[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.