[0:01] State of the flag and the United States of America and to the republic for which

[0:06] it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice

[0:12] for all.

[0:22] Families, business, and schools we responsibility.

[0:28] It is only appropriate to petition for help from a hired authority in

[0:33] discussion, reflection, and dispensing of our duties as council members. A

[0:39] moment of silence, please.

[1:03] Paris. >> Okay. Can I have an approval

[1:09] meeting, please?

[1:14] » Second. >> Yes. I favor.

[1:18] I >> Okay. You make a couple comments. First,

[1:23] we had two police officers today involved in a shooting incident to turn

[1:28] the fire off involving. So, if you would just keep them in your

[1:34] thoughts. Um and tonight this is a meeting with

[1:41] say two presenters and it's not a question and answer session and in quest

[1:48] respect and we're sorry for the limitations. We do have part of our

[1:54] streaming but the audio is not there. So, I'm sure there's plenty of phones

[1:58] out there that will be streaming audio and video and hopefully then by next

[2:04] meeting um we'll take that. We have cameras in here and mics to hopefully

[2:09] help some of the sound when we do get it to be solved. Um

[2:14] so, [clears throat] first presentation listed is Sue Moore. Is she here? She

[2:20] is. Okay. Podium there, please.

[2:34] thoughts for the police officers. >> Thank you. Thank you.

[2:40] » An inflection point refers to any moment when a significant change occurs,

[2:48] a defining moment that alters the future. Asheville is at that moment.

[2:56] Growth must be systematically guided with a plan for the future, not

[3:04] simply allowed to happen. I created a timeline in order to help me

[3:11] understand how Asheville Council has so quickly arrived at this point.

[3:19] a point where you need to make such a powerful

[3:24] and farreaching decision that will go into the future. A decision that will

[3:31] forever alter the Asheville we all love. The first news of a data center I could

[3:40] find was the October 28th, 2025

[3:46] Village of Asheville newsletter. In the middle of the village updates

[3:52] column after leaf pickup information. Not much of a big deal for such a

[4:00] lifealtering prospect for many. In early November, South Bloomfield

[4:07] Mayor Aaron Thomas formed Protect Pickaway Alliance.

[4:14] That was my first real introduction to data centers.

[4:19] Like everyone else who lives in the area, I have watched the smoking

[4:25] colopsis rise from the former grounds of Hartman Farms. I asked myself, was this

[4:33] a data center? I began my data center research in

[4:38] earnest. Then came the November 19th town hall.

[4:45] Attendees left disgruntled as they were unable to learn, as they stated, real

[4:52] information. Following was the November 24th village

[4:58] newsletter which had a more robust description of the data center. The

[5:05] newsletter explained how vital the data center was

[5:11] to Asheville because Edge Connects would pay for the long needed water plant and

[5:18] pour millions into the TA Valley school system.

[5:23] Then came the December 1st council meeting, and I suspect the then village

[5:28] mayor and council were unprepared for the amount of negativity

[5:34] villagers displayed. At that meeting, several people spoke and left handouts

[5:40] for council. Kyle Barnum, certified nurse

[5:46] practitioner, a local resident, gave the mayor and each council member a

[5:52] five-page document complete with two pages of citations

[5:58] on the health risks surrounding data centers.

[6:04] Josh Austin, also local, spoke and gave you a three-page document also detailing

[6:13] health hazards. Extremely low frequency magnetic fields,

[6:19] noise and air quality, among other things.

[6:26] I gave you nine pages of 92 residents who were at the town hall and who were

[6:33] pulled upon leaving the town hall. I gathered the 92 opposition signatures in

[6:41] less than a 2hour period. Was simply a poll to get a feeling for what people

[6:48] were hearing about the projected data center. I was overwhelmed with the

[6:54] number of people who waited to sign my impromptu form. I sensed they were

[7:00] feeling helpless and frankly they couldn't understand why this was

[7:05] happening so quickly. Signing that form made them feel they

[7:11] were fighting back and somebody was listening.

[7:15] I hope the new council members have received copies of those handouts in

[7:21] order to afford them the information local citizens have taken the time to

[7:27] assemble and share their expertise in health and safety issues surrounding

[7:34] data centers. December 15th was another well-attended

[7:40] council meeting only hours after the village

[7:44] administrator gave an ill-advised and apparently incorrect television

[7:50] interview stating the data center is a done deal. No need for a vote.

[7:58] Continuing to use the village administrator as the frontman of data

[8:03] center negotiations as well as village spokesperson is a

[8:08] topic council must consider carefully until confidence is restored to your

[8:15] constituents regarding the veracity of public statements.

[8:24] The January 5th council meeting once again featured representatives from

[8:31] EdgeconX during which statements were made

[8:35] surrounding a neighborhood school district that have since been proven

[8:41] incorrect. On January 12th, I attended the Taz

[8:47] Valley School District's board meeting. I was allowed to address the board and I

[8:54] asked three questions. One of which was, has the board had

[9:00] conversations with any data center representative?

[9:06] The answer to that question was no. Once again, in order to improve public

[9:14] perception of council as a TAZ school district employee,

[9:21] consideration should be given by Councilman Teters

[9:26] to recuse himself from any vote that relates to the data

[9:31] center. This is offered as a suggestion wrapped

[9:37] in an abundance of caution regarding a controversial topic and is

[9:44] not meant as a reflection on Councilman Teter's integrity.

[9:50] As per the Edge K connects representatives, there's a 30-day window

[9:57] for execution of an agreement with the village.

[10:02] 30 days dating from January 5th seems to be an awfully ambitious time frame,

[10:10] particularly when the council has new and newish members.

[10:17] Why are they in control of the time council has to learn about data centers

[10:23] and their impact on thousands in a variety of ways?

