Former Burgin School Board Member pushes back on proposed site of data center in Mercer County
Residents in Mercer County, Kentucky, are actively opposing a proposed data center on prime farmland. While the Burgin City Council advanced an ordinance to annex land for the project, the Mercer County Fiscal Court approved a first reading of a proposed data center moratorium. Opponents express ongoing concerns about transparency and believe current protections are insufficient.
Residents of Mercer County, Kentucky, including former Burgin School Board Member Priscilla Harris, are voicing strong opposition to a proposed data center development on prime farmland near Handy Pike. Harris, a resident since 1994 and a member of the group "We Are Mercer County," argues that such facilities should be built in industrial sites, not on agricultural land, calling the development an "invasion of our very way of life."
The debate has seen local government bodies take action. The Burgin City Council recently voted three to two to advance an ordinance that would annex land from the county into the city, an area targeted by the data center developer. Concurrently, the Mercer County Fiscal Court approved the first reading of a proposed data center moratorium. Despite these actions, Harris and other opponents remain unsatisfied, asserting that there is a lack of transparency and insufficient protection for the community.
Ethan Kessler, another member of the opposition group, previously stated at a public meeting that residents feel "betrayed" by elected officials. The group continues to seek more comprehensive safeguards against data center development in the region.