Data center review committee gives update to residents in Fulton County

Fulton County's "Data Center Review Committee" is giving an update to residents on Monday on their current research progress. With a one-year moratorium on data centers in place, the appointed committee has spent the past three months studying their potential impact. But residents are concerned about a lack of quorum at these meetings and that they are not open to the public. The Area Plan Commission is being sued for that reason. Fulton County's Data Center Review Committee provided a three-month update on Monday to residents after researching more about data centers and hearing from other communities, despite the Area Plan Commission facing a lack of quorum. Only six out of 13 members on the Area Plan Commission, or APC, were present during Monday's meeting. They needed at least seven present to conduct official business, resulting in their Data Center Review Committee only carrying on a brief "discussion" about their research progress. According to residents, they're concerned about board members not showing up. "It's a little frustrating to take time away from my family to come to these meetings, and nothing ever really seems to happen. The 12-month moratorium just doesn't seem to be enough when things seem to be moving so slowly," said Lindsy Shambaugh, a Fulton County resident. According to the Data Center Review Committee, it's made progress over the past few months as they've been meeting with the New Carlisle community and hearing from guest speakers, including the Hoosier Environmental Council, guiding them to make recommendations on a data center ordinance for commissioners to later review. But some residents are also concerned that these meetings have not been open to the public. "It's not open to the public, not live-streamed or anything. There's no transparency, and that's the way they want it," said Richard O'Neil, a Fulton County resident. Fulton County resident Richard O'Neill is suing the Area Plan Commission for allegedly violating Indiana's Open Door Policy and calling for transparency. Their court hearing set for this Wednesday. The data center committee only has six months to complete its research, and once that time is up, they will present their findings to county commissioners so they can draft an ordinance. https://wsbt.com/news/local/data-center-review-committee-gives-update-to-residents-in-fulton-county-research-progress-impact-public-concerns-meeting-discussion-progress-members-fulton-county-indiana _________________ Stay up to date by following our social media: WSBT 22 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WSBTNews WSBT 22 on X: https://twitter.com/WSBT WSBT 22 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wsbt/ For more information, visit https://wsbt.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to our newsroom: wsbtnews@wsbt.com WSBT is an IN based station and a CBS Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. Sinclair owns and operates, programs or provides sales services to 163 television stations in 77 markets, after pending transactions. Sinclair's television group reaches approximately 38.7% of US television households and includes FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, Univision and Azteca affiliates.