CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Chillicothe City Council adopted five pieces of emergency legislation in a single meeting Aug. 10 while a string of residents urged members to impose a moratorium on a proposed data center project, according to meeting minutes released by the city.
During audience participation, resident Stephanie Renner spoke in support of a moratorium on the data center, and Kyle Cockrell specifically called for a six-month pause. Matthew Ull and Dawn Zarback also raised concerns about the project. The pushback echoes objections raised earlier this summer after a July announcement that a company was converting the former paper mill site into a facility that would include high-performance computing capacity.
Resident David White told council he had researched an Ohio Supreme Court ruling on emergency language attached to legislation and raised concerns about the practice, according to the minutes. Council members waived the standard three-reading rule and declared an emergency on all five measures they adopted that night, allowing each to take effect immediately rather than after the customary 30-day waiting period.
Council’s engineering committee reported that meetings have been held concerning the data center project but that no new information was available as of Aug. 10.
Council adopted Ordinance 38-26, appropriating $4,380 to replace the control panel for the diesel exhaust filtration system at Fire Station 1. It also adopted Ordinance 39-26, appropriating funds to cover an increase in the cost of the city’s insurance policies, and Ordinance 40-26, appropriating $12,000 from the Safety Levy Capital Fund for a new outbuilding at Fire Station 2.
Members further adopted Resolution 09-26, authorizing Mayor to execute two easement agreements with Ohio Power Company, a unit of American Electric Power, and Resolution 10-26, authorizing the city to file applications with the Ohio Department of Transportation for federal transit grants for the 2028 state fiscal year, including rural-area formula funding and a bus and bus-facilities grant.
Other legislation, including proposed funding for the downtown solid waste containers, the Hope Partnership Project and the Assistance House of Ross County, received first readings and was held over to a future meeting.
City Services Committee chair Mr. McQuirt also recognized Staff Sgt. Ernest Lee Johnson, a Chillicothe native who was recently laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Chillicothe City Council’s Aug. 10 meeting minutes.
