Emotions were high at the Oldham County Fiscal Court meeting on Tuesday, as both elected officials and the public aired grievances over a company’s controversial attempts to bring a data center to the county and how local officials have handled the matter.
By the end of the meeting, the fiscal court passed a moratorium by a 4-2 vote that pauses any application to build a data center in the county for 150 days. It struck language from any earlier draft of the ordinance that would have exempted the application already submitted by Western Hospitality Partners to build a 100 megawatt data center.
Local residents attending the meeting cheered the vote, viewing it as at least a temporary win in their opposition to the company’s data center proposals.
The company announced in March it planned to build a massive 600 megawatt hyperscale data center in Oldham County — which would make it one of the most powerful in the world — on land zoned for agriculture.
That announcement produced a torrent of local opposition to both the project and local officials, culminating in the company’s announcement last month that it would scrap the original project and instead apply to build a smaller data center on land where a drive-in theater currently operates.
In a video released after the vote, Nate Oberg — a leader of the “We Are Oldham County” group formed in opposition to the data center project — called the moratorium vote “an incredible win.”
“Some of the members of the fiscal court today voted to protect your rights and to protect our lands here in Oldham County,” Oberg said. “I applaud them for that. We have a moratorium in effect that doesn't provide any way out: No waivers, favors, or exceptions.”
A spokesperson for Western Hospitality Partners said the company did not have a comment on the approved moratorium.
Controversy surrounds firing of county official
Before addressing the moratorium, the meeting opened with Judge-Executive David Voegele giving a five-minute speech to explain why he had just fired Deputy Judge-Executive Joe Ender. Hours earlier, Ender’s attorney indicated he would file a whistleblower lawsuit against the county, alleging he was fired due to exposing corruption involving the data center.
Voegele said that Ender secretly recorded a May 22 meeting that they, three fiscal court magistrates and company representatives attended. When We Are Oldham County began posting audio clips of the meeting, Voegele said he confronted everyone who attended the meeting about the recording. Only Ender refused to answer if he recorded it, which Voegele said “is a response I cannot and will not accept from any employee.”
“The reason for Mr. Ender's termination is my complete loss of faith in him,” Voegele said. “I've always conducted myself in accordance