Carpenter & Associates has indeed proceeded to threaten more than 20 neighborhoods in Bastrop County with a proposed airport. It is a horrible idea. Consider these facts:
- It's right on the Colorado River, in a protected wildlife area
- Home to five American Bald Eagles (per Audobon society 2009 study
- in a floodplane
- No highway access infrastructure. Just small, no-shoulder, very winding farm-to-market roads
- No major electrical power
- No wastewater treatment infrastructure
Carpenter says its a "Privately" funded airport. Yet he is trying to establish a special district (MUD) so he can pump $150 million from investors via municipal bonds he intends to issue. The proposed airport will render our entire neighborhood in the "Uninhabitable Zone". That's an area around an airport where it is so loud that your property value drops to ZERO! In fact, once your home is in an uninhabitable zone of an airport - its illegal to sell your home! Our neighborhood alone has 42 families, with all our home together worth about $7.5 million. He intends to destroy us. And we are just ONE of the 20+ affected neighborhoods. Who could ever imagine dropping a large airport right in the middle of a bunch of neighborhoods is a good idea? Insane.
What is so super-scary about this guy is the following: James R Carpenter found guilty of Real Estate Fraud in 2004, with guilty verdict reaffirmed by 5th circuit appeals court in 2009.
Here is a link to the 5th circuit legal brief: http://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?d=39659&n=07-51305&s=TX
Date: 04-16-2009
Case Style: Sandra McBeth v. James R. Carpenter
Case Number: 07-51305
James R Carpenter busted for swindling a couple in a real estate scam. Crimes included: common law and statutory fraud, negligent misrepresentation, conversion, and breach of contract. Does this sound like someone who should be given pseudo-governmental powers (through a MUD) to issue bonds for himself whenever he likes? Yikes!
It sounds like (from the prior fraud complaint) his schemes are getting bigger as time goes by. At what point do you consider someone a CAREER CRIMINAL? Live in fear. We certainly do.