Starpointe data center developer paid for flights, lunch for township supervisors
Prime Data Centers paid for airline tickets and lunch for at least two Hanover Township supervisors who toured the company's Chicago-area facility while the township was reviewing Prime's conditional use permit application. The proposed project would include a seven-building data center campus and natural gas power plant near Burgettstown.
Prime Data Centers project lead Kate Nolan Bryden testified that the company paid for economy-class flights and lunch for Hanover Township supervisors Dale Handick and William Michael during a July visit to Prime's operating data center campus in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. The trip occurred after Prime submitted its conditional use permit application for a proposed 120-acre campus at Starpointe Business Park near Burgettstown, Pennsylvania.
Bryden said the visit was intended to provide officials with educational context about modern data center operations and that the group did not discuss the pending permit application. Pennsylvania State Ethics Commission Executive Director Mary Fox said state law allows elected officials to accept certain gifts, but gifts valued above $600 must be disclosed on annual financial-interest statements. Handick declined to comment on questions about the trip.