Village OKs immediate pause on data centers

MONROEVILLE — At a special meeting on Tuesday, Monroeville's village council voted unanimously to impose a one-year moratorium on new data center development. It came less than a week after village officials detailed a $1.3 million electric billing dispute tied to a cryptocurrency mining operation in the Fort Monroe industrial park. Council approved a resolution as an emergency measure, meaning the pause on data center construction or conversion takes effect immediately rather than after the standard 30-day waiting period. Council members Susan Rogers, Mark Miller, Jim Ehrman, Tammy Schlachter and Bob Whitacre each voted yes, and the resolution passed unanimously. The resolution places a temporary halt on "the establishment, conversion of other structures or buildings into a data center, including the development and construction of any building, structure, use or change of use that would allow data centers" for one year from Tuesday. The stated purpose is to give village administration and council time "to review applicable federal codes, Ohio statutes, codes and regulations along with the village's codified ordinances relative to such activity." What happened? The vote comes days after village officials detailed the fallout from the Gray Matter cryptocurrency mining operation at 17 Fort Monroe Industrial Parkway. Monroeville is seeking between $1 million and $1.3 million in unpaid electric bills from Gray Matter, which allegedly stopped paying for power after launching operations in 2024. A court-appointed receiver now oversees the site, and the facility is currently operated by Decimal Digital, which officials say has remained current on electric payments. Decimal Digital has also purchased just over 50 acres of land in the park with the plan to construct a data center on the site. Residents give thoughts During public comment, several residents referenced the Gray Matter experience and other concerns about future data infrastructure projects: • John Bockert asked the council to clarify the emergency clause attached to the resolution. "The last four words in this resolution say, 'declaring an emergency.' Can you tell me what that means?" Walker said. Officials explained that passing the resolution as an emergency measure allows it to take effect immediately. "If this is passed as an emergency measure, it would take effect immediately as opposed to having to wait 30 days," Monroeville Mayor Joe Galea replied. • Ken Underwood said he was "neither opposed nor in favor" of a data center but urged careful scrutiny before long-term commitments. "I want to keep an open mind," Underwood said. "But I do have a couple of questions." Underwood raised concerns about electric rates and water usage and suggested that any future agreement require advanced cooling systems and outside water sourcing. "That is number one, they have to use the most advanced and efficient cooling methods available," Underwood said. "And that it's stipulated that they have at least 50% of whatever their water usage comes from a source other than Monroeville." • Greg Schaefer, president of Underground Utilities and president of the Monroeville school board, spoke as both a business owner and an individual board member. "As a business owner here in town, anytime I hear about a type of business just getting banned by name, that makes me a little apprehensive," Schaefer said. "We've got zoning in town for a reason. The industrial park is zoned industrial for a reason." Schaefer said zoning enforcement and regulatory review should guide the village's approach. "Why do we have zoning if we're not going to fall on that as our guiding principle in a situation like this?" he said. From a school funding standpoint, Schaefer outlined rough projections based on publicly reported figures from large data center projects elsewhere in Ohio. Using comparable construction costs, he estimated development on approximately 49 acres could generate around $900,000 annually in property tax revenue for the district. If expanded to roughly 230 acres, he estimated that figure could increase to about $4.3 million per year. "To just stick our heads in the sand and say we're not doing this because it's a data center seems extremely foolish," Schaefer said. "We need to see it through and do our homework." • Other residents expressed environmental and infrastructure concerns. One speaker said equipment would be stressed more by the additional use. "So that equipment is going to break down," they said. "And when it does, you've got to fix it. That costs money." Eric Bischoff said his primary concern was electric rates, citing regional power auctions. "My big concern is electric rates," Bischoff said. "So I guess just in favor of pause." Andrew Brown urged council to avoid rushing decisions under emergency measures. "I've been reading through minutes from the last year's worth of meetings," Brown said. "Kind of interesting, things get pushed through under emergency measures and no discussion." During the council discussion, officials said the moratorium is intended to allow time for regulatory review and potential zoning updates. "The intent is to review what the federal regulations are, what the state regulations are, what people are doing," councilman Jim Ehrman said. Council's legal counsel noted moratoriums can be extended if necessary, citing one that lasted three-and-a-half years in Ohio, provided the timeframe remains reasonable and tied to active review.