Agenda
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CALL MEETING TO ORDER
MEMBERS PRESENT
NEW BUSINESS
1. Resolution No. 3799 Submitting An Ordinance Prohibiting High Impact Data Centers To The Electors At The November 3, 2026 General Election
2. Resolution No. 3800 Submitting An Ordinance Prohibiting Tier 2 and Tier 3 Battery Energy Storage Systems To The Electors At The November 3, 2026 General Election
3. Authorization to Retain Outside Legal Counsel
GOVERNING BODY COMMENTS
ADJOURNMENT
Transcript
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[10:44]
Christina thank you,
Mayor and commissioners.
[10:51]
You have in front of you
resolution 3799, submitting
[10:55]
an ordinance prohibiting
high impact data
[10:58]
centers to the electors
at the November 3, 2026
[11:02]
general election.
[11:05]
I believe everybody is aware,
but just as a refresher, on July
[11:09]
14, 2026, an initiative
petition proposing an ordinance
[11:13]
prohibiting the installation and
operation of high impact data
[11:17]
centers within the
city of Emporia
[11:19]
was filed with the city
clerk on July 21, 2026.
[11:24]
The Lyon County election officer
certified that the petition
[11:26]
contained a sufficient number of
signatures under KSA 12, 3013,
[11:33]
and the city subsequently filed
a declaratory judgment action
[11:36]
in Lyon County District
court seeking a determination
[11:39]
as to whether the proposed
ordinance is legislative
[11:43]
and therefore a proper subject
for initiative under KSA 12:30
[11:46]
13 or administrative, and
therefore not a proper subject
[11:51]
for that initiative process.
[11:53]
On July 20, 2026, the district
court ordered the city to submit
[11:57]
the proposed ordinance to the
electors at the November 3,
[12:00]
third 2026 general election, and
the court further ordered that
[12:04]
if approved by the voters, the
ordinance may not be published
[12:09]
or enacted until
the court determines
[12:12]
whether it is barred
by KSA 12:30 13 A1
[12:16]
or until further order of the.
[12:21]
Commission therefore submits
the initiative ordinance
[12:24]
to the electors in compliance
with the court's order,
[12:27]
and authorizes the city clerk to
certify and transmit the ballot
[12:30]
question and related
documents to the Lyon
[12:32]
County election officer
by the September
[12:35]
1, 2026 submission deadline.
[12:39]
And I would note that
adoption of the resolution
[12:41]
does not waive or alter the
city's position in the pending
[12:46]
declaratory judgment
action, and it does preserve
[12:50]
the city's legal
positions and rights
[12:53]
associated with that case.
[12:57]
Staff recommends adoption
of resolution number 37.99.
[13:02]
I'll make a motion to adopt
resolution number 3799,
[13:06]
submitting an ordinance
prohibiting high impact data
[13:08]
centers to the electors
at the November 3, 2026
[13:10]
general election.
[13:11]
Second Motion and a second
for resolution number 3799.
[13:15]
Submitting the ordinance
to the general election.
[13:17]
Any other discussion.
[13:19]
All in favor, say Aye.
[13:21]
Motion passes.
[13:21]
Moving on.
[13:23]
Next is resolution number 3,800.
[13:26]
Submitting an ordinance
prohibiting tier 2 and tier 3
[13:30]
battery energy storage systems
to the electors at the November
[13:33]
3, 2026 general election.
[13:37]
This initiative petition
proposes an ordinance
[13:41]
prohibiting those tier 2 and
tier 3 battery energy storage
[13:45]
systems, referred to as
Bess, in the ordinance,
[13:49]
and defines those terms that
was submitted on the same day
[13:52]
as the other petition.
[13:54]
July 14, 2026.
[13:56]
The Lyon County election
officer certified the signatures
[14:00]
on August 13, 2026.
[14:04]
I would note that we discussed
this in our last city
[14:08]
commission meeting.
[14:09]
The commission authorized
filing a motion
[14:12]
to ask the court to review
that ordinance in conjunction
[14:17]
with the one that
is already pending.
[14:20]
In a hearing last
week, the court
[14:23]
was advised that was the
anticipated course of action,
[14:26]
but it has not been
officially filed
[14:29]
for review with the courts yet.
[14:32]
So this resolution preserves
the city's right and ability
[14:37]
to seek that review,
and also submits
[14:42]
the proposed ordinance to
the voters in accordance
[14:46]
with the judge's order.
[14:48]
In the other petition,
staff's well,
[14:53]
legal staff's
recommendation is that this
[14:56]
is the appropriate action
given the substantially
[14:59]
similar nature of
the two petitions,
[15:02]
the court gave guidance in one.
[15:05]
I recommend that the city
commission take the same action
[15:08]
with regard to this ordinance,
submit it to the ballot,
[15:12]
and then continue to seek
judicial review as to whether it
[15:15]
is appropriate under
the initiative process
[15:19]
spelled out in state law.
[15:21]
I'll make a motion to adopt
resolution number $3,800,
[15:25]
submitting an ordinance
prohibiting tier 2 and tier 3
[15:28]
battery energy storage systems
to the electors at the November
[15:31]
3, 2026 general election.
[15:34]
Second I have a motion and a
second for resolution 3,000
[15:36]
800,800, submitting
the ordinance
[15:38]
for tier 2 and tier 3 battery
to go to the general election.
[15:41]
Any other discussion.
[15:43]
Does that include
EV car batteries.
[15:47]
Vehicles are excluded,
vehicles are excluded.
[15:50]
But, you can have a
80 kilowatt battery,
[15:52]
but you cannot
have a 81 kilowatt
[15:54]
battery under this ordinance.
[15:57]
And vehicles are excluded.
[15:59]
Vehicles are excluded secluded
because a Chevy Silverado,
[16:03]
is a 200 kilowatt.
[16:04]
So is the standard battery
on a Chevy Silverado.
[16:07]
So tells you the
car size batteries.
[16:11]
Any other discussion.
[16:13]
All in favor, say Aye.
[16:14]
Motion passes.
[16:15]
All right.
[16:16]
Retain legal counsel.
[16:17]
Commissioners, real quick,
before we get to that,
[16:19]
I do want to note that
the ballot questions
[16:21]
will be numbered 1, 2, and 3.
[16:24]
So the rec center will be one.
[16:27]
High capacity data
centers will be question 2
[16:29]
and batteries will
be question three.
[16:31]
And that's the way they
will appear on the ballot.
[16:33]
I will note there's also a
constitutional Amendment that I
[16:35]
do not believe is numbered.
[16:36]
But there's one constitutional
Amendment on the ballot as well.
[16:40]
So then retention and
all those things go.
[16:45]
Do you have a request to
retain outside legal counsel.
[16:49]
We are seeking some
experts to help guide us
[16:53]
in this matter and
all these matters
[16:55]
that we have in front of us.
[16:56]
And we'd ask the
commission for that.
[17:01]
I'll make a motion
to approve the hiring
[17:04]
of outside legal counsel.
[17:06]
I'll second that
motion and a second
[17:08]
to authorize outside legal
counsel any other discussion.
[17:11]
All in favor, say Aye.
[17:12]
I have a motion.
[17:14]
Any other comments.
[17:17]
Motion to adjourn.
[17:18]
So moved.
[17:20]
Second Motion to adjourn.