MONROVIA — The small Morgan County town of Monrovia is now at the center of a big debate about data centers in Indiana.
The Morgan County Plan Commission is holding a public hearing Monday night to discuss rezoning 158 acres of agricultural land along State Road 42 east of Monrovia for usage as a data center. The county previously rezoned more than 300 acres of that property for the project earlier this year.
"It's going to be considerably more money coming into the county," said Morgan County Commissioner Kenny Hale, who represents Monrovia and its township. "What we get for agriculture versus this is going to be pretty substantial. I know it's going to help the township out, the fire department out, and the schools out."
However, signs in opposition to the data center popped up all across Morgan County in the weeks before the public hearing.
"If we don't succeed at stopping the data center, we are going to be on them all the time," said Janice Bacon, who lives in Monrovia and opposes the data center.
"We are allowed to protect our communities from big tech coming in and taking our resources," said Christopher Lamberson, who also lives in Monrovia and created the Protect Morgan County effort against the data center.
Hale believes the data center project is a golden opportunity for Morgan County to provide a needed piece of America's tech infrastructure.
"I've been very pro-data center since the early 2000s," Hale said. "We're getting so dependent on our cellphones and our laptops and AI. That's all driving these data centers."
However, the people who do not want it in their community say the money is not worth destroying a prime piece of farmland.
"I have a long laundry list of questions which I have not had answered yet," said Chris Green, who has lived in Monrovia for more than 30 years. "It includes everything from water usage to power usage to noise levels."
"We are up against a big tech company, but a community like this has the power to make some difference here," Lamberson said.
The Morgan County Plan Commission's public hearing about the data center rezoning is on Monday at 6:30 p.m. inside the Morgan County Administration Building.
-
Tamika Catchings rejoins Pacers Sports & Entertainment as ambassador
Pacers Sports & Entertainment announced Tuesday that Indiana Fever legend Tamika Catchings will rejoin the organization in a newly created role as an ambassador.
Patients file lawsuits in Marion County over GLP-1 side effects
In the past few months, court records show dozens of lawsuits filed by patients in Marion County against Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the Danish maker of Ozempic and Wegovy.
Federal agents, multiple police agencies make drug arrest on northeast side
Multiple police agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, arrested a 26-year-old man on Indianapolis' east side Tuesday morning.
Father dies after car enters retention pond, police save two children
Indianapolis and Lawrence police officers saved two young children from a retention pond overnight after their father drove their car into the water and it submerged on the northeast side.
