Citizens line up an hour before the Jan. 28 Henry County Commissioners meeting began in the conference room of the Henry County Sheriff’s Office. One individual is holding a “No Data Center” sign. Travis Weik / C-T Photo
A full house was present Jan. 28 as the Henry County Commissioners voted 2-1 to approve a Planned Unit Development (PUD) outline for a potential data center near exit 115 on Interstate 70 in Knightstown.
The meeting lasted less than 30 minutes.
Some citizens who attended the meeting showed up an hour in advance as they waited outside the doors to the conference room at the Henry County Sheriff’s Office, where the meeting took place. A few held signs, some of which opposed the data center while others promoted unions for fair wages, paid insurance and good retirement.
Southern District Commissioner Susan Huhn, who represents constituents in that part of the county, voted against the project. Prior to the vote, Huhn read an analysis she completed.
“It’s my belief that as an elected official, it’s my responsibility to represent the people that elected me,” Huhn said. “And in an effort to do so, I have gathered the following data. I went through my emails, searching for the words ‘data center,’ ‘PUD’ and ‘technology park,’ and I did an analysis on the individuals who have contacted me. My best faith efforts showed that 84 percent of the people who have contacted me via email asked me to vote against this PUD. Specifically, 89 percent of the people from Knightstown who emailed me asked me to vote against this PUD. Interestingly, 67 percent of the people from New Castle who contacted me via email asked me to vote against this PUD.”
“I compared my results to a social media survey that was initiated recently within our county,” Huhn continued. “Of the 1,171 votes on that survey, 83 percent were against this data center project, which almost matched my number exactly of my personal analysis of my own emails. I also received a petition with 2,280 signatures asking that this project be stopped, and I did not receive any such petition asking that this project move forward. I do not have the same analysis of phone calls taken, community conversations and interactions at the developer’s open house, but overwhelmingly, I have received much more opposition to this project than support for it.”
Huhn went on to say that no one from the Charles A. Beard Memorial School Corporation reached out to her and identified themselves as a staff or board member and asked her to support the endeavor, even though the school system was reportedly named as a primary beneficiary of the project.
Huhn made a motion to reject the recommendation of the Henry County Planning Commission regarding the Henry County Technology Park Planned Unit Development and to deny its PUD application.
Huhn said her motion was made on grounds that the PUD was not consistent with Henry County’s comprehensive plan, nor does it have sufficient guardrails in place to protect the “public health, safety, and general welfare of individuals near the project site” or ecological resources.
Huhn’s motion ultimately died for lack of a second.
Commissioner Joe Wiley then made a motion to approve the PUD, which Commissioner Steve Dellinger seconded. Before a vote was finalized, and citing Roberts Rules of Order, Huhn called for discussion.
“I think that this vote flies in the face of community voice,” Huhn said. “I think it is a poor choice.”
Dellinger disagreed.
“All I can say is, the interaction I’ve had with the public, in large, for every one person I’ve had say no, I’ve had at least two say that we should do this...,” Dellinger said.
Dellinger’s remark was then interrupted by murmuring from unhappy audience members who appeared to oppose the project. One member of the audience accused Dellinger of making things up.
“That’s enough,” Dellinger responded.
“I’m telling it like it is, buddy,” the audience member said.
“That’s what you’re hearing,” Dellinger said. “I’m hearing something different...You’re not the whole county, and I represent everyone.”
“You don’t represent us, buddy,” the audience member said, shaking his head. “Not at all. What a disappointment.”
The commissioners then voted on Wiley’s motion, which passed 2-1, with Huhn voting against.
Now that the PUD has been approved by the commissioners, real estate developers Greg Martz and Chris King will have 18 months to submit project plans to the Henry County Planning Commission and find an end-user technology company to operate on the land.
Martz said if they cannot meet those requirements, the PUD will expire and the land will revert back to its current agricultural zoning.
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