A lawsuit filed against Pima county over a multi-million-dollar deal it made with a balloon spaceflight company can proceed, a judge ruled Monday.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Catherine Woods denied the county’s attempt to have three of four counts in a suit brought by the conservative Goldwater Institute dismissed. Woods said she would rule on the remaining count, which alleges that the county violated the Arizona constitution’s gift clause, later.
That clause bars state government entities from giving their “credit in the aid of … any company or corporation,” among other prohibitions.
In February, the board of supervisors approved a $15 million deal in which the county would build a manufacturing center, headquarters and balloon launch pad for the for-profit firm World View, which makes helium-filled balloons for space tourism and research. Regina Nassen, a deputy county attorney, argued that the company would pay back that sum and more over the course of a 20-year lease, according to the terms of the deal.
“The county gets back at least what it spends,” she said. “It is not giving anything away.”
In addition to violating the gift clause, Goldwater claims that the deal, paid for with bonds called certificates of participation (COPs), also violates county code and state law regarding county leasing and competitive bidding. It was the counts regarding those allegations that Woods allowed to proceed.
“We’re happy the case will go forward and taxpayers can hopefully be protected from deals like this in the future,” said James Manley, one of Goldwater’s attorneys on the case, after the ruling.
During the proceeding Nassen told Woods that the county pursued the deal as allowed by state law.
