COVINGTON, Ga. — The attorney for the four-county Joint Development Authority (JDA) says Rivian is on track to break ground for its electric vehicle production and research complex by late summer.

But another attorney representing Rivian opponents also vowed to challenge in court a lease and tax-sharing agreement with the company after the JDA received approval Wednesday from the Morgan County Board of Assessors for the site's designation as tax-exempt because the company will be leasing it from the state government.

Andrea Gray, attorney for the four-county Joint Development Authority (JDA), told JDA members in their monthly meeting in Covington Tuesday, May 24, that all remaining land purchases for the Rivian project were expected to be completed by the end of next month.

She said the JDA will seek bids for the site grading work in coming months. Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) also was working on an intergovernmental agreement with the JDA for design and construction of a frontage road for the project, including street lights, Gray said.

Rivian is planning a $5 billion production and research facility on 2,000 acres straddling the line between Walton and Morgan counties. 

The JDA on Tuesday approved a preliminary agreement with Georgia Transmission Corp. for it to enter part of the site to do surveys for providing electric service to the project.

Gray told JDA members that all "preliminary due diligence has been completed" such as an Economic Development Agreement (EDA) the state government and Rivian approved May 2 which specifies the incentives being given to the company and its responsibility to provide up to 7,500 jobs.

The state recently disclosed more than $1.5 billion in local and state incentives were being given to the company to locate its second U.S. production facility on the 2,000-acre site straddling the line between Walton and Morgan counties.

The JDA and state government also filed a joint 404 Permit application that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now reviewing, she said. The permit is required for any construction project and regulates the discharge of dredged or fill material into streams and rivers.

Once the land is purchased, the JDA plans to give ownership of the site to the state as part of the incentive plan.

Opponents, including Chas Moore of Our Communities Oppose Rivian Assembly Plant, told Authority members he feared JDA would eventually turn over maintenance for the frontage road to local governments which are not equipped to handle it.

He said the state government should be responsible for its maintenance.

Nicole Wasendorf and Tonya Beckler said they believed the state had basically put any plans for planning committees on hold indefinitely.

Wasendorf said she believed Rivian had done "nothing to connect with our community" despite the recent invitation-only event at Georgia State University's Newton campus near Social Circle that included elected officials from the area. Beckler said the surrounding area did "not need the jobs" the massive production and research facility will produce.

She said she planned to continue to speak against the project despite her belief the JDA and the state were not responding to opponents' concerns.

"My voice is not getting heard," she said. “I’m going to show up continuously until someone hears my voice."

The Morgan County Board of Tax Assessors on Wednesday, May 25, approved the Rivian site's designation as tax-exempt because the company eventually will be leasing it from the state government.

Under the agreement, Georgia state government will acquire the land from the JDA and lease it to Rivian. The state government, like other public entities in Georgia, does not pay property taxes on land it owns.

The agreement spelled out the amount the company will give in payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) which could total $300 million over 25 years and be shared between the JDA's four counties, including Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton.

Morgan County will receive 14.25%, or almost $43 million, of the taxes received in the PILOT agreement. Newton will receive more than $90 million of the total because it has about a 32% share of any taxes received from business parks the JDA operates.

Board chairperson Mary Anton on Wednesday rejected a request from board member John Artz, husband of opposition leader JoAnn Artz, to "get a second opinion" on the legality of the site's tax-exempt status. She said the Board had enough time to determine if it could legally act on the request. 

JDA leaders, in a statement, said they were pleased with the decision after the same Board delayed action on it in April.

"This generational project is on track and moving forward with widespread support from the community, region and state. We will continue partnering with Rivian and the state of Georgia to make this project a reality and look forward to the groundbreaking later this summer.”

Atlanta attorney John Christy, who is representing the opponents, said a legal fight was coming that could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

"It's never too late," he told members of the Our Communities group gathered outside the Board meeting building in Madison. "There are various avenues after this, other hurdles they've still got to jump, including in court, that they've got to get this project off the ground in order to get their financing."

Christy said Morgan County’s share of PILOTs in the first six years would amount to $200,000 per year, and not offset new costs from industrial development such as road maintenance and law enforcement.

The state of Georgia also is not automatically exempt from zoning standards, he said.