Residents press concerns about data centers as VESCO pitches county battery‑recycling service

Several residents raised concerns about the potential local impacts of data‑center development and other county issues during public comment at the Feb. 23 meeting.

Lisa Rosemartovich (Hamburg Township) said she was concerned about water resources and the county electrical grid’s ability to support data centers, and asked the board to continue supporting non‑rezoning. Other speakers highlighted judicial system impacts, road conditions and housing land availability as reasons to scrutinize large developments.

In the same public‑comment block, Lena Epstein and Jeff Badalucco of VESCO Clean Energy presented a separate item introducing a used‑battery collection and recycling offering. They described a turnkey program for collecting and transporting lithium and rechargeable batteries, noted regulatory and liability issues around moving lithium batteries, and offered to work with local municipalities on education and logistics.

Angela Barbesh, who studies data‑center impacts, urged the county to address technological obsolescence and financial‑risk mitigation when drafting model ordinances and master‑plan language. Speakers requested that the planning commission and county continue to study concentration, financial, and environmental risk before approving large ground‑based facilities with long projected operational lives.