Dakota County: Lawsuit alleges Hampton officials kept public in dark on data center

Erik and Kathleen Porten, residents of Hampton Township, Minnesota, have filed a lawsuit against the city of Hampton in Dakota County District Court. They allege that city officials, including Mayor John Knetter, violated the state's government data practices act by failing to comply with data requests, illegally redacting information, and not maintaining official records regarding a proposed 1.5 million-square-foot data center. The Portens claim that Mayor Knetter intended to bypass open meeting laws by using a city engineer and city clerk as intermediaries, and that city business was conducted through unofficial email addresses. The lawsuit also highlights that the city's contracted engineer, Bolton and Menk Inc., entered a nondisclosure agreement with developer Oppidan in February 2024, a fact that city council members reportedly denied knowing about at a December 2024 meeting. Nicholas Nelson, the Portens' attorney, stated that the couple seeks transparency on how city government operates on significant issues like this development. Developer Oppidan, a Minnesota-based firm, had previously paused its plans for the Hampton data center in November, citing state regulatory timelines and a lengthy permitting process in Minnesota, particularly concerning backup energy generation. Drew Johnson, Oppidan Senior Vice President of Development, emphasized the project never reached the detailed design phase and did not complete environmental review. He also confirmed that Oppidan had paused a similar project in North Mankato due to comparable state-level concerns. Separately, state Sen. Erin Maye Quade has introduced a bill (SF 4296) to ensure public access to basic information about proposed data center developments, which recently passed a committee vote. The article also notes the city of Hampton's lack of an official, up-to-date website and reliance on unofficial channels for communication, contrasting it with nearby Hampton Township.