This post is the introduction to “The Privatization of Public Land” which is a serial publication presenting the saga of the Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation (FDRPC). This series is written by Jack Guerin, who is an anti-corruption advocate with FightDECorruption.com. This series currently consists of 10 posts, and may grow to more. A post will be published every day Monday through Friday over the next two weeks. A list of all the posts can be found here.
The Threat of Privatization
The News Journal’s list of the most impactful stories of 2023 included this article, “How Delaware’s plan to resurrect Fort DuPont as a ‘vibrant’ riverfront haven went wrong.” The Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation (FDRPC) was established by the General Assembly in 2014 as a public-private partnership to bolster the economy of Delaware City.
The proposal to construct a luxury RV campground has been the most controversial Fort DuPont project. Preservation of open land remains a top priority for Delaware’s government with allocations of $20 million for both FYs 2023 & 2024. Land acquired by the Open Space program can only be privatized by a vote of the General Assembly.
However, FDRPC has quietly sold almost half of Fort DuPont State Park for private development without a vote of the General Assembly. I’m a plaintiff in a whistleblower lawsuit to stop construction of the campground and return the land to the State Parks Department.
The passage below is quoted from “The Privatization of Everything” by Donald Cohen and Allen Mikaelian.
“Understanding privatization means understanding that is first and foremost a political strategy. It was born this way, and so it remains, but it has also become a grab for billions of dollars in contracts and fees. In the years since it sprang from the mind of Milton Friedman as a way to undercut government “monopoly”, it has also become a way for profiteers to tap into the $7 trillion of public revenue (which swelled to $9 trillion during the COVID crisis) spent by local, state, and federal government agencies each year and carve out a piece (sometimes a very big piece) for themselves. Privatization has in recent history become remarkably bipartisan—Democratic president Bill Clinton arguably did more for the privatization project than did his Republican predecessor Ronald Reagan. And it has become surprisingly pervasive, to the point where there are now 2.6 times as many federal government contractors as there are government employees, and there is literally no public good which is not at risk of being privatized.”
I’ve been researching this Fort DuPont land grab for more than two years, and, through FOIA, I have obtained the relevant legal documents related to this transaction. Unfortunately, these documents don’t tell the whole story.
It remains a mystery why the developers proposed building this luxury RV campground in the marshes of Fort DuPont which seem bizarrely inappropriate as a vacation destination. There are no other luxury RV campgrounds in New Castle County.
Critics have assumed that the campground proposal is a stalking horse for some more lucrative development. However, as documented in this series of posts, FDRPC has been unable to provide legal title to the property.
If there is an investigation, Fort DuPont should join the pantheon of Delaware scandals. In 2010, the Daily Beast ranked Delaware 4th on the list of corrupt states. As Hal Weitzman said about Delaware:
“It’s at the crossroads of a range of global trends—shell companies, money laundering, kleptocracy, international crime, bribery and corruption, inequality, tax dodging, “dark” markets such as art, and the lack of transparency in public decision-making.”
When public resources are highjacked, our society is impoverished. Out state government trumpets investments to preserve Open Space Land while secretively selling almost half of a state park. Advocates have fought for decades to preserve Open Space Land. Most Delawareans assume that land acquired through the Delaware Land Protection Act is preserved in perpetuity as state in the statute. However, paraphrasing a biblical phrase “the State gave, and the State hath taken away.”
Locked Gate with “Keep Out” Sign at Campground Entrance
The above gate to the proposed campground area has kept the public locked-out for more than three years. However, the FDRPC enabling legislation requires that, “The Fort DuPont Complex will remain a public destination, with its historic, natural, and recreational resources maintained for public enjoyment.” This critique presents the history of this public-private partnership and summarizes the challenges facing the campground project.
A Luxury RV Campground Would Not be Viable in Delaware City
In 2018, the former FDRPC Executive Director, Jeff Randol, signed a letter of intent for the Blue Water Development Corporation to construct a luxury RV Campground accommodating 475 vehicles. In October 2021, an agreement was finalized to sell a 140-acre portion of Fort DuPont State Park.
