Maysville data center meeting rescheduled due to large crowd
A Maysville Planning Commission meeting to discuss a new data center was rescheduled due to an overflow crowd protesting concerns over water use, noise, and the project's proximity to a school. Residents voiced strong opposition to the project, which the Maysville City Council approved in January 2025 with a conditional use permit. The developer, Northern Data, claims their facility will use a closed-loop dry cooling system and minimal water.
A Maysville Planning Commission meeting scheduled to address a new data center project was abruptly rescheduled after an overwhelming crowd exceeded City Hall's capacity on Monday night. The meeting, which aimed to explain data centers and answer residents' questions, saw a rowdy audience repeatedly shouting at officials and complaining about the city's 2025 decision to permit the facility.
Police Chief Doug Anderson attempted to calm the agitated crowd, which included individuals shouting and refusing to sit down. The rescheduled meeting is set for 6 p.m. on Monday, June 1, at the Maysville Fire Department to accommodate a larger audience.
Local residents, including figures like Carissa Martin, who leads an anti-data center movement, and Gary Miller of Justice for Water, organized a protest outside City Hall. They raised alarms over rumored water consumption and potential noise pollution, particularly due to the data center's proximity to Maysville Elementary School. Protesters questioned the city's water resources and accused officials of a lack of transparency, with Martin claiming a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request yielded minimal information and original paperwork was 'lost because of a flood.'
Northern Data, the company behind the project, stated that its 'purpose-built AI data center' will use a closed-loop dry cooling system that does not draw on municipal water. Company officials, including co-CEO John Hoffman, senior director Thomas Barr, and corporate affairs representative Naeha Hirani, assured the public that the facility uses a 'specialist industrial fluid' delivered by truck, not potable water. They also addressed noise concerns, promising barriers and noting emergency generator noise would only occur during prolonged power outages, and dismissed heat concerns as negligible. The Maysville City Council had approved a conditional use permit for the large data center project, which includes a new Georgia Power substation, in January 2025.