With Emporia City Commissioners set to consider several items related to the Flint Hills Digital Campus at their upcoming meeting Wednesday morning, there have been several developments in the saga in recent days, a pair of which were the main focus of KVOE’s monthly Q&A With Trey on the Talk of Emporia Tuesday morning.
KVOE News began by asking City Manager Trey Cocking about how the recent questions surrounding Gary Pinkston, who was noted as the Flint Hills Digital Campus developer, following testimony in bankruptcy proceedings for an unrelated development in Hawaii, would or could impact the commission’s decisions Wednesday. Cocking first stated that the situation involving Pinkston has no bearing on Wednesday’s proceedings, noting commissioners are set to address an issue of land use/zoning, noting there is a set list of criteria that must be considered in such a matter, calling Pinkston’s current financial situation a “non-factor” in said consideration.
Secondly, Cocking stated that it is his understanding that Pinkston has no “financial ties” to the project or Kanza Park Place, as Pinkston noted in his testimony, saying Kanza Park is owned by his daughters and not himself. In an interview with KVOE News on June 19, Pinkston had called the digital campus a “Legacy project” for his family, with Cocking interpreting that to mean he is assisting his family but not receiving any financial reimbursement.
KVOE News would then ask: if he is not involved, why has he been the spokesman and portrayed himself as the developer of the project? Cocking responded, saying he cannot speak for Pinkston or Kanza Park Place to that end.
KVOE News also sought clarification on the ownership of the land parcels that will be up for rezoning consideration by Emporia City Commissioners on Wednesday, asking whether, if Pinkston is not an owner, then who owns the parcels. Cockign says the options on the parcels are owned by Kanza Park Place, noting that if the matter moves to a development agreement, the potential end user, who has still yet to be identified, would purchase those options and then be the one responsible for negotiating the use or sale of said property.
In addition to the land parcels, the city commission will also consider approving the Digital Infrastructure Overlay, its application for the 11 tracts of land if rezoned, a large volume water use policy and large scale waste water use policy. Cocking stated Tuesday that regardless of what happens with the project in the future, it is his belief the policies mentioned are major assets to the community moving forward.
In addition to the recent questions around Pinkston, County Commissioners last week also approved a 10-day stopgap in the acceptance of applications for permits related to data centers or solar energy facilities, with plans to review and likely approve a 6-month moratorium on the matter at their next regular meeting Thursday morning. When this news was announced this past Friday, Cocking stated the document would have no impact on the City of Emporia.
During Tuesday’s interview, Cocking stated this is because the county’s authority only extends to “unincorporated” areas of the county.
Additionally, on Friday, commissioner Chris Bartel and commission Chairman Ken Duft stated the move and resulting votes reflected rumblings of a potential second data center project in the county; however, neither could confirm the rumors as factual. KVOE News asked Cocking if the city had heard similar rumors, to which he responded: “Only from a county commissioner in passing.”
County commissioners also asserted they had not been involved in the early phase of discussions on the Flint Hills Digital Campus project until it was “too late,” per Chairman Duft. Cocking could not recall the initial date when the county was brought into the process, but says it was well before the project was publicly announced.
Cocking’s interview Tuesday also came just about two hours before the Lyon County Clerk’s Office announced it had verified a petition seeking to either halt discussions on high-impact data centers outright or place the item on the November 3 ballot, with verification of signatures still ongoing for a second petition seeking the same for battery energy storage systems. We have details on those developments here. The Emporia City Commission’s regular meeting Wednesday will begin at 11 am inside the Municipal Courtroom at White Auditorium.
