Copyright Chicago Tribune
A large, animated crowd waving “No Data Centers” signs filled the PCC gymnasium on Thursday night. Yet it wasn’t enough to change the minds or the votes of the Hobart Plan Commission. A majority of the plan commission voted ‘yes’, approving a request by petitioner Todd Leeth for a fill permit at an 168-acre parcel located south of the 61st Avenue and Arizona Street intersection. Leeth, an attorney representing Hobart Devco, LLC., proposed a data center to be built on the site. Plan Commission president Maria Galka said at the end of the meeting that the vote count was 8-1 in favor, on the nine-member board. Due to the noise and confusion at the end of the meeting, the exact numbers — and a possible abstention by one member — were still being checked via the Zoom video, a planning department official said Friday morning. Initially, the plan commission agenda listed a site plan proposal by the petitioner, but members on Thursday amended the request to a fill permit only. “We can’t build anything; only move dirt,” Leeth said of the request. Andy Deneen, an engineer for the Hobart Devco project, said the fill permit approval will allow for earthmoving work at the site of some 1 million cubic yards. Deneen assured those in attendance, concerned about their water supplies, that wells wouldn’t be affected during the work. Leeth said site plans would likely be presented to city officials “sometime next year.” Some 60 people, the clear majority speaking in opposition to letting the proposed data center proceed, lined up on either side of the front podium and were provided a chance to speak. Loud cheers and boos at times completely drowned out those who spoke, depending on the individual’s comments. City Attorney Heather McCarthy and other city officials had to remind those in the crowd to be courteous and allow others to speak and to follow a two-minute rule. Alice Pawlowski, one of the members of the No Data Centers group, was escorted out of the auditorium by police during the vote. “They’re kicking me out, everybody,” Pawlowski yelled. Although it’s unusual to have police escorts at meetings, Galka said it was advised that the commission do so because she and others couldn’t hear what was going on because of the noise and confusion. “It got a little scary,” Galka said. Many of those who spoke at the podium became emotional, like Mary Ann Stark-Busse who teared up when talking about the effect the data center would have on her and the two young grandchildren she cares for. Stark-Busse said she worries about the future effect on the water her family drinks and bathes in, as well as the noise pollution. “It will devastate our wells and eventually it will poison our water and garden,” she said. Some, like resident Mel Reed, questioned the plan commission voting on the fill permit prior to having been provided a site plan. “This is an extreme case of putting the cart before the horse,” Reed said. Resident Matt Wright, who voiced his opposition to the fill request because of what the data center might mean to his well water, said he loves being a Brickie and wants to continue living in Hobart with his family “I just spent $562,000 to live in Hobart,” Wright said. Edward Mallek said he is concerned about the possible future effect on his property, which is located near the parcel. “I’m the closest to the data center, and this is destroying my life,” Mallek said. Resident Joseph Conn, who provided a copy of his speech to the plan commission, questioned the legality of the Hobart City Council, which he said overstepped its authority on Oct. 1 when it approved vacation of a 2.84-acre parcel of land south of 61st Avenue called the Arizona Street extension to pave the way for the data center project. The property is owned by the Hobart Sanitary District, which has a legal entity unto itself and has its own board, Conn said. “It is my hope that you use this path as a way to pause and investigate other irregularities in the run-up to this project,” Conn said. No Data Centers spokesperson Angelita Soriano, who was first to speak at the meeting, said her group has hired an attorney and will most likely go forward with class-action lawsuit regarding the council’s Oct. 1 move. She said her group has already collected a petition with 2,000 names and that number will only increase given the show of support at the meeting. “This is being forced down our throat and we don’t want it,” Soriano said. Although the majority who spoke were opposed to the data center, a handful of people said the project was worthwhile, including Randy Palmateer, business manager of the Northwestern Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council. He said he represents some 30,000 union members, and his membership includes both those supportive and opposed to data centers. Palmateer urged the plan commission to vote yes for the union jobs the project would bring. In addition to the Hobart Devco proposed data center, Wylie Capital is also seeking to build a data center on 400 acres at the southeast corner of 61st Avenue and Colorado Street. That site has received final rezoning property, from R-3 to M-1, but petitioners have not yet presented site plans, according to city officials. Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