[10:31] According to [clears throat] the gentleman who was here last time, there

[10:35] were five or 50 items, I believe he said. I've rewatched that video a number

[10:40] of times, but 50 items, he said, and he would only address three or four of them

[10:44] at the last meeting. So 50. So that's a lot of items for you

[10:49] to consider in a very brief period of time

[10:55] because council has a moral obligation as well as statutory duty to protect

[11:03] both the public health and safety of Asheville residents. I am requesting

[11:10] council create an emergency order adopting interim standards regarding

[11:18] noise, vibration, and mechanical emissions for largecale industrial

[11:25] facilities. This preserves council's control

[11:31] [clears throat] before permits lock in everything.

[11:35] It allows time to develop interim standards and allows for a study period.

[11:43] The emergency interim ordinance is entirely health and safetybased.

[11:51] The village of Asheville already has the authority to pause approvals and require

[11:59] proof of compliance for health and safety under existing codes

[12:07] disturbing the peace noise public safety and limited industrial district zoning.

[12:16] Chapter 141 states, "Permits can be denied, paused, or conditioned until

[12:24] compliance with village noise, safety, and nuisance standards are proven in

[12:32] advance. Council needs adequate time for study.

[12:38] You do not have to wait for harm to occur. And you surely don't need to be

[12:45] pushed into now a 21-day period to make such lifealtering decisions for so many.

[12:57] I think if I had to describe the mood of the many people I've talked with over

[13:04] the last six or eight weeks, it's the feeling of utter helplessness they have

[13:11] when something so monumental not of their own making is confronting

[13:17] them and they have no real power to do anything about it. is frustrating and I

[13:26] hope you can understand that. This data center prospect is killing the

[13:33] community emotionally >> and physically.

[13:39] Best I can tell, it's all about the water treatment plant.

[13:45] Do you really think the EPA or whatever entity that is citing the village is

[13:53] going to swoop into Asheville and shut all the water off to thousands of

[13:58] people, schools, and businesses? Yes, you have a water problem,

[14:06] council. A problem that the existing council did not create.

[14:13] » That is for 10 minutes. So, can you wrap it up?

[14:20] » Yes, I shall. >> Okay.

[14:23] » Yes, you have a water problem, council. A problem that you didn't create.

[14:31] That is the reality, but you're getting blamed for it, and you must solve it.

[14:40] Edge connects is not the answer. We urge you to deny annexation.

[14:50] This is your inflection point. Council, thank you.

[14:58] » Thank you. Thank you.

[15:08] [clears throat]

[15:38] question. >> All right. Mayor uh Clark and Council,

[15:42] thank you again for allowing Edgeax to come uh here today to speak. Um we do

[15:46] not have a formal PowerPoint presentation today. Yes, we briefed the

[15:50] council on the project loss meeting that we had. We're here today um to

[15:55] reintroduce ourselves. Uh I'm Macy Ramsey. I am with Edge Connects uh for

[15:59] market development and then with our trusted engineering partner Paul Woff is

[16:04] here as a center project lead expert. One thing I would like to start by

[16:09] clarifying is um to provide a little bit more accuracy behind the situation.

[16:14] There were some statements made at the last council meeting from external

[16:18] parties outside of Edge Connects um and our trusted partners. Um those external

[16:24] parties uh are not part of the project development team. So with that being

[16:28] said, for any questions around community commitments, uh the project itself,

[16:32] traffic studies, construction, development, uh project details, we as

[16:37] edge connects and our project partners, BCI would like to be the ones that

[16:42] directly respond to you with accurate um and [clears throat] quickly and timely

[16:46] uh answers for those sort for those sort of questions.

[16:50] Um, with that [sighs] being said, um, we're just here today to talk briefly

[16:54] on, um, any of the questions that you had last time. I did want to address one

[16:58] item that uh Councilman Burke asked that I said I would be bringing answer back

[17:02] to around OPSV and then um discuss what it looks like um work for a potential

[17:09] town hall opportunity uh that the council may be looking at hosting as the

[17:14] project would like to be a participant at this so we can help provide details

[17:19] from the technical standpoint from the health and safety aspect as well as any

[17:23] other permitting and regulatory processes that the project would

[17:26] undergo. um as part of the the permitting

[17:29] process. Um so, Councilman Burke, the one question that you had last time was

[17:33] around Ohio Power Sighting Board and what would it look like if um we failed

[17:38] to fail to continue operations as upheld by the binding conditions of the

[17:44] certificate and he asked what was what were the repercussions basically and so

[17:49] there are three repercussions as listed by the hot power sounding board. Um the

[17:55] when you operate a behind the meter generation facility you must uphold

[18:00] those binding conditions that are in the certificate. Um the three uh items that

[18:05] are repercussions one is requiring corrective action. So that's mitigation.

[18:10] it's going in and then adding in um whether it's sound attenuation sound

[18:14] walls or if it's um noise emitters, if it's additional um mechanical um

[18:19] equipment that helps with air air uh permit issues, anything that is being

[18:25] monitored um on a daily basis. If that is out of protocol, that is a form of

[18:31] effect function and mitigation that OPSB can put on you. They can limit or

[18:35] suspend operations. So they do have the um state authority, enforcement

[18:40] authority to take your um operating license away from you and then of course

[18:45] and they also can impose penalties and that's defined by themselves and uh the

[18:50] project at um compliance for the project is

[18:55] overseen 100% by state agencies. It's not overseen by the developer or the

[19:00] operator themselves. So any compliance that you must adhere to either data

[19:04] centers or energy centers um must be upheld in our state regulated

[19:13] » council. I was wondering if that happened to answer your question.

[19:16] » It does.

[19:21] » Agency is that just the EPA or there other

[19:25] » Yes. The Ohio Power Exciting Board is specifically who um approves the

[19:29] certificate for operations of any electric generating facility and then

[19:34] also Ohio EPA for air quality and noise control

[19:40] » fall under EPA as well. >> That would also fall under EPA that is

[19:44] part of their preview.

[19:47] » Thank you.

[19:51] And that being said, um, is there any other councilman questions that we can

[19:54] answer here today? >> Well, there's probably what, six

[19:59] different agencies that are on that sighting board? Six.

[20:03] » Ohio Power Sighting Board um is a state regulatory agency itself, but it is also

[20:08] um controlled by the PUCO and so they are the rating body over

[20:15] OPSB.

