Burgin residents packed city hall for a council meeting to voice opposition to a plan to annex Mercer County land for a data center project.(Joe Sonka / KPR)Two public meetings in Mercer County on Tuesday addressed a potential hyperscale data center development, which has drawn passionate criticis m from the mostly rural community.The Mercer County Fiscal Court passed an ordinance by a unanimous vote that morning for a one-year moratorium on any application to construct a new data center in unincorporated areas of the county.Despite that moratorium, the ban would not apply to one small city within the county if it follows through on a land annexation proposal. The city council of Burgin gave first reading to an ordinance last month to annex land from the county and double its size, including the farmland where a developer has proposed a hyperscale data center — which would not be subject to any local zoning laws.More than a dozen local governments across Kentucky have passed data center moratoriums, pushed by local critics who are wary of the facilities’ potential impact on the environment, property values and electric utility bills. Many argue that local planning and zoning rules need to first be updated to restrict where data centers can be located and mitigate any potential harm to the community.The previous Burgin City Council meeting in July erupted with protests after it passed a motion to give the annexation ordinance its first reading by a 3-2 vote. The city has no planning and zoning rules to block or limit data center facilities.The council met again Tuesday evening, where it did not take up the annexation proposal, but did allow public comments from more than a dozen residents who aired their opposition to the project. While the council’s monthly meetings usually have only a few attendees, the small room in city hall was full, with additional space needed in the firehouse next door for dozens of data center opponents who cheered on the speakers.“Let's be clear about what's really happening here: The city of Burgin risks becoming a pawn in a game of jurisdictional convenience,” said Burgin resident Robin Dean. “Tonight, please consider whether the rules still matter, whether prime farmland still has value and whether the citizens of this community still have a voice.”Joe Monroe, the interim mayor of Burgin who was appointed two weeks ago after the previous mayor resigned, told Kentucky Public Radio after the meeting that the data center developer submitted a new petition for annexation to the city, but “they asked me not to put it on the agenda tonight. For some reason, I don't know why.”Monroe said he is neutral on any land annexation proposal until its case is proven, noting that he voiced his opposition to a separate annexation request at Tuesday’s meeting for a housing development due to questions over fire hydrants.“You got to prove to me that it's going to work,” Monroe said, noting that would also be true for Panattoni Data Centers, the developer who wants to locate in the annexed property.“I have not seen a plan for anything. They said they don't have a final plan yet until it gets annexed in. Then they will come up with the drawings and all of that.”A slideshow presentation from Panattoni shared with Burgin council members last month touted its “Project Bluegrass” data center for the annexed land. The developer gave a broad view of the project, claiming it would have no negative effects on the surrounding land, water and electric utilities. The company also said it would provide more than 1,500 jobs during construction, 100 jobs once complete and “expands the tax base to support local schools, public safety, infrastructure, and essential county services.”Panattoni did not respond to a request for comment on the data center project and the local calls for a moratorium. The company has not yet hosted a public meeting for county residents to detail the project.We Are Mercer County is a grassroots organization opposing the data center project, whose members have filled public meetings with their blue “no data center” shirts since February to voice their objections. A volunteer with the group shared communications between the Burgin Independent School District superintendent and board members that were obtained through open records requests, which show them advocating for the data center as a way to bring in $25 to $30 million annually in tax revenue for their schools. It also showed texts between the school board members mocking the “stupidity” of the “blue shirts” who opposed the data center, calling them “uninformed.”Benjamin Bradshaw, a school board member who is also an employee of Louisville Gas Electric and Kentucky Utilities — the utility company that would serve the data center from its power plant within Mercer County — provided talking points to fellow board members that argue the data center would not raise bills for other customers due to the company’s new tariff rates.Fellow school board member Bryan Vandiviere texted the others in June that he hopes the Burgin City Council “realizes (a data center) is coming and we hopefully won't miss out on the benefits if it is already not too late.” ...read more read less