KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Ryan has extensively covered this data center project and remains committed to following up on it. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Since January, I have been reporting on community concern when it comes to Project Catalyst, a data center development in Osawatomie, Kansas, that has grown from 115 acres to 283 acres.
In my reporting, I have continued to hear from people concerned that this proposed development would sit across the street from the Osawatomie State Hospital, a state-run psychiatric facility.
Clayton Sherlock reached out to me to share his voice in early September.
He spent 16 years caring for psychiatric patients at the hospital.
"They are, without question, some of the most vulnerable people within our state," Sherlock said last month.
The project was originally expected to take 1 million gallons per day. According to public meeting minutes, the city amended the original pre-development agreement with Alcove Development, lowering the expected daily water usage amount to 800,000 gallons.
Those same meeting minutes indicate "the original agreement called for the city to provide between 50 and 150 MW of power. That request is reduced to 0 MW."
Finally, the city also amended its original agreement that it would issue Industrial Revenue Bonds and be willing to approve up to a 50% property tax abatement. Those have been removed from the agreement.
Still, that doesn't change the proposed location of Project Catalyst — directly across the street from a state psychiatric hospital.
"I've worked with a number of patients that had delusions about machinery," Sherlock said. "My concern with the data center is the construction to begin with, but then the continued operation I think could potentially interfere with their treatment."
I have frequently requested comment from the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) since reporting on the project.
I had never heard back.
And when I reached out to Gov. Laura Kelly for comment in the past, I never received a response.
While scrolling social media, I came across a post from someone in the Meanwhile in Osawatomie Facebook group. The poster speculated KDADS was going to move all patients to Topeka and close the Osawatomie State Hospital. The person attributed that to the data center proposal.
Before publishing any article, I contacted the department myself.
I received a quick response from Cara Sloan-Ramos, communications director for KDADS.
"We understand there has been speculation about the hospital's future. There is no plan to close Osawatomie State Hospital, relocate patients because of this proposal, or eliminate hospital jobs," Sloan-Ramos wrote in an email. "The hospital will continue to operate as a state psychiatric hospital. Our workforce is essential to that mission, and we value the people who work there and the surrounding community."
Osawatomie State Hospital is one of the largest employers in Miami County, Kansas. According to the county, Health Care & Social Assistance make up 11% of the employment by industry sector; Government and Government Enterprises make up the largest at 17%.
After I received that response from KDADS, I wanted to go a step further and see if the organization would comment on the data center project as a whole.
So I followed up via email.
Before I share KDADS' response, I think it's important to share the health concerns folks have for patients in the hospital.
"Sleep is a huge issue when it comes to mental illness. Our patients need to be able to sleep and find rest," Sherlock said. "In addition, for those patients that suffer from delusions or psychosis, there may be issues where noise, light, deep vibrations, deep bass sounds, kind of machinery sounds, fans roaring and that kind of stuff, that can pose problems for them because that can incorporate into their delusion."
What Sherlock brought up in that interview was nothing new. Neighbors beyond the state hospital have brought up similar concerns, and I've heard most of them because I have covered this story extensively.
At prior meetings, Ian Day has been the main Osawatomie resident to speak up to elected leaders on behalf of the patients at the hospital.
Day attended our Let's Talk event in Spring Hill earlier this year, and when I had a conversation with him, that was his main message: that such development next to a state psychiatric hospital is unprecedented.
I have attempted to get in touch with Day to produce a story, but we have not been able to connect.
"Here we are wanting to put one (data center), people say hospital, an active psychiatric hospital," Day pleaded to the Osawatomie City Council at a June meeting I attended.
So, the concerns aren't new to the state or the city of Osawatomie.
"I am not opposed to data centers. They're a fact of life, they're going to be there, they're a part of modern-day living," Sherlock said. "What I am concerned about is the location of where they are built."
Osawatomie City Manager Bret Glendening has taken a stance that he's not concerned with the data center and its proximity to the state hospital.
I pressed him directly by email last month, asking whether the city plans to evaluate potential impacts to patient safety, patient well-being, emergency response, noise, infrastructure strain, or overall compatibility with a psychiatric treatment campus — and whether the city had been in communication with KDADS or Osawatomie State Hospital officials about the proposal.
Glendening said the city had preliminary conversations with the state about the project. He also noted a presentation and question-and-answer session with hospital employees still needs to be rescheduled.
On the patient welfare concerns, he said they "have been determined not to be concerns for a variety of reasons." He then instructed me to visit a Kansas City-area data center.
When I followed up — asking who made that determination, whether any formal assessment had been conducted, and whether KDADS had formally communicated support or no objection to the project — Glendening said the developer is still engaged in studies.
"To date, everything that I have observed from the data centers I have visited, none of the concerns that have been shared are concerns of mine," Glendening wrote.
After I asked what specific information, studies, expert input, or site visits informed that conclusion, and whether the city had received any written guidance from KDADS, hospital leadership, environmental consultants, or emergency management officials, Glendening again directed me to visit a data center.
Alcove Development did tell me last month they have met with state leadership at KDADS and local hospital administration to discuss concerns.
"We have addressed any concerns they have raised — including those related to noise, lighting, and operational impacts," GW Weld, of Alcove Development, told me in a statement.
KDADS tells me Osawatomie State Hospital is vital to Kansas' behavioral health system.
"Our responsibility is to the people in our care and to the staff who serve them every day. That responsibility has not changed, and it will not change because of a proposed development nearby," Sloan-Ramos told me in an email statement. "Patient safety, treatment, rest, and recovery remain our first concerns. As a psychiatric hospital, sleep environment, a calm setting, and predictable operations are necessary for the clinical care of our patients."
Sloan-Ramos went on to add that KDADS has met with city representatives and the project developer to discuss the proposed site's proximity to the hospital.
"Those discussions focused on practical steps to limit potential impacts to patients and staff, including noise and lighting during construction and ongoing operations," she said.
If the project moves through local review, KDADS expects any construction and operations next to the hospital to include clear, enforceable measures to protect that environment.
"Local land-use decisions rest with the City of Osawatomie and other local authorities. KDADS' role is different: to protect the people we serve, ensure hospital operations are not compromised, and be a good partner in the community," Sloan-Ramos said. "We will stay engaged on issues that affect patient care, staff working conditions, emergency access, and the hospital campus."
KDADS reinforced that it remains committed to Osawatomie State Hospital, its patients and the dedicated staff who make that care possible.
Glendening did note last month that the city council and planning commission will have a role once a formal application is received, along with required studies. He said it would be irresponsible to speak on their behalf before that process plays out.
"I don't want to give the appearance that minds are made up and the project is moving forward without any studies being completed," Glendening said.
According to public meeting minutes, two landowners near the proposed site have requested to annex their properties into the city of Osawatomie. They are currently located in the county's jurisdiction.
Each party has agreed to sell their property to the developers of the project.
In a past public meeting involving Alcove Development, the developers told folks living nearby they'd make offers on the surrounding properties at a premium.
The council passed the ordinance to annex the land.
"All of this is conditioned on the data center project getting approved and permitted for construction," the meeting minutes state. "If at any point the project falls through, as was discussed with the annexation agreements, we will need to go through the de-annexation process."
I reached out to both property owners for comment; I have interviewed one in the past about the project. At the time this story was published, I had not received a response.
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