OTTAWA, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
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Ottawa, Kansas, residents began voting in person Monday on a data center ballot question that remains in court.
In late August, Ottawa residents sued the city, alleging officials ignored a citizen-led initiative petition that gained enough signatures to get the ballot question before the city commission or before voters in November.
Facing an election deadline, Franklin County district court judge Eric W. Godderz ruled in September that the citizen-led proposed ordinance to ban hyper-scale data centers in Ottawa would go on the November ballot.
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At the time, Ottawa United Inc., a group of Ottawa and Franklin County residents, was fighting a 300-acre proposed data center site on the south side of town.
During the September hearing, Godderz said the courts still need to decide whether the proposed ordinance applies to Kansas law. Both parties and Godderz will reconvene on Tuesday for a hearing on the issue.
Placing the question on the November ballot saved the city money — estimated by the Franklin County clerk to be between $10,000 and $15,000 — by avoiding a special election, Godderz said.
“I was told at 8 o’clock this morning, they had a line waiting," Tim Dillenger, a Franklin County resident who voted Monday, said.
Ottawa resident Christine Lipscomb said she's been conflicted about the data center question. She said she trusts local leaders and wants business to come to town, but says she's concerned about infrastructure.
"We want the tax revenue, but it’s hard to wonder and worry about a large-scale project like that," she said.
The court hearing is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Tuesday.
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