TONGANOXIE, Kan. — 1,000 neighbors signed in to a Leavenworth County, Kansas, Commission meeting on Wednesday night to voice their opinion about Project Bluestem, a 1,000-acre data center proposal in Tonganoxie.
Residents have asked for this opportunity multiple times. They wanted the meeting at an accessible venue outside the regularly scheduled 9:00 a.m. commission meetings.
Wednesday night was the first time community members could share their voice outside of their work hours.
"It’s good to be a part of the conversation," Bryan Brown told KSHB 41 News reporter Ryan Gamboa. "We don't want this here... As a percentage of the population, I'd say this is a pretty good percentage of Tonganoxie out here. This is good."
The line to get into the Leavenworth County Fairgrounds administration building stretched out the front gate and onto a road. Sheriff's deputies patted people down at the door and community members packed into the town hall meeting. Many left drenched in sweat due to the heat.
"I think it’s important for the leadership to hear form the people that live here rather than make decisions behind everyone’s back and to be transparent," a woman named Terri, who lives in Tonganoxie, said. "I compare the data center boom to the gold rush. This is an outside company looking to get on the gold rush. So how does that impact us and the community and our lifestyle here. That’s really important to look at and they [commissioner's] need to hear that."
The meeting began promptly at 6:00 p.m.
It was off to the races with public comments as many people spoke in opposition to the project.
"All the children in Tonganoxie are within a couple miles of where those pollutants are being spit out. So i am asking you to be concerned about the health and welfare of those children and the rest of us," one woman stated about the proximity of the data center to schools and daycares.
Many expressed concerns about air pollution from a gas-operated power plant, noise and light pollution, and the impact to livestock and generational farm land.
Others expressed concerns about what they called a lack of transparency from the governing body.
Their concerns largely stem from County Commissioners Mike Smith and Willie Dove absence from Wednesday night's meeting.
Many residents spoke to other commissioners who were at the meeting about their disappointment Smith and Dove not attending the meeting.
"It's very frustrating," one woman said. "We're missing two commissioners."
"This is probably the most important meeting," another woman said about her frustrations at the two commissioner's absences.
KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa reached out to Dove and Smith for comment on why they did not attend the meeting. Gamboa did not get a response from either man.
One attendee raised the question of positive impacts to energy infrastructure and the potential impact on consumers and municipalities.
"Revenue from investments of things like Bluestem could potentially help support the investments the grid already needs and reduce the pressure placed on existing customers," she said. "I am not saying that we need Bluestem, but what I am saying is we know we need some of the things that Bluestem is providing," she said.
The stars of the meeting and public comment period were young Tonganoxie residents. They spoke against the data center and how it would impact clean air at recess time and impact to 4-H farm projects. Another youngster, who could not see over the podium, brought up issues of corporate greed.
"My question is, 'Why are some of you still going through with this, even though many people have given many reasons to not put the data center in?"' a young girl questioned.
The Chairman of the Leavenworth County Commission, Mike Stieben, made comments between speakers, including commending the young people that had the courage to speak at the meeting.
"The young people are the ones we need to hear from," Stieben stated.
The Leavenworth County Commission did not take any formal action on the proposed Project Bluestem data center.
If built, Project Bluestem would sit near the Tonganoxie Business Park. The proposal for the data center doubled electricity usage from its original plan and wants to add a power plant.
The proposal first came before the Leavenworth County Commissioners in March. A few months later, residents submitted a petition for an 18-month moratorium to the county commissioners.
The commissioners ultimately ended up adopting a shorter, temporary moratorium to find out more details about the project before making a final decision.
That moratorium expired last month.
There still isn't much known about the project, but it is expected to use 1.2 gigawatts of energy alongside a gas-powered power plant.
KSHB 41 News reporter Ryan Gamboa reached out to Cloverleaf Infrastructure, the developer behind the proposal, for comment and to provide more details about the project and the community's opposition.
A Cloverleaf spokesperson issued a statement that was recycled from a previous report by KSHB 41 on Tuesday.
"Cloverleaf’s approach to developing critical infrastructure is grounded in delivering real benefits to the communities we serve. We are committed to partnering with the community to support local priorities and deliver lasting benefits for Leavenworth County residents. Project Bluestem is expected to create construction and permanent jobs while generating new tax revenue to support schools, roads and first responders. Cloverleaf will also invest in charitable contributions for Leavenworth County residents, in partnership with local community organizations, supporting priorities like workforce development, veterans’ programs, emergency services, parks and recreation, and efforts to reduce household energy costs," a spokesperson said. "We will continue listening and working with the community to address their questions and concerns as this process moves forward. We encourage residents to learn more about the project and its benefits, along with answers to common questions about data centers, at bluestemdatacenter.com.”
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