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Public commenters urge supervisors to enact data center moratorium

By Robert Maharry 7 min read

The Marshall County Board of Supervisors breezed through a light regular agenda in around 20 minutes on Wednesday morning, but it was an item that wasn't on the agenda -- and seems to have become a ubiquitous flashpoint for debate around the country at the moment -- that dominated the public comment period before adjournment.

Just over a day after the Marshalltown city council engaged in another lengthy discussion on a proposed four-month data center moratorium to allow the Planning and Zoning Commission time to recommend rules and regulations, some of the same individuals who attended that meeting stopped by the courthouse to ask the Supervisors to consider a similar route.

Zach Hamilton, who moved to a residence on Shady Oaks Road just outside of the Marshalltown city limits about a month ago, said he was surprised to learn about the "Reimagine Marshalltown" comprehensive plan identifying the area as a target for future industrial development. To his knowledge, there had been no "proactive" work to protect the lifestyles and property values of residents who are "left behind."

From there, he noted Mayor Mike Ladehoff's confirmation that data center developers are eyeing Marshalltown, and he hoped the supervisors would work to protect those who live in the area now. Maggie Valentine, also of rural Marshalltown, spoke a few minutes later and asked the three supervisors for their positions on the data center issue in light of local, statewide and national debates.

Supervisor Carol Hibbs clarified that the board could not take any action as the item was not on the agenda, but they could still discuss it. Valentine also referenced a "meeting or informational session" on Thursday involving city council members and county supervisors.

Hibbs told Valentine she had been actively researching the topic and seeking out best practices from other counties.

"I would consider myself in the information gathering phase, and I think it will be important that we understand all the variables that come along with them before we do any definite planning and development. So that's my response," she said.

Supervisor Christian Goodman said he was in a similar boat but had taken an interest in how data centers affect communities even before assuming his current seat on the board earlier this year. Board Chairman Jarret Heil remarked that "the devil's in the details."

"There's good data centers out there, and there's bad ones. And what is the correct need for each community? There is the demand for data centers. There's no doubt that, created by all the different technology uses that most of us use, so we know that demand's out there. It's (in) a very infancy stage in terms of information," Heil said.

He added that he has not been approached about any specific data center project in the county, but Heil felt that any ordinance enacted should be similar to the city's to ensure continuity.

"At the same time, we need to recognize that all this info on data centers is early. Things are gonna change, so let's say we enact an ordinance tomorrow and we all feel really good about it. In three months, we could all feel really bad about it based on the new information and the new technologies," he said. "Myself, I don't want to be closed off to data centers. At the same time, we've gotta be aware of our resources and what does that ramification mean for our community? I'd love to say it's gonna be a slow approach, but sometimes slow isn't what the community needs. We're taking it as it comes, and we're taking in a lot of information about it."

Valentine agreed with Heil's idea of the city and county enacting similar regulations, and she urged the supervisors to consider a temporary moratorium while rules and regulations are discussed.

"I know that other communities have experienced some not completely straightforward behavior, especially from developers and interested parties, so that was a big concern of mine," she said. "Along those lines, I have been intentionally talking to a lot of people in the community, in the county, in Marshalltown and stuff, and residents are very concerned about what's gonna happen for a lot of reasons."

Les Davis of Marshalltown told the board he "basically agreed" with Valentine and suggested that the board should pass a moratorium similar to the city's to allow for time to gather information and do further research. Tyler Kelley, the county's zoning commissioner, then stepped forward and said the Marshall County Zoning Commission will be meeting in either the third or fourth week of August, with more information to come once the date is finalized.

In response to a question from Heil, Kelley responded that a potential moratorium would almost certainly be a discussion item at that meeting.

"Like all new technologies, we're just trying to catch up. After discussions with the Zoning Commission, we definitely thought the moratorium should be discussed as part of that meeting," Kelley said. "We're all gathering information trying to catch up with everything that's going on right now."

Earlier in the meeting, Sheriff Joel Phillips provided a brief recap of the RAGBRAI festivities in Marshall County on July 22 and 23 and thanked all of the volunteers who helped to welcome approximately 30,000 riders plus another 15,000 in support crews. There were roughly 111 calls for service, but he noted that a lot of them were actually from residents trying to navigate through the temporary road closures.

There were about 20 medical calls along the route and eight mechanical issues with bikes.

"A lot of those bicycles (in need of repairs) were not registered riders with RAGBRAI, so they were on their own," he said.

The courthouse grounds were essentially spotless by Thursday morning at 6 a.m., according to Phillips, and volunteers did a great job of picking up trash.

"It was nice to see everybody coming out and enjoying the nice weather," he said.

Because of the distance of Thursday's ride to Independence, some cyclists left Marshalltown as early as 2 a.m., and the town was more or less emptied of riders by 9:30 a.m. as they headed on to Green Mountain, Beaman, Grundy Center, Morrison and Reinbeck. With court still in session, there were still a few people who needed access to the courthouse and transports for hearings, but otherwise, it was a very quiet day inside the building.

Heil joked that his prediction of beautiful weather came true, and County Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke traveled north to Grundy Center with Black Tire Bike Company on Thursday. He heard from at least 10 people that Marshalltown was a "wonderful" overnight community, and later in the meeting during the public comment period, Conservation Director Emily Herring reported that her staff worked a full day and assisted at the various campgrounds in the county.

"We went and cleaned up areas afterwards the next day to make sure things were clean, and Jeremiah (Manken) said that he only picked up a half a bucket of trash," Herring said. "So they did a great job of cleaning up after themselves, and we've gotten a lot of praise and thank yous for hosting."

In other business, the board:

Read a proclamation for Emergency Management Awareness Month.

Approved the consent agenda as listed.

Heard a summary of the Annual State Jail Inspection Report from Jail Administrator Patrick White.

Approved the appointment of the Marshall County Sheriff's Office, Marshalltown Police Department, State Center Police Department and Marshall County Public Health as the county's rabies follow-up and confinement points of contact.

Approved the three-year open space certification letter to Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) and authorized the chair to sign.

Set a public hearing for the next regular meeting on Aug. 12 regarding the vacation of a portion of Brown Avenue in State Center Township.

Approved a zoning variance request for a parcel of land near Ferguson.

Contact Robert Maharry at (641) 753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.

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