A meeting to hear plans for a new data center was postponed after too many residents showed up to a public hearing.
614 Prospect LLC was going to present its proposal in Forward Township, Butler County, on Thursday.
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The company plans on building a data center bigger than 17 football fields, with a gas-powered generation facility, a wastewater treatment facility and stormwater management.
So many citizens showed up to the meeting that organizers decided to postpone the event so they could reschedule at a bigger venue.
Suzy Burkahart was one of the people planning to attend; she was disappointed by the circumstances.
“I rushed home from work because I wanted to get here, and yeah, I am disappointed. I wanted to sit down, learn, educate myself on this so I could form a good opinion on it,” Burkahart said.
A portion of the people at the meeting brought anti-data center signs with them.
The meeting is now set for next Thursday, Oct. 1.
Project developer Allen Sherwood was expected to speak with those residents. In a statement, he said:
“I was disappointed that we won’t be having the planning commission meeting tonight. I wanted to talk about our proposed Misty Hollow Energy and Data Campus and why we believe it has the potential to be something very significant for Butler County. There are people who support our project and there are also people concerned about what it could mean for the community. We get that and we want to have those conversations transparently. While I had hoped to have that discussion tonight, I understand the need to make sure there is enough space for all of us who care about this public process. I look forward next week to sharing what we’re trying to do, where we are in the process, and what this project could mean for Forward Township.”
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