Residents urge caution on data centers' water and power use; nonprofit founder asks Lowndes County for formal partnership and funding help

Several residents used the public-comment period to press the commission on development and nonprofit support.

Mary Rowe, a resident of Jones Lane, asked the commission to pave Green Road from Old Veil Road to the Harrington House and said she had submitted a petition to the county engineer. "I'm asking and pleading that you all pay Green Road," Rowe told commissioners.

Michael Noll, speaking for "Lausanne Citizens Against Data Centers," urged the county to proceed cautiously on data-center proposals. Noll said data centers "use enormous amounts of water," and told the commission, "An average data center may use 300,000 gallons of water each day." He also warned of large electricity demands, saying a facility "could use as much power as 100,000 homes" depending on size, and described continuous noise and generator use during outages as potential local impacts. Noll said promised job and economic benefits are often overstated: "There was an audit done that actually, clearly indicated that the economic revenues or the profits that were becoming from such a product were well overestimated."

Maria Chung Willoughby, founder of the Art of Good, presented a 12-month audit of local service systems and requested formal county support as she moves toward incorporation and federal grant readiness. She asked commissioners to acknowledge January 8 filings, designate a county liaison for partnership development, provide sponsored affiliations with local chambers, and help identify funding streams including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) opportunities and SAM.gov registration. "The growth partnership is a workforce, safety, and community stability model developed through direct engagement with county and city facilities, state connected workforce systems, faith based organizations, and vulnerable residents," Willoughby said. She described systemic gaps she documented — including unsecured personal information at shelters, inconsistent volunteer conduct, and unclear reporting pathways — and requested county acknowledgement and institutional sponsorship to protect the program's intellectual property and integrate the work into county planning.

Commissioners did not take immediate formal action on the public requests; the chair said staff would follow up. The meeting adjourned after the public-comment period.