[20:26] We were here today just to provide those answers to the work um and to also

[20:31] discuss participation in a town hall as we would like to provide a lot more

[20:36] clarity, accuracy, detailed information to answer community concerns and

[20:41] questions that have been raised. Thank you.

[20:45] » Thank you.

[20:56] No

[21:00] any departmental reports today a little bit of stuff here. We we had

[21:08] bid opening for the new water plant um on Friday. We had a bid of 12,844,000.

[21:16] We also had a bid of 14,724,000. Uh the engineering firm that designed

[21:21] the plant is reviewing the bids, looking over qualifications, checking out the

[21:29] qualifications, see if they can go forward. Um so we should have that

[21:34] answer uh first second week of February and see where we go from there.

[21:39] Uh secondly, Carter Lumber, Homes Lumber,

[21:45] which you know it as out here on 752, they have they're required to put in an

[21:51] 8 in fire tap. They already have a 6-in firetap. It will not perform what they

[21:57] need it to perform because they have multiple hydrants. Now, I've offered

[22:01] them to credit them a 6-in fire tap and and then pay for a the difference to an

[22:07] 8 in. That difference is $3 and $16,000

[22:15] from a 6 in to an 8 in fire tap. I offered them five annual payments.

[22:22] July 1st each year they pay $63,240.40.

[22:29] Are you guys okay with that? The the fire re uh suppression was

[22:37] something that was unforeseen. It was because they added all those

[22:41] sheds with lumber and stuff in it back there.

[22:44] They had to add more fire hydrants for fire inspection or for fire department.

[22:51] When you have more than one fire hydrant, you have to have a larger line

[22:54] than 6 in.

[22:59] question. >> Yeah,

[23:02] » I'll

[23:07] in >> Yeah, the 6 in is the 6 in is 20053,000

[23:14] and the 8 in is $568,000. So, they're going to shut off the 6 in

[23:20] and cap it and pay the difference between the eight and the six.

[23:26] Is that incurring a cost on the village? Because what I'm what I'm hearing is

[23:32] they added things to their their ability to plan their site, what what have you.

[23:38] » They want [clears throat] some link to put lumber in

[23:41] » causing them. In my mind, that is not the village's

[23:46] responsibility to put part of that. See what I'm saying? That is not

[23:50] » We didn't cause that issue, >> but there's already been paid for.

[23:55] » Okay. And that was only my only reason of going from to split the cost.

[24:00] » So my question then is is the village incurring any cost?

[24:06] » Absolutely not. >> They are 100% putting it in and taking

[24:10] the old one out at their expense. We we actually

[24:14] good thing about fire line fire lines is you hope to never have to use them.

[24:19] They're very expensive and nothing usually ever floats to them in a perfect

[24:25] world. So, they're kind of a

[24:31] a bonus that is quite expensive

[24:36] » and forgive my ignorance. I'm just just trying to understand there. So, the

[24:40] $500,000 cost, who levies that cost? >> That's all set up in our ordinances. All

[24:46] the fire suppression charges and everything is set up where your water

[24:49] rates and your tap fees and all that stuff is for different size services.

[24:54] » Okay. So that's not something that you know park and labor that is spelled out

[24:58] in our ordinances. This is what it cost to put it in.

[25:00] » That's just what it cost to hook to it and that and the hooking to it part is

[25:04] all on them. [clears throat] >> Okay.

[25:07] So, so when you when you when you say they're going to pay us 60,000 bucks for

[25:13] five, you know, for five years, what are they actually paying for?

[25:16] » Is that a cap fee? >> Basically, yeah,

[25:18] » it's basically a fee. >> So, it isn't it is we aren't incurring

[25:21] any we're just allowing them to pay us the 300 and some odd thousand over the

[25:27] five years. >> Okay.

[25:29] » Okay. We're not doing anything up front and

[25:31] they're increasing their capacity and that's that's a reasonable assumption.

[25:36] That's a reasonable thing. >> Yeah. As long as the village isn't

[25:41] incurring any costs.

[25:47] Exactly. >> Somebody did. I mean whether it was

[25:49] Columbus Industries or whoever. So,

[25:53] » and when you need from me or us, >> if you're okay with it, I'll get the

[25:57] paperwork done and then I'll present an ordinance or a resolution.

[26:04] » I'll present a resolution to you. I just want to get your opinion.

[26:11] » Yes. Um, secondly,

[26:15] Daryl Ward had been he's out seeking donations to create the memorial the the

[26:24] veterans memorial wall over the park. You guys all approved that. Well, most

[26:28] of you wasn't here, but ones that were here approved it last fall. And then,

[26:34] uh, he's got about he's got over half the money raised.

[26:40] I was wanting to put a purchase order together for $13,000 to help fund it in

[26:46] the so that the project can move forward and and be done before the 4th of July

[26:50] and all that. In the event that he doesn't raise the rest of the money, the

[26:54] village would end up with a $13,000 investment in it.

[26:59] I mean, since you guys approved it, I figured it'd be best to bring it back. I

[27:04] can approve that. Is is the plan for us to to to print the $13,000 and then if

[27:10] he does raise the $25,000 whatever amount

[27:13] » whatever he don't raise back so we we could be on the hook for the residual I

[27:18] know he's in the middle of that right now

[27:19] » right he's ordered the stones will pick up I closer to 4th of July and all that

[27:25] you know everything like that >> yeah in order to have it done in in the

[27:29] » done this year for the 250th >> it would and u you know it's $13,000 and

[27:34] we'll if if he raises all the money We don't spend a dime. If he raises another

[27:38] $8,000, we'll spend five. I mean, it's >> it's basically just to help out and get

[27:42] the project done. >> If the the only thing I would ask is you

[27:48] where where do we appropriate those funds?

[27:50] » Yeah, that's that's that is a procedural question. Where would that where would

[27:59] » and we may even be able to do it out of >> Okay, never mind.

