A Vermilion Parish citizens’ coalition is raising new questions about what the Starbase Louisiana agreement actually requires of SpaceX, from local jobs to fire protection, Acadiana News First reported Thursday.
Vermilion United formed days after Gov. Jeff Landry announced the SpaceX deal, organizer Melissa Hargrave told the station. In less than a month, the group obtained recordings of the parish Industrial Development Board’s July 23 and Aug. 25 meetings and now posts transcripts on its website alongside the text of the signed payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, agreement.
“Our goal as a coalition is to make sure that we get as much information as possible so we can inform the public,” Hargrave said, according to the report.
Jobs a goal, not a guarantee
The group says the agreement includes employment targets but describes local hiring as an aspiration rather than a requirement, meaning it does not guarantee the jobs will go to Vermilion Parish residents, the station reported.
Hargrave also questioned a plan to send the Industrial Development Board’s annual administrative fee, capped at $600,000, to One Acadiana, a private regional economic development group, instead of using it to revive the parish’s own economic development district. The documents the station reviewed did not show whether that arrangement was approved. One Acadiana was unavailable for an interview before airtime, the station said.
Fire protection, in writing
The meeting recordings also touch on how a drop in the parish’s fire protection rating could raise homeowners’ insurance costs. According to the board’s lawyer, SpaceX made a verbal commitment to provide equipment if that happened. Hargrave said such a promise “needs to be codified in writing.”
That commitment does not appear in the signed PILOT agreement, the station reported. It could be addressed in a separate cooperative endeavor agreement between the state and SpaceX, which is not public. Hargrave said the group requested that document from Louisiana Economic Development and was told it would be at least Dec. 14 before it is released.
A familiar name lobbying for SpaceX
Separately, Kyle Ruckert, who served as Landry’s chief of staff until February, has registered as a lobbyist for SpaceX, The Center Square reported. His pay category is listed as $100,000 to $249,000. Ruckert now chairs Protect Louisiana Values, a nonprofit closely aligned with the governor, and could not be reached for comment, the outlet said.
According to The Center Square, the project is expected to create 3,000 direct jobs over the next decade, with construction expected to begin in 2027 and a first launch targeted for 2029. State officials negotiated an incentive package the outlet estimates at $27.5 billion, including roughly $24 billion in property tax exemptions over 25 years.
Both developments follow the lawsuit filed Oct. 26 by the Vermilion Citizens Coalition and three residents seeking to void the development board’s Aug. 25 approval of the tax agreement under Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law. The Times reported on that suit here.