Emporia Data Center Petition Effort Restarts After Invalidation
Emporia Neighbors United has restarted its petition campaign against a proposed data center after the initial effort was invalidated on procedural grounds. The group aims to collect over 800 signatures to either prompt the Emporia City Commission to halt the data center project for a decade or place the issue on the November general election ballot. The City Commission is also set to address related policy matters, including a new zoning overlay and water usage policies.
Emporia Neighbors United, a leading opposition group, has relaunched its petition drive against the proposed Flint Hills Digital Campus data center in Emporia, Kansas. The group's initial submission of nearly 1,400 signatures was invalidated by Lyon County Clerk and Election Officer Amie Jones due to a procedural error, specifically the failure of petition circulators to properly verify they witnessed signatures being gathered, and the lack of notarized affirmation of this recital.
Following the invalidation, Emporia Neighbors United quickly resumed collecting signatures, reportedly gathering over 450 within a day. They need at least 804 validated signatures to compel the Emporia City Commission to either affirm the signatures, which would effectively block the data center for at least a decade, or to place the data center issue on the November 3 general election ballot.
The group is setting up multiple temporary signature collection points throughout Emporia and launching a door-to-door campaign, aiming to complete and verify the collection effort before the City Commission's July 22 meeting. During this meeting, city commissioners are expected to address several policy issues related to the data center, including the approval of a new Digital Infrastructure zoning overlay, rezoning 11 specific tracts of land for the project, and establishing new policies for large-volume water and wastewater users.