[28:08] need a resolution for that next. >> No, I can sign off on it just because of

[28:12] the funds. I just wanted to pass it by those guys and

[28:16] » it's an ongoing approved project. >> Yeah. And and I think it's it's very

[28:21] well sought after in the building. So,

[28:29] » I can show you all renderings if you'd like to see it. I'll scan it and send it

[28:32] to all your emails tomorrow. It's very attractive. It's got a granite bench and

[28:37] stuff with donators names engraved in it and all the flag of the military

[28:41] services and stuff and the nice wall up behind it. So,

[28:45] » who did you say is raising the phone for that?

[28:46] » Daryl Ward, the zoning guy

[28:50] » and and Burton 30 seconds or less. What's what's the what's the what's the

[28:54] going forward schedule on uh East Street? You know,

[28:57] » East Street right now >> I saw curb approaches. They got the

[29:02] concrete poured at the curbs and stuff uh at the driveways where they put in

[29:07] the new curbs. U I think there's a few more of them to do.

[29:11] » Okay. >> Weather's not been real cooperative.

[29:14] » Um but then they're also doing the sanitary down in the alley now down

[29:18] behind east uh Walnut Street and East Street.

[29:24] Now for third fourth things. [laughter] Uh have you guys had any time to look

[29:28] over the tiff dollars and the NCA dollars and come up with any thoughts or

[29:33] about sharing some of the tiff dollars to to encourage or to be able to recoup

[29:38] some of the uh >> NCA dollars.

[29:42] I >> so I candidly I've looked it over but

[29:46] again I my personal feelings I think we need

[29:49] something on the workshop to fully understand this because I see the NPD

[29:53] calculations and that brings value and but I'm asking the NPD of what right and

[29:59] I think from my perspective and I won't speak for everyone

[30:05] we have some of the most valuable real estate in the state of Ohio right out

[30:11] and I think incentives for development have a place but that is not for every

[30:17] project and um yeah I'll just leave that it's not

[30:23] for every project and I think housing in particular given the strain to our

[30:27] infrastructure [clears throat] I'm failing at this point and this could be

[30:31] just a personal on me right I'm failing to see

[30:35] the wisdom in providing incentives to a housing developer when we have

[30:40] challenges to our infrastructure. Now, as I said, I may be I may be off base in

[30:45] some of my assumptions, but I think I think we need something if

[30:50] [clears throat] council is open to this, a workshop of some kind to kind of walk

[30:53] through this. We have five council members with 3 months or less of tenure.

[30:57] » If you guys want to meet with me, I I'd be more than happy to help you walk

[31:00] through it. It's it's very complicated. >> I [clears throat] think we should do it

[31:04] as a group so that we all understand. You can't have more than two of you at

[31:07] one time, >> right? Which might be a special meeting

[31:10] or something of that that >> I mean I I just don't feel comfortable

[31:14] approving them when I don't have a firm understanding of what's the true benefit

[31:18] for us. I understand when you say the NCA gives us money forever, right? But

[31:22] there's a reason the developer would sign up for that.

[31:25] » They do. They the the upfront money or the share money is the reason they sign

[31:29] up for it. And that's it lowers the cost of their houses by I don't let's just

[31:34] say $100 a house or $5,000 a house or whatever the number be but it lowers the

[31:40] number that way but it creates a 7 mil income tax on that particular house

[31:45] wherever and the numbers are equal to if not greater than most of your tiff

[31:50] dollars. So you share a few of the tiff dollars but you can get your tiff

[31:55] dollars but they stop in 30 years where your NCA continues on. Sure.

[32:02] » And it's it's kind of a a trade. You you give a little bit to get to get

[32:08] assumptions baked in >> be assumptions baked into either the

[32:12] value of the property in the future, the value of the tax dollars that you're

[32:15] going to receive in the future. And at this point, I just don't feel like

[32:19] personally I'm one of six. So I personally don't

[32:23] feel that I have the grasp and it sort of goes

[32:27] counter to you know my

[32:32] philosophy that again we have some of the most valuable land in the state of

[32:35] Ohio and we have challenges to our infrastructure.

[32:40] Why would we provide an incentive especially for housing when we're

[32:44] signing up for an obligation in perpetuity?

[32:48] Yeah, I think we need to set a date. If it's a Saturday morning, it's a Saturday

[32:54] morning. It's going to have to be an announced meeting, right? Um council.

[32:59] » No, and I can have I can have Burker Graden. They're the ones that put it all

[33:02] together for us. Um they they do all our TIFF dollars and everything. U they've

[33:06] set up all that and they are also the ones that run all the numbers on the

[33:09] homes. Uh I think personally the numbers they use are light. um because they're

[33:15] figuring home values at $350,000 and I think that ship is sailed. I hate to say

[33:21] it. >> We'll see what we can do and I guarantee

[33:24] you can read these documents and still sit there and scratch your hand, you

[33:27] know, one reading. >> Okay. So, we'll work on setting that up

[33:31] sooner rather than later.

[33:36] » See if everybody

[33:42] Thank you. Okay.

[33:52] 20261 motion for

[33:57] » make a motion for second reading. Ordinance 20261

[34:02] second. This is the ordinance that's creating a

[34:06] municipal electric utility to be known as an a bill public power and I this

[34:13] will be up for third reading the next meeting

[34:18] and then a resolution for a second reading number 01 2026

[34:24] and a motion for second reading the annexation.

[34:29] » I'll make a motion. >> Second.

[34:34] Okay, Darl. Second [clears throat] resolution accepting

[34:39] the resolution 01 1226 petition for annexation of 485.957

[34:47] acres from the Harrison Township to the village of Nashville and declaring

[34:52] emergency misal

[35:04] Did we vote to accept separated? You don't vote.

[35:07] » You don't have to. >> We don't have to. Okay. We're going to

[35:09] go next. >> Yep.

[35:11] » Beth, did you want to bring up old business? Did you see my email?

[35:16] » It's about what you the special meeting. It can be Yep. It can be handled.

[35:34] James

[35:38] like to thank for driving a lot of giving us the the venue audio video.

