During the August 17 Full Court, commissioners attempted to address the issues regarding data centers within White County. While there are no actual large-scale data centers being built at this moment, there have been scares recently regarding projects that fit a similar bill, such as a rumored crypto mining center at Pleasant Hill Road. While the commission had a lot of discussion regarding data centers, there was no action taken. With the new commissioners swearing in soon, this leaves the topic up in the air until they resume regular business in October.
Chairman Derrick Hutchings brought up the topic during new business. He wanted the commission to consider taking up a commercial codes department for permits.
Hutchings said, “The data, the Bitcoin mine, is a hot topic. The big thing I took away from all the phone calls I received is: the county knew nothing about it. The property is over 5 acres, so there is no Planning Commission it has to go in front of, and we don’t have any commercial building codes. So, the county knew nothing of it.”
Commissioner White said it would be wise to see if their current employees’ licenses could cover the expansion of permits. Commissioner Austin said that the commission is leaving thousands of dollars on the table by not doing commercial work with permits.
Executive Denny Wayne Robinson drafted the resolution that commissioners voted on. Robinson said, “The White County Commission hereby declares its intent to pursue the adoption and enforcement of commercial building construction standards and related codes within the unincorporated areas of White County. The commission will have to schedule work sessions or committee meetings to evaluate and determine the scope of the total enforcement appropriate for White County, whether building fire, mechanical, fuel, gas, energy conservation, existing building, or other related codes should be adopted.”
The resolution does not have any codes being adopted at this time, but it gets the process started for the Commission. Commissioner Roger Mason had a concern with this.
Mason said, “What happens if we pass this resolution tonight, and we all leave, and then the next commission doesn’t do anything?”
Executive Robinson clarified that the resolution binds them to take some action on the matter. The next commissioners would have to fulfill the requirements of the resolution. Robinson said this resolution will help get started on having more enforcement over the existence of data centers. The resolution passed last month, after all, has no way to really be enforced. With this resolution and the adoption down the road, anyone wanting to build a data center would need a building permit.
Commissioner Mason asked what would happen if a data center came forward tomorrow, for example? Executive Robinson clarified that since government processes can be slow, this resolution alone cannot account for someone who shows up that quickly.
The resolution failed. There were five yes votes, three no, and one abstain
The commissioners who voted yes were TK Austin, Larry Daniels, Robert McCormick, Kyle Goff, and Derrick Hutchings.
The commissioners who voted no were Becky Golden, Chris Brewington, and Dakota White. Roger Mason voted to abstain.
After this failed, every member of the audience who elected to speak at the meeting voiced further concerns about the data centers and the failure of the resolution.
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