By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Chris Coultrip has reluctantly come to the conclusion that people are going to have to coexist with data centers. But neighbors should at least know what to expect and how to protect themselves as much as possible.
Coultrip, of Perrysburg Township, was one of six people to speak at the Wood County Planning Commission meeting Tuesday evening. Though data centers were not on the agenda, the planning commission allowed citizens to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.
“We have to learn to live with these data centers,” Coultrip said. But citizens also need to push for oversight of the massive sites like the Meta center under construction in Middleton Township.
“In my opinion, they belong in industrial areas. They don’t belong in residential areas,” she said.
Unlike the county planning commission meeting in January, which turned into an angry shouting match at times with nearly 150 citizens present, Tuesday’s meeting was much more controlled.
Too controlled, for some of the citizens.
Prior to the public comment portion of the meeting, the commission adopted rules for public conduct. “Please understand we want to hear what you have to say,” said John Musteric, president of the planning commission.
Those rules required people to give their name and address, limited them to three minutes each, and noted that those offering repetitive comments will be asked to move along. The rules are similar to those used by many governmental entities.
Musteric made it clear that commission members would not be engaging in discussion, but may clarify or correct information at the end of the meeting. He warned against poor behavior – something which Musteric himself was accused of at the last meeting.
“There will be no outbursts or other disrespectful action,” Musteric said.
During the January meeting, members of the planning commission spent much of the time explaining that they do not have the authority to make zoning changes like those needed for data centers. The commission makes recommendations to townships, with the trustees having the final say on zoning requests.
From the small audience on Tuesday, just six signed up to speak. Coultrip was followed by Mark Patton, who lives near the Meta data center, and who posted again on social media that the planning commission meeting would focus on data centers. However, the only agenda item was actually a zoning issue in Troy Township.
Patton reminded the planning commission that it was stated at the January meeting that counties in Ohio could not issue moratoriums on data centers – yet Fulton County did just that the evening before, he said.
“Was that a lie,” or just a lack of knowledge on the part of Wood County officials, he asked the planning commission.
However, a search of news coverage of data center moratoriums appears to show that the Fulton County that adopted the moratorium is in Indiana – not Ohio.
Next to speak was Joe DeMare, of Bowling Green, who suggested county officials could slow the spread of data centers by committing to no tax breaks for such developments, and agree to end “secret agreements” or non-disclosure agreements.
DeMare expressed concerns about preserving resources like water, and protecting the rural nature of the county.
Three minutes into his comments, an alarm went off and DeMare was asked to stop speaking. “You didn’t warn us there would be an alarm,” he objected.
DeMare may have had time for his comments, but he spent the first portion of his three minutes scolding the planning commission for putting their comfort over the citizens’ right to speak for longer durations.
Cindi Lane, of Perrysburg Township, spoke next about the “catastrophe” created by data centers – the potential loss of peace and quiet, dark night skies, clean water and air. She spoke of spiking utility bills and drains on water sources.
Richard Reichow, who lives north of Bowling Green, began his comments by asking Musteric to apologize to citizens in the room for being so disrespectful to them during the January meeting.
Reichow mentioned the 350 MW generator “rubber stamped overnight” by the Ohio Power Siting Board, and the possible risks that could create. “We still have some time to stop that,” he said.
As he was wrapping up, the three-minute alarm went off and he was not allowed to finish.
“This is not appropriate,” he said as he walked to his seat.
The last citizen to speak was Tracy Wyatt, who cautioned the commission about their strict rules and unwillingness to listen.
“You’re never going to win people over by silencing them,” she said.
Wyatt also spoke about the Fulton County moratorium, thinking it was in Ohio not Indiana.
“You are capable, you are just unwilling,” she said.
As the meeting ended abruptly at the end of public comments, residents expressed their dissatisfaction – hoping for some answers from the planning commission.
“This is not back and forth,” Musteric said of the public comment period. He suggested citizens email comments and questions to the planning commission, and they may get a response.