[35:45] Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for that. Um I think there are a number of open

[35:49] questions and I think we need to talk through

[35:53] agenda topics some of the key questions I have number of key questions that I

[35:58] think we need to answer at that meeting and I I'll share those email you know

[36:03] with everyone um

[36:08] » sure now I'm fine with yeah um

[36:15] So, my thinking on this town hall on the

[36:20] 28th is that this should be an Asheville focused.

[36:28] Um, with respect to Mixie, I apologize. I I didn't catch your last name. Um, I

[36:34] feel rather strongly that Edge Connect should not be a presenter at this time.

[36:39] And here's why. >> [clears throat]

[36:42] » The re my reason being that if we're counting the September meeting when Mr.

[36:47] Hireman was here at first office council the town hall the last council meeting

[36:54] in this council meeting that's been four opportunities.

[36:58] If Edge connects is on the stage with council ears will immediately be closed

[37:04] and this will turn to a contentious meeting is my feeling. Now, they're

[37:07] welcome to be in the building, grab a seat, ask a question or respond to a

[37:13] question maybe as if we have audience comments, but my personal feeling is

[37:17] that we need to, you know, this gets into a little bit of logistics, but we

[37:21] need to have some presentations on where we are at the village visav what parcels

[37:26] are we talking about and annexation. We're hearing a lot of 200 acres, 500

[37:30] acres, 700 acres. you know, folks that aren't immersed in this every day don't

[37:37] understand exactly what that means. So, I think we

[37:42] need to have a this is what we're talking about and and and let me back up

[37:46] and say that this meeting should not be a

[37:51] pitch for a data center and it shouldn't be a session bashing a data center. This

[37:56] should be us presenting the facts in so far as what parcels are we talking

[38:00] about, what is zoned where, what authorities does this council have, what

[38:04] goes into zoning, what's the situation with the water, have we built a mutually

[38:09] agreed upon plan with the EPA. Um, as Miss Moore said, I tend to agree that

[38:15] the EPA is not in the business of shutting down your water if you're

[38:19] making a good faith effort to improve. [clears throat] Right? Right. So I think

[38:23] we need there are a lot of I mean I've got 15 or 20 questions here so I won't

[38:27] go through all of those but I feel rather strongly that this needs to be a

[38:32] village discussion and Edge Connects is welcome to be there in the crowd and if

[38:36] they want to respond to questions but I think that we start off with

[38:40] presentation and then we open it up for a dialogue between the community and us

[38:45] outside of you know the typical council meeting where it's not a dialogue. Let's

[38:48] have a dialogue after we've presented. This is where we are and what everyone

[38:52] needs to consider cuz again five of us have less than 3 months of tenure here.

[38:56] So, we're learning as we go as well. Um I'll get off my soap box now. No,

[39:03] » I mean that's that's that's great. I think we're all great ideas. Um you and

[39:08] I should definitely sit down and put together agenda an agenda. I think since

[39:12] we've got you know less than maybe a week, week and a half to get that put

[39:15] together. >> Yeah. Um I I do want to open it up to

[39:20] everybody in council and get their thoughts on Edge Connects being either a

[39:24] presenter or being present even in the building. Um this is something that I um

[39:31] I weigh on a little bit. I've been back and forth um just because I do agree

[39:34] with Jeff that it should be a national town hall. Uh but I do feel like um like

[39:40] you said, we're not all um experts yet. We're all really new. there just a lot

[39:44] of stuff going on that we're not fully up to speed on. So, Edge Connects can

[39:48] answer some of those questions that we might not be able to. Um, so I do like

[39:52] the idea of them being in the building. Um, but I also like your concept of them

[39:56] maybe just not being a presenter, but just being there available to answer

[40:00] questions as needed. So, that's my take on it, but I think everybody in council

[40:03] should weigh in and give us

[40:08] » a very [clears throat]

[40:13] town hall. This is for the pe the people to ask the question and if they want

[40:18] technical detail what kind of answer we can you know hear

[40:24] too many exact

[40:28] » and so you know I count the invention as less brings to the patient and won't be

[40:34] give them the chance to ask the questions I'm okay with in clarity with

[40:41] zoning issues and things like that that responsibility.

[40:47] » I think it would be a great time to also with clarity to the whole village of

[40:51] Asheville letting everybody know where we stand as far as the 200 acres that

[40:54] are already in here what is being done on that what will be done on that where

[40:58] do we stand on that as far as I think something will be built on it. I just

[41:03] want the clarity from from building administrator, village administrator and

[41:07] everything else as far as what is going to be done at at 200 with or without the

[41:15] » and I also I agree and I agree and I don't think that having this town hall

[41:21] second town hall with educates potentially presenting but I do feel you

[41:26] know I do feel that there's a lot that this

[41:31] understand where is what

[41:37] candidly there's been conflicting messaging about the last 6 months

[41:42] » and that has frustrated a lot of boats caused a lot of anxiety and anger and I

[41:47] think that is why I feel that we need and it doesn't have to be long but I I I

[41:53] think it should be more there should be a lot of dialogue with

[41:57] the community but I do think we need a baseline understanding Hopefully that

[42:02] will alleviate the anxieties cuz folks just don't understand everything that

[42:07] needs to be considered >> with this decision.

[42:09] » No, and [clears throat] I I agree with you on that, Jeeoff, that that what I

[42:12] what I think too in regards to that is for purposes of this type of meeting,

[42:18] you get too deep in the weeds on technical details. You're getting too

[42:21] deep in the weeds on technical details in my in my opinion because a lot of

[42:25] these things were done long before I was even on council. Um the we we have

[42:32] zoning in certain places, we have we have parcels in certain places and I

[42:37] would rather have have a town hall where we sit and we talk with each other about

[42:41] what what is it what is Asheville right now? What where where is our zoning?

