With some residents hopeful and others skeptical, Lompoc voters will take a step toward deciding the future of Ken Adam Park by favoring or rejecting Measure R on the Nov. 5 ballot. 

Measure R asks voters whether the city should discontinue the public park’s use amid talks with Pale Blue Dot Ventures LLC to turn the 82 acres owned by the city into a for-profit space-themed educational and entertainment attraction.

The proposal for the space-themed attraction has some residents hopeful and others skeptical, understandable for a community that has seen similar promises of prosperity never materialize due to cancellations of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory and West Coast space shuttle.

Before the city can discontinue the public park, voters who live in Lompoc must have a chance to weigh in on its future, prompting both city-led and citizens-led measures. 

However, weeks after voting to keep both measures on the ballot, the City Council narrowly decided in August to remove what had been dubbed Measure Q. Councilmember Victor Vega changed his vote that resulted in the city-led measure being withdrawn.

That means residents will only see Measure R on their ballots.

While the measures were nearly identical, the city’s identified Pale Blue Dot Ventures LLC as the potential future user while the citizen-led measure lacked specifics.

Measure R2024 asks: “Shall the measure, which would discontinue the public park use of the 82-acre parcel containing Ken Adam Park in order to allow other educational and recreational uses or other open space uses, or both, to be considered for establishment on the parcel, including a potential space-themed educational center, and to allow sale of the parcel for those uses, be adopted?”

Supporters view the ambitious proposal as a boost for Lompoc’s future, recalling a long-abandoned plan to create the nonprofit Western Spaceport Museum and Science Center. 

Proponents cited Pale Blue Dot’s economic studies claiming the project would add $5 million to the city coffers and create hundreds of jobs. 

“Most important, Measure R will provide inspiration for our youth with hands-on learning that will propel their education in a fun state-of-the-art facility,” supporters wrote in the ballot argument urging passage. Residents Heather Bedford and Evie Sue Schuyler signed the ballot argument in favor of the measure.

“The Space Base will be a vibrant educational hub, providing immersive experiences and interactive learning opportunities that will transform the future for youth in Lompoc.”

But in the ballot argument against Measure R, Mayor Jenelle Osborne said it would be corporate welfare since Pale Blue Dot is “a private company looking to profit from a public gift.”

Adding she wants to share the same excitement as citizens recruited to put the measure on the ballot, Osborne noted she has concerns.

“I have yet to see a feasible plan. While the original vision was a not-for-profit space museum, this is a for-profit space-themed entertainment venue. Currently the estimated $135 million design has failed to raise needed funds and desperately needs the park as collateral for the construction loans.”

If the project failed, the city would get back the land with collateral debt, she added.

“I do not take pleasure in telling you vote no on Measure R, but gifting your park as corporate welfare could bankrupt the community.”

Approval of Measure R doesn’t end the park use alone, but would set the stage for a future action by the council.

“Rather, Measure R would enable the city to approve non-public-park uses, such as a space-themed educational center, on the property, and would allow the City to sell the property for those uses,” City Attorney Jeff Malawy wrote in the impartial analysis. 

The measure requires approval from a majority of the voters to pass.

Ken Adam Park is named for the former owner and publisher of the community’s newspaper. For a time, the area was known as Spaceport Park.

The park remains the home to three plaques serving as memorials for the 17 astronauts killed in the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle tragedies, as well as those who died in a 1967 fire at Cape Canaveral, Florida.