ASHVILLE, Ohio — A second mediation session concluded July 24 in an Ohio Court of Claims public records case tied to the proposed EdgeConneX data center and the associated PowerConneX Ashville Energy Center, and the process has already produced nearly 1,000 pages of records that were not previously available to the public, according to TVAO, the group tracking the dispute.
UPDATE (July 25, 3:19 p.m.): This story has been updated with additional information from TVAO.
The case, Cory Wasmus vs. Village of Ashville, case No. 2026-00480PQ, was filed by Wasmus, administrator of Teays Valley Against Overgrowth (TVAO), after the group sought public records under Ohio’s Public Records Act related to the data center project, one of the largest development proposals in Ashville’s history. After more than eight months of requests, litigation and mediation, the effort has resulted in the production of nearly 1,000 pages of records, TVAO said.
An initial review of the records turned up internal project communications, weekly EdgeConneX working group emails, draft development agreements, negotiations involving village officials and project representatives, and discussions among elected officials regarding zoning questions tied to the project, according to TVAO. Additional records remain in dispute, the group said.
Because mediation communications are confidential under Ohio law, TVAO said it would not discuss what occurred during the July 24 session. A first mediation session was held July 17 and lasted about an hour and a half. Under the Ohio Court of Claims’ public records complaint process, disputes are first referred to mediation with a trained attorney mediator; if mediation does not resolve a case, it moves to a special master, an experienced attorney with the court who reviews the filings and issues a report and recommendation, which a judicial officer then reviews before issuing a final order that can be appealed to a court of appeals.
A third mediation session has been scheduled for Aug. 17 at 2 p.m., two days before the Ohio Power Siting Board is set to hold a local public hearing on the proposed 800-megawatt PowerConneX Ashville Energy Center. That hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19 at 5 p.m. at Teays Valley High School, according to TVAO.
TVAO said it would organize the newly obtained records into categories in the coming days and post highlights of what they show, and the group asked members of the public to help review the documents. TVAO said it hopes additional records can be produced before the Power Siting Board hearing so residents have more information available before offering public comment.
TVAO said its goal throughout the records dispute has been to make the documents available so the public can evaluate them directly and participate in the regulatory process with fuller information.
The information contained in this story was obtained from TVAO.