[42:45] What what do we have right here? Um, and then if we were to if we were to annex

[42:49] this property, of course, that that comes in there, but there's also

[42:52] property in Asheville, that's that's been zoned a long long time ago, was

[42:55] zoned limited industrial uh for the purposes of having a corridor where you

[43:00] could do whether manufacturing or whatever. And I don't know what was

[43:03] contemplated back then. We're talking 20 years ago. Um, but so I in my in my

[43:08] world, I would much rather um sit and talk with where are we? What are our

[43:14] options? because we hear a lot of well you guys you guys can't do this or you

[43:17] can't do this or you can't do this and you can't do this and there's there's

[43:20] nuances and there's things between all of that and and I think it's just best

[43:24] for us to to get in a room with ourselves like we do here um and have a

[43:29] nice presentation and and talk about it a little bit without getting

[43:32] contentious. I think we're all on the same team in some fashion around here.

[43:36] Uh we better be cuz we're we don't you know hang together or hang separately as

[43:39] they always say. So so we need we need we need to look out for our town. Um, so

[43:44] but I think that would be make more sense from from my standpoint because as

[43:48] I said, it's just like we were talking about

[43:51] with these things here with with these numbers on the NCA. Somebody could walk

[43:55] up to me and start talking to me about a data center or some technical thing. I

[43:59] they could be speaking, you know, anything a foreign language. I wouldn't,

[44:03] you know, I'm not an expert in that and I'm not going to be an expert in 30

[44:06] seconds. So I I think I'd like the people of Asheville to know where the

[44:12] people of Asheville stand because I think we know I I know where the people

[44:14] of Asheville stand pretty much I think. But um but there are some there's some

[44:18] disagreements and there's there's two sides to every issue and and I'm hearing

[44:22] things from from all different sides. So um to my way of thinking I think that

[44:26] would be a better better avenue for the first time out because I think we'd all

[44:31] Jeff made a very good point. Nothing against the Econex people, but when

[44:35] they're on the stage, ears can be closed and and if they're

[44:41] not on the stage and you're just talking to us, depending on your neighbors,

[44:43] okay, then we can talk and that's and that's and that's what we want to do.

[44:47] That's what I want to do personally. So that's that's my stand.

[44:51] » So Darl, where are you at with the edge connects presenting or what what are

[44:56] your thoughts?

[45:00] » Sure. Yeah, I guess the town people

[45:12] ask

[45:18] Broadway just when you mention the village of Asheville, you have just the

[45:22] village of Asheville or is it open to northern counties? Well, the it's be a

[45:28] public meeting, so whoever want can attend. But what what I'm when I'm

[45:32] talking about the village of Asheville, I'm say I'm what I'm envisioning is the

[45:36] council is on stage and Mr. Mayor will be on stage, the solicitor, Bert, um the

[45:42] representative from zoning or folks to that can at least address some of the

[45:48] this is where we are on some of the key questions, right? And again,

[45:54] my position is not that this should be a pro data center session. And I think if

[45:59] Edge Connects is on stage, that's what it looks like. And perception is it also

[46:05] shouldn't be a bash data center session. This should just be this is kind of what

[46:10] exists across some of the key questions um you know directly and indirectly

[46:16] around the data center. >> But the meeting will be public. So,

[46:21] anyone that >> wants to attend can.

[46:24] » Jeff, would you want our village engineer to come? He's been around for

[46:27] about 22 years and he was he was in when everything was annexed and zoned and and

[46:32] he's been around here a long time and he can tell you exactly u what's how things

[46:38] went down years ago. So, >> I think that would be a good

[46:43] and also historical

[46:46] » also Bricker Graden's environmental impact team has reached out. They work

[46:50] for us. They don't work for Edge Connects. They have reached out and want

[46:54] to present concerns about pollution and all that

[46:58] stuff. Um, but there again, they work for us. They don't work for them. So,

[47:04] » um, >> I think that gets I hear you.

[47:09] I sort of bucketed the same thing though, Bert, in that, you know,

[47:14] that gets kind of to me tangentially into, you know, objection handling the

[47:20] data center. And I don't I don't think that's necessarily what it should be,

[47:24] » but they may have answers to questions about environmental concerns that people

[47:27] have. And that's kind of where I'm at. I mean because a lot of what I hear is

[47:31] concerns about runoff waters and the creeks and the streams and this and what

[47:37] » have them available for questions, you know,

[47:40] » well, I mean, they're going to cost quite a bit of money to come down

[47:42] because they get paid by the hour. >> So, we're not going to if we're not

[47:45] going to use them, then I assume they stay home. My thought process would be

[47:50] if we're putting this thing together um for the village and I would say we don't

[47:56] spare spare any expense if you have everything available

[48:04] » no harm in

[48:09] » I think it's important though that we ask citizens to prepare questions ahead

[48:12] of time but not seen

[48:19] Gary, what's your thoughts on actually presenting or just being available for

[48:24] question? >> Um,

[48:27] I think we've heard a lot of the technical details. I'm not sure that

[48:30] there's a lot of new information that they're going to be able to provide to

[48:33] us in that particular session. So, I think it's it's valuable for us to just

[48:37] have a conversation as a community about what it is that we want to see happening

[48:41] within our community. have any kind of external force exerting

[48:47] any kind of sway one way or the other

[48:54] certainly agriculture.

[49:12] Let's get the other

[49:19] we need a motion for the special meeting

[49:24] the

[49:34] » Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, for new business, uh,

[49:38] I had a resident, uh, reach out to me in the past couple weeks and shared a

[49:44] interesting article with me. Um, I created a memorandum for you folks on

[49:48] council, councilman, to take a look at, you as well, mayor. Um, but essentially

[49:54] it it uh after I did some reading on um nuclear reactors and small modular

[50:00] reactors, it it seemed like that may be a good thing to potentially have looked

[50:05] at or defined in our zoning, especially with uh the stuff in New Albany with I

[50:11] know they're not necessarily generating nuclear power, but just that brings up a

[50:14] lot of questions and um some uncertainties. So, uh, I did some

[50:19] research and I would like to move that council refer the question of how

[50:22] nuclear power generation, including small modular reactors, should be

[50:26] defined or regulated within the village zoning code, to the plating and zoning

[50:30] commission for evaluation and recommendation.

[50:34] » Got a motion? >> Yes, I'll second that.

[50:37] » Okay.

