AviationPros reported it was “under-used and deteriorating.” A Georgia state-sponsored study said the airport should be closed, even without plans to relocate it. Yet, after spending hundreds of thousands on airport “studies,” we still have no idea where our government will stick it, or what it will cost.

The most recent Camden County Airport Justification Study has been redacted to remove the map showing the possible airport sites. But here is Figure 4.2 that's been redacted from what the County allows us to see:

We'll post soon about why the County has been unable to satisfy the FAA site study requirements. And we'll dissect the Airport Construction and Operating Budgets. And we'll point out the misleading information earlier County Commissions used for Spaceport Camden when they tried to get what a few fast talking consultants told them was the "future."

Commissioners must know deep in their brains that the airport is not needed for Camden’s economy. Yet, in 2023, a local newspaper direct-quoted the Camden County Administrator when he said, "Every economic opportunity that comes to our (Camden County Joint Development Authority), the very first question most of them always ask is if you have an airport. Camden County is being cut off from every economic opportunity as it stands now, mainly because we do not have access to that.”

Really? The “very first question?” Maybe they are asking which of the nearby airports they should use: Jacksonville JAX International, Jacksonville Executive JAXEX, Saint Simons, Jekyll Island, Brunswick BQK

The closure of the once conveniently located Saint Marys Airport did little harm to Camden County. A replacement airport is neither essential nor is it likely to cause an economic boom. Something other than a local airport has caused our population to grow 52% faster in the eight years since the airport closed than it did in the eight years before the airport closed.

Failed development occurs because it was a bad idea, had inadequate financing, or was poorly executed. For instance, the now bankrupt Cumberland Inlet project left our Joint Development Authority on the hook for more than ten million dollars. One company that had signed on soon reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that their “[…] independent registered public accounting firm has expressed doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.”

There’s still no rocket that could launch from Spaceport Camden had the spaceport ever been built. And the Camden County Gun Range still routinely disturbs the peace, having been built BY THE COUNTY on land that was not zoned for an outdoor gun range. Camden officials seem to be easy marks for risky development projects and often find themselves way in over their heads, needing more money from taxpayers. We need government that first serves every constituent -- whether we own an airplane, launch rockets, use millions of gallons of fresh water every day, or simply raise our family while paying our property and SPLOST taxes and saving for an occasional vacation.