Posey Co. residents pack meeting over potential data center development

MOUNT VERNON, Ind. (WFIE) - Close to 100 Posey County residents filled the Alexandrian Public Library in Mount Vernon Thursday night to learn about possible data center development in the area.

The standing room only crowd turned out with many asking the same two questions: Is a data center coming to the community, and if so, how do they stop it from happening?

The potential development site, according to community members at the meeting, is at the intersection of Boberg and Hoenert roads, an area surrounded by southern Indiana farmland.

“Once these data centers are built, then if they ever dismantle them, they’ll never be able to go back to agriculture again,” organizer Melanie McDowell said. “It will just ruin (it) for the farmland and the animals. So we hate to see good farmland go to waste and be destroyed.”

Residents say farmers near that intersection have been approached about leasing their land for a data center. But the county area planning commission says they have not received any data center applications.

Meeting organizer Kristyn Tromley says she heard the same from several county commissioners.

“So officially there is no project proposal or a data center for Posey County,” Tromley said. “And nobody that I spoke to knew of anything coming down into their agenda that they knew of. So that is good news.”

One resident expressed concern that the county would be truthful with them. Organizers say that’s why now is the time to start showing up to meetings.

“We just want to let the community know what we need to do is stand up and tell our commissioners that we do not want this in our community and at least we can want a two-year moratorium,” McDowell said.

The county already has a moratorium through December on solar and wind projects. Community members say they want to add data centers to that list.

14 news emailed county commissioners Bill Collins and Greg Newman and county council members Heather Allyn and Jerry Chastain III requesting clarification on what community members are reporting. They did not respond.