[50:41] » I

[50:44] » I think you want to get ahead of that. What's the material that have an issue

[50:47] for >> cells?

[50:50] That's a good get ahead of it. >> Yeah. So, we don't have any just to be

[50:54] clear, we don't have any issue of that, but it's more of a preparation getting

[50:59] getting prepared, >> not kicking the cane.

[51:04] [laughter] [clears throat]

[51:06] » Well, if you're going to do something, we need

[51:12] loopholes and we need to define it. So, there any committee reports?

[51:19] » Um, not a report per se, but for the park there, uh, we'll want to get

[51:23] together. There are a few things over the next couple months that we'll want

[51:26] to move on with the Westside Park, Mr. Mayor, and then um, also as the state is

[51:32] doing their capital budgeting, maybe opportunities for the main

[51:37] other things. So, I I both we may want to set up a meeting soon. Yeah, we have

[51:42] some really good uh community members that are joining us that

[51:47] keep the special needs group to help with that and I'll see what connections

[51:51] I have with school on special needs to try to touch base on that as well.

[51:56] » Council have their committee assignments

[52:04] » you didn't officially approve it at the last meeting.

[52:11] Well, you said

[52:18] » no, I mean you appoint him to where you want him and then pass it and that's

[52:22] done.

[52:37] Okay. Thank you.

[52:46] » [clears throat]

[53:07] » I have the [clears throat] properation for the post

[53:12] office 250

[53:17] council should pass the resolution. Would that be

[53:21] right? April something to that effect. Just

[53:26] » you can Yeah, just read it and then I can prepare.

[53:30] Oh, I thought she gave me the resolution.

[53:33] » We will do that the next meeting. >> Yeah, go ahead and read it.

[53:37] » Okay.

[53:44] United States post office the predecessor of the modern postal service

[53:49] one year earlier than the founding of the country itself and or US postal

[53:55] service is operated as a basic and fundamental service provided to the

[54:00] people by the government of the United States and authorized by the US

[54:05] Constitution and created by an act of Congress to bind the nation together and

[54:10] whereas The universal service obligation USO in current law enables the

[54:16] population to receive equal and affordable service as a right of all

[54:21] people. And whereas the postal service runs on its own revenue created by

[54:26] postage and postal products and does not receive taxpayer money to run its

[54:32] operation in. Whereas due to his public mission, the postal service and lowcost

[54:38] anchor of the $1.3 trillion banning and package industry which supports 7

[54:45] million jobs across the country. And whereas the postal service is an

[54:49] important source of good living wage jobs with fair hiring practices and

[54:55] equal pay for equal work and is one of the largest employer.

[55:00] And whereas while communication habits are always changing, the USPS remains a

[55:07] vital source of communication, the exchange of ideas, financial

[55:12] transactions, private and secure correspondence, mail order medications,

[55:17] mail and voting and e-commerce packages. and whereas the United States Postal

[55:23] Service is owned by the people and is a wonderful national treasure

[55:27] encapsulating the vessel exhibited by and for the people. Now therefore be it

[55:33] resolved that the village of Asheville goes on record in support and

[55:38] appreciation of the role of the US postal service to the American public on

[55:43] its 250th anniversary and salutes the hardworking postal workers from all

[55:49] walks of life who serve the people and business communities and we support a

[55:54] robust and thriving public service for generations to come. Be a result that

[55:59] this body recognizes the local presence of postal workers and postal facilities

[56:05] and has been an essential part of our civic infrastructure supporting small

[56:10] businesses facilitating government services and contributing to the quality

[56:14] of life and economic vitality of our community. Being resolved, we wish to

[56:20] honor the men and women past and present who have served in USPS with dedication

[56:26] in fair weather and foul, ensuring that every address in our region, state, and

[56:32] nation remains reachable and our national communications network remains

[56:37] resilient. In witness here, this proclamation has been issued on this

[56:42] 20th day of January of 2026 and signed by Mayor Langer Cole.

[56:53] Um, as far as just a brief comment, few comments about

[56:59] the mayor, um, I've asked two of our people to put

[57:05] in action putting together a couple of banners in commemoration of the 250th

[57:12] birthday of the United States and to look at have at some kind of insignia on

[57:18] all village vehicles on the 250th birthday and possibly finding uh flags

[57:27] that we can put around the town or around the main streets in Asheville uh

[57:34] with the American flags to commemorate this 250th anniversary. My hope is that

[57:40] there will be a banner on the village office and a banner on the police

[57:44] department and maybe even we can get help with a banner as you come into

[57:50] town. Maybe I don't know on the railroad overpass or something to that effect.

[57:58] April, do you have anything to report? >> No. [clears throat]

[58:03] » I have two audience comments.

[58:10] » [clears throat] >> you have comments?

[58:13] Yeah, just uh very briefly uh I'm speaking as an individual and I just

[58:18] want to say that I've witnessed c certain data centers making application

[58:22] certain villages and the structure of the deal always seems to be I'd like to

[58:27] have the zoning change first and then I will put into writing and you know

[58:32] commit to whatever donations are coming to I think this has a structural of a

[58:39] negotiation that is all backwards. Here's another example of a very

[58:43] backwards negotiation uh to for the village to ask a data

[58:48] center write us a blank check please and then we'll give you the zoning and then

[58:52] we'll fill in whatever we want in the way of a blank check both side both

[58:56] types of uh structures for a negotiation will be very unsatisfactory to one of

[59:02] the two parties so I think that you should look at having anybody who wants

[59:07] to have any kind of development whether it's a data center anything they should

[59:11] make a binding letter of intent what they intend to do as part of their uh

[59:17] determinate if they're if they are going to make any promises to the uh

[59:21] community. I just [clears throat] think that they should put that in writing um

[59:25] and have that be available for the uh council before the final vote is taken.

