The local policy fight against data centers is now expanding beyond Emporia’s city limits.
After submitting a second petition to either have Emporia city commissioners affirm the document and halt the current data center process for a decade or put the matter to a public vote Nov 3, Emporia Neighbors United, the grassroots organization that’s now using a petition in hopes of stopping Emporia’s proposed data center for a second time, will be in front of the Americus City Council for a presentation Tuesday night. Emporia Neighbors United is seeking approval of an ordinance to ban what it calls high-impact data centers and battery energy storage technology in the city limits.
On Tuesday, Emporia Neighbors United handed off almost 1,850 signatures — all gathered since Saturday — to local government officials for validation. Last week, the group turned in nearly 1,400 signatures. Lyon County Legal Counsel Molly Priest said the petition language was OK, but County Clerk Amie Jones said the petition was invalid — before the signature approval process could even start — because petition circulators didn’t verify they witnessed the petition being signed in accordance with KSA 25-3602, which was first approved by the Kansas Legislature in 1970 and has seen numerous revisions through 2022. The Emporia petition asks for no high-impact data centers or battery energy storage.
Emporia Neighbors United founder Jay Vehige says the group plans to meet with City Council members of Lyon County’s other incorporated communities. That’s an important step because, according to Lyon County Clerk Amie Jones, there is no statutory process for authorizing a countywide petition. Jones says Kansas has a set number of petitions that are governed by state law and countywide petitions are not on that list. If a countywide petition is circulated, it is typically called a “political statement for resolution.” Once that’s turned in, county commissioners and the county’s legal team begins considering a potential resolution. In addition, each town would have to pass their own ordinance dealing with data center policy because the county does not govern the small cities; that governance is handled by the city council.
Jones also says political statement petition signatures are not verified or validated by election offices.
Tuesday night’s meeting in Americus starts at 7 pm at Americus City Hall.
