Local leaders call for transparency as Data Center conversations continue in St Joseph County

NEW CARLISLE, Ind. -- The St. Joseph County Council voted 7-2 in December to reject a rezoning request for a proposed data center following a meeting that lasted nearly 10 hours. Now, some community leaders say a review of that meeting has revealed concerns about how information was presented to both council members and the public.

At an informal meeting, St. Joseph County Surveyor Derek Dieter joined South Bend City Council member Oliver Davis and local ecologist Steve Sass to discuss issues they observed during the December proceedings.

Sass pointed to logistical problems during the meeting, including overcrowding and limited access to the virtual stream, which he said made it difficult for some residents to participate.

“From having overflow crowds, to people not seeing the Zoom meeting,” Sass said. “To some other issues related to petitions and things that just didn’t sit right.”

One of the central concerns raised involved a petition submitted to the council by a representative of the developers, who were not publicly identified.

According to Dieter, the petition included signatures gathered largely outside the area most directly affected by the proposed project — which was proposed for a rural area of New Carlisle.

“We should be listening to the people who are where this may be,” Dieter said. “The petitioner, I asked him at a break where you got all those signatures, and he said they were collected in Amy Drake and Dan Schaetzle’s districts… They didn’t come out to Oliver, Warren or New Carlisle and knock on doors.”

The petition included 104 signatures from outside St. Joseph County, including some from out of state, a detail that was not disclosed during the council meeting.

It was clarified that the signatures from other states came from union workers who were local to St. Joseph County but were collecting signatures while traveling for jobs.

Davis said transparency should be a priority regardless of political affiliation or community size.

“Transparency is a bipartisan issue. It’s a small-town issue. It’s a big-town issue, especially when it comes to our rural areas because so many of these places feel like they can come and run over us,” Davis said.

Dieter also criticized what he described as “scare tactics” used to encourage support for the project, including claims that rejecting the data center could lead to cuts in essential services following tighter property tax laws going into effect in Indiana.

“You need to be honest and forthright and give that information and don’t do scare tactics,” Dieter said. “If we don’t get this, we may have to cut fire and police and all that stuff. I think that’s ridiculous.”

While no new proposal has yet been submitted, officials say developers could return with another plan as early as June. Those involved in Tuesday’s discussion said they hope future proposals will involve clearer communication and more direct input from affected communities.