[59:30] That's all that I have to say. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

[59:35] [clears throat]

[59:47] I'm Patty Hamilton, 22798 Morris Lice Road, Southville, Ohio. Um, good

[59:52] evening, gentlemen. Uh, I want to ask the council to remember that integrity

[59:57] and transparency are the cornerstones of everything that is done in government

[1:00:02] and business. Please think about the information that has been given to you

[1:00:08] as a council and remember that any company that decides to give false

[1:00:12] information like saying they are going to be a town there's going to be a town

[1:00:17] hall and then the citizens show up and they call it an open house. Then a

[1:00:23] presentation was done and a gentleman emphasized the positive impact of data

[1:00:28] centers could have on local schools and how the TA Valley levy failed the last

[1:00:34] two consecutive years. He stated the proposed data center would secure

[1:00:39] funding and provide opportunities, particularly access to technical and

[1:00:45] educational resources that would better prepare students for their future

[1:00:49] careers. Let me quote Mr. hireman. I quote, "I know that for an absolute fact

[1:00:56] because I just got done going doing the Millerport data center project with the

[1:01:02] Walnut Township School District out there. There's a new gymnasium being

[1:01:06] built and there's millions and millions of dollars going to new technology and

[1:01:11] new educational resources to prepare these students." That's not me speaking.

[1:01:17] That's me making not making something up. that's real." End quote. However,

[1:01:23] the Circleville Herald did some fact-checking and contacted Walnut

[1:01:28] Township local schools to verify Mr. Hyman's statement. Superintendent Kim

[1:01:34] Rodolovich stated that currently there aren't any plans for a new gymnasium or

[1:01:40] new technology initiatives within the district. Nor has the district received

[1:01:45] any direct co contributions from Edge Connects. This is concerning a

[1:01:52] discrepancy in what was said. Additionally, the Herald spoke to Mr.

[1:01:56] Rick Zabra uh going to say it wrong. Zabra,

[1:02:02] director of economic and workforce development for Fairfield County, and he

[1:02:06] clarified that Edge Connects is not the developer for the data project for the

[1:02:11] Fairfield County, rather it is Vantage Data Centers. He further explained that

[1:02:16] Mr. Powerman works primarily with land owners and noted that construction has

[1:02:22] not yet begun, meaning no funds have been distributed. Another discrepancy,

[1:02:28] the Herald asked an important question to Mr. Hireman's statements were

[1:02:33] inaccurate, misleading, premature, or simply an example of sale puffoonery.

[1:02:40] Additionally, are any of these statements legally binding?

[1:02:45] The schools and students are not leveraged for a sales pitch. So, what

[1:02:49] else is not accurate? Where is the truth? I ask that you look for companies

[1:02:55] that aren't in a rush to push a project on Asheville so that the citizens can

[1:03:01] have confidence that the project is beneficial to the community. Please

[1:03:06] remember your oath to represent your constituents, not the pressure from the

[1:03:10] company that does not know your community.

[1:03:13] Please review the EPA regulations. I believe the new EPA regulation that has

[1:03:18] come out, it states that you, if you need assistance resolving the issues and

[1:03:24] you need an extension, they're allowing assistance for requirements out to 2031.

[1:03:30] Check it out. Uh when it comes to zoning in Ohio, there is no single statewide

[1:03:36] statutory definition for light industrial or limited industrial as

[1:03:41] people call it are defined in local zoning codes adopted by cities,

[1:03:46] townships, and counties. These local ordinances establish what the

[1:03:51] clarification means, what uses are allowed, and how development must occur.

[1:03:56] Here's how the light industrial zoning is commonly defined

[1:04:01] across Ohio municipalities. Number one, industrial and manufacturing

[1:04:07] uses that are clean and non-nuisance in character. Number two, operations that

[1:04:14] don't produce significant noise, odor, dust, smoke, vibration, or hazardous

[1:04:21] emissions. Number three, uses that can coexist

[1:04:26] reasonably with less intensive neighboring land uses like commercial or

[1:04:31] residential. And number four, warehousing, assembly,

[1:04:36] processing, distribution, and similar activities that have minimal external

[1:04:42] impacts. Based on the information, I believe the annex annexation should not

[1:04:47] go forward. And I ask that you take everything into consideration and

[1:04:51] remember your oath to the people to oppose the data center if that's what

[1:04:55] the will of the people is. I also say, you know, uh, Councilwoman Martin

[1:05:02] mentioned about the different companies that are coming in and asking for

[1:05:07] exceptions so quickly. We think that the property here in Pickaway County is not

[1:05:13] as important and we definitely need to give tax abatements. Well, I say to you,

[1:05:18] why are we giving tax abatements to these big corporations or companies? You

[1:05:23] aren't giving a tax abatement to your citizens who desperately need them

[1:05:27] because of the inflationary prices. Like I have mentioned many times, there are

[1:05:32] half a million Ohioans that are delinquent on their property taxes. They

[1:05:37] wish they had the tax abatement that is being given to commercial property

[1:05:41] owners and corporations. So, please take that into consideration.

[1:05:46] Thank you so much for your time to

[1:05:59] » Yeah. The only thing I was going to mention um where are we with the uh

[1:06:03] results from the polls from the village? Do we have any feedback on that? When

[1:06:08] we'll have that data, >> I'll email it all out to you when we'll

[1:06:12] be ready. It's >> on your desk.

[1:06:15] » Oh, okay. I'll email out to all you tomorrow.

[1:06:18] » Okay. >> Thank you.

[1:06:20] » Will that include raw data? >> No. All you'll get is results because if

[1:06:25] you have raw data, then you have access to to all the uh account numbers and all

[1:06:30] that stuff. >> Can we get redacted or blinded

[1:06:34] anonymized? >> It's just not included. The account

[1:06:36] numbers stuff are just not on. I don't know what you're referring to as raw

[1:06:40] data. You'll have all the comment sections and all that stuff.

[1:06:43] » That's what I'm not looking for executives.

[1:06:47] » Yeah, it's a section.

[1:06:57] » No.

[1:07:01] » Um, thanks. Be nice to each other. See you in a week.

[1:07:10] uh just today. Thanks for your continued engagement and participation.

[1:07:15] See you next week. Appreciate the audience attention to make some motion.

Ashville Council 1/20/2025

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