KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Ryan has spearheaded reporting on the data center in Gardner. If you have a concern with the effort to put a data center in Edgerton, reach out to Ryan. Neighbors in Spring Hill, Gardner, and Osawatomie, Kansas, have contacted Ryan about their data center concerns. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Wednesday afternoon brought celebration across southern Johnson County after the City of Gardner announced that Beale Infrastructure, a data center developer, withdrew its project application.
KSHB 41 News Reporter Ryan Gamboa was the first to meet with concerned neighbors at short notice, gathering last week — about 40 people showed up to support their cause.
RELATED | Beale Infrastructure withdraws application for Gardner data center
"They told us there was a moving bullet, and everybody jumped in front of it to stop it," Kari Hamilton said in a follow-up interview on Wednesday. "All we knew was someone was encroaching on our land, on our livelihood, on our health, on the health of our children, and we got in front of that moving bullet and asked questions later."
Hamilton and her family run a cattle ranch that sits directly across the street from the now-former data center site.
They've lived in that home for 23 years and had concerns for the health of their family and livestock.
Wednesday's news that Beale Infrastructure would pull its application eased many minds.
"We cried, we jumped for joy, we cried a little more and screamed to the heavens, it was just an absolutely wonderful feeling," she said. "It was the power of the community and the power of neighbors.
On Monday night, KSHB 41 was the only news camera in the Gardner City Council meeting when about 200 people from three different counties turned out to voice opposition to the data center proposal.
The data center project was not on the agenda.
RELATED | Miami County Commission considers pause on data center construction following nearby $1B proposal
Jake and Kim Sitler were there to voice their concerns.
"When we were at the city council meeting, there were people from Osawatomie, Ottawa, and different places coming to fight with us. That spoke a lot to me," he said. "I think there's peace now."
According to a press release, the City of Gardner communicated to Beale Infrastructure that it would not offer tax incentives to build the data center.
Following that conversation, Beale withdrew its application.
RELATED | Gardner residents fill city council meeting opposing data center, urging leaders to listen
“The Governing Body would like to thank community members who engaged in discussions related to the project,” said Mayor Todd Winters. “We stand committed to pursuing responsible economic development opportunities for our community.”
KSHB 41 asked the Sitlers about tax breaks for these large facilities and where they stand on it.
"We pay taxes, so the expectation is that anybody would have to pay taxes. If you want to build here, you should pay taxes," Sitler said. "I think our government really needs to give some consideration to some of these tax breaks."
This project was coined to be the largest infrastructure investment in Johnson County if it came to life, according to the developer.
"Beale Infrastructure is committed to delivering projects that create real tangible value for communities. We appreciate the input from the Gardner community and city leaders," a Beale Spokesperson told KSHB 41 in a statement. "We will not be moving forward with the project at this time. We look forward to continuing to grow our investments and community partnerships across other locations in Kansas.”
RELATED | Gardner neighbors gather to voice opposition to a 300-acre hyperscale data center
Neighbors took to social media to band together to fight back against the project over the past week.
Online, a woman posted images of email exchanges between the Gardner-Edgerton Schools Foundation regarding a $10,000 donation made to the organization.
To confirm those records, KSHB 41 News Reporter Ryan Gamboa submitted a Kansas Open Records Act request and obtained the same files.
One document is a $10,000 receipt submitted by Beale Infrastructure Group, LLC.
RELATED | Could massive project be coming to Spring Hill? Neighbors plan fight against 300-acre rezoning bid
In one email, Executive Director Tim Brady sent an email to other staff members, indicating "a large check hit my desk today."
"Thank you for being a Platinum partner with the Schools Foundation. I shared with our Board of Directors last week that Beale is making a generous contribution," Brady wrote. "They share in my excitement and gratitude. Your support will make an impact on students and staff in USD 231. Cassie is working on getting a 'big check' made for a future photo op."
Other emails obtained by KSHB 41 indicate that the school district was possibly entering into a partnership with Beale for real-world learning opportunities for students.
RELATED | Marais Des Cygnes River at center of debate over proposed Miami County $1B data center deal
Gamboa confirmed with a Beale spokesperson that the company did donate to the Gardner-Edgerton School Foundation, and they are not requesting that the money be returned.
Kari Hamilton had mixed feelings about the donation. She said some could view it as dirty money for the stress that they have been put through.
"What if [the Foundation] truly believed that money was here to help us and not just mask the pain that they were bringing in? On one hand, there’s no dollar amount that’s going to help our students' health," she said. "On the other hand, for the pain and suffering and fear you put into our community, I'll keep your money and do something great with it."
KSHB 41 reached out to executive director Tim Brady for comment about the donation and did not hear back.
RELATED | Rural Miami County, Kansas, residents respond to $1 billion data center proposal
As for what's next with these neighbors, they intend to keep their foot on the gas when it comes to fighting data centers across the Kansas City metro.
"It’s unfair. They think they can come into these little towns. They think they can sneak in and put up these big data centers without us stopping them. No. You lit a fire and I'll stop it," Hamilton added. "It doesn’t stop at my yard. It goes across Kansas, maybe even across state lines."
According to residents online, the next fight is in Edgerton on May 12, where the Planning Commission will consider a data center proposal. Edgerton is only a seven-minute car ride southwest of Gardner and a 13-minute drive from the proposed Gardner data center site.
RELATED | Spring Hill community beats back data center proposal, but says fight is far from over
KSHB 41 News Reporter Ryan Gamboa first reported last month the concerns in Spring Hill, Kansas, over a data center proposal. Spring Hill's data center site was only a 10-minute drive from Gardner's, and the two were located on 191st Street.
If you have a story idea or concern regarding data centers, email Ryan.Gamboa@kshb.com to set up an interview.
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