Residents raise alarms about Oldham County data center plan

LA GRANGE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Tim Tipton estimates there are dozens of properties that neighbor a chunk of rolling farmland in this rural part of Oldham County where a developer wants to build a $6 billion data center complex.

For his part, Tipton says what is now a "scenic view" from his back deck could be replaced with looming warehouse-style buildings if the plan becomes a reality. 

Since the proposal known as "Project Lincoln" was announced late last month, Tipton has been among the most vocal opponents of transforming hundreds of acres into a campus for processing online data. 

"I'm against data centers that are taking farmland, actively taking farmland, and then turning them into heavy industrial areas," he said.

After weeks of a growing campaign questioning the data center venture, Tipton and more than 230 others attended a public meeting Friday night at the Salt and Light Baptist Church that largely centered on residents' concerns.

Toward the end, Oldham County's top elected official told the audience that he's "very confident" that the Board of Adjustments and Appeals won't approve a land-use change the project needs to move forward. 

"I don't think the board of adjustments will approve this. I certainly will urge the board not to," Judge-Executive David Voegele said. "I don't control their votes. They're independent people, but I do appoint all of them, and I frankly expect them to listen to my point of view and that of the other magistrates as well." 

Voegele said he first learned of the proposal in late January, but he didn't realize the scope of the deal at the time.  

"I'm not in favor of this going forward in this location," he said. "But I won't make the statement that the data center doesn't belong anywhere in Oldham County."

Those comments came after several hours of residents' questions and concerns. 

They questioned the financial projections of a project that touts tens of millions of annual tax dollars for local government, and the fairness of a process that would sidestep elected officials in favor of an appointed board. 

They asked why citizens -- and some elected leaders -- didn't know sooner about a project that would be among the largest economic development investments in Kentucky history. 

They wondered whether the data center would be the first of several in the area, especially because such projects tend to cluster in places with available infrastructure. 

And they argued that the site simply isn't appropriate for what's being proposed there.

"Why so much secrecy? This doesn't make any sense," said Oldham County resident Don Erler. "So, you know, somebody is trying to pull a fast move that doesn't fit into the neighborhood."

Data centers are complexes that include large buildings filled with tech gear -- like computers, routers and servers -- that handle massive amounts of data from cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other online demands. Companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Google are among the end users. 

A New York-based group called Western Hospitality Partners - Kentucky LLC, or WHP, filed plans last month to build the campus off Ky. 53 north of La Grange. The project calls for eight buildings and power stations across 267 acres, with about 200 acres preserved as green space. 

Project officials have scheduled an open house next Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at City Place, 112 S. 1st Street in La Grange. 

Max Kepes, a WHP representative, told WDRB News this week that his group settled on the Oldham County site because of its proximity to Louisville and the location's existing infrastructure, like power lines and fiber connections.

Kepes described WHP as a “well-funded and well-capitalized company" that has worked on at least two similar projects -- one in Braidwood, Illinois about an hour south of Chicago, and another in an unidentified part of the northeastern U.S. 

Recent published news reports also indicate that WHP also is involved in a data center plan in Pennsylvania. (Tipton said opponents have identified 25 entities connected to Western Hospitality Partners in the U.S.)

Backers of the Oldham County plan cite an economic development study that estimates the data center will generate more than $50 million in annual taxes for local agencies, with the county's public schools system as the biggest beneficiary. 

The study predicts overall construction employment of 4,000 workers annually over a five-year period and, once built, 176 direct jobs making $83,000 a year. 

"They can really serve as an annuity for the community," Kepes said. 

At Friday's public meeting, a question arose about how many of the jobs would be remote. One speaker suggested that most of the permanent positions wouldn't be in-person jobs. 

WDRB asked Kepes on Thursday for a breakdown of where the jobs would be located. He said: "These are high paying, typically skilled jobs that are in person."

WHP was among several entities, including Facebook parent company Meta and Google, that lobbied in Frankfort during the recent Kentucky General Assembly for legislation that expanded tax breaks for data centers in the state. Now a Kentucky law, it lets data center projects recoup sales and use taxes on equipment they purchase. 

The law is based on population. A 25-year exemption would apply to investments of at least $100 million in counties such as Oldham with 50,000 to 100,000 residents.

Kepes called the new law "a very significant and important incentive."

The site is now zoned for agriculture. Instead of asking for a zoning change, which ultimately would need the approval of Oldham County Fiscal Court, the developers are asking for a conditional use permit that would allow "private utility building and facilities" within the existing zoning district. 

That approach would give Oldham's appointed board of adjustments the final say over the land use.

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