Other luxury RV campgrounds are near a “vacation destination” such as a beach or national park. As the site of the Delaware City Refinery and a coming hydrogen hub, Delaware City is more of an industrial area with waters which are not safe for swimming or fishing. No marketing analysis was undertaken to determine the economic viability of this project.
Following this Introduction, the first post recounts how a group of Delaware City entrepreneurs lobbied both the Markell administration and General Assembly leaders to pass the Fort DuPont Enabling Act which would provide economic development for Delaware City.
For the Markell administration, Fort DuPont was part of the Delaware Bayshore Initiative which extended from Delaware City to Lewes. The purpose of this program was to conserve protected land, increase public access to outdoor recreation, and reduce flooding impacts on local communities.
Evolution of Campground Proposal
The remaining posts in this series will focus on the proposal for a luxury RV campground which would privatize almost half of the former Fort DuPont State Park. This proposal was not included in the original master plan for Fort DuPont. This campground project is antithetical to the Bayshore Initiative, privatizing protected Open Space Land, eliminating public access, decimating forested areas, and increasing flood risk.
Although FDRPC was formed as a state agency under DNREC, state laws and procedures were not followed in the campground sale. There was no RFP, no competitive bidding, no appraisal, no public notification and no public auction.
The terms of sale were extremely generous with FDRPC providing a four-year mortgage for $2.1 million with no interest and no payments. Although the buyer materialized through “an unsolicited offer”, the Fort Corporation also paid Christopher Castagno a $150,000 real estate commission.
FDRPC staff debated whether the enabling legislation empowered the Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation (FDRPC) to sell protected Open Space Land to the campground developers. FDRPC decided not to test this proposition by admitting to a “Title Defect” which could not be corrected.
The more than 100 page Real Estate Purchase Agreement was never approved by the FDRPC Board as expressly required by contract language. In addition, the Agreement was never finalized and remains incomplete.
In March 2022 the first FDRPC Executive Director, Jeff Randol, was dismissed without explanation. The Board Chair resigned the same month. Following these resignations, the sponsoring legislators, Valerie Longhurst and Nicole Poore, were roused to introduce HB 355. This phony reform reshuffled the FDRPC Board, eliminating local members appointed by Delaware City officials for more appointments by the Governor and legislative leaders.
Another post examines the fragile environment of the campground site in the face of increasing climate threats. Fort DuPont officials proposed to protect against flooding by constructing a seven foot levee ringing the entire complex. However, this plan has been abandoned. No other flood mitigation measures have been undertaken to protect the Fort DuPont Complex. No floodwalls, seawalls, floodgates, or levees have been installed.
Conclusion
We are advocating for a General Assembly Joint Resolution which would return the campground site to the Delaware Parks Department. The proposed legislation is based on a statutory remedy found in Title 7 § 4508 Forfeiture of Public Lands to State.
“Whoever purchases any of the public lands under any restriction or condition imposed by the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and fails for a period of 5 years to comply with the restrictions or conditions mentioned in the deed of grant from the Department, forfeits such lands to the State, and the title to such lands shall thereafter rest in the State.”
The campground land was transferred to FDRPC in March 2016 with all Title 7 and Title 30 protections maintained in the 2016 Deed. FDRPC has had more than 5 years to comply with this statute. The posts in this series will document that FDRPC’s “stewardship” has been disastrous with many violations of Title 7 and Title 30 protections.
Jack Guerin is an anti-corruption advocate with FightDECorruption.com. He is plaintiff in a lawsuit to stop the development of the campground. Click to send an email to legislative leaders asking them to pass the Joint Resolution and return this protected land to the State Parks Department.
There are so many things that need attention in Delaware. Historical land is not one of them. Pass the Joint Resolution.
This is nothing conpared to the no-bid Bloom Energy debacle. This has already cost only Delmarva Power ratepayers about $400M. It, like the proposed campground, is sited in the Delaware Coastal Zone.
This boondoogle was delivered by Jack Markell and Colin O’Mara, then Secretary of DNREC, now a candiate for governor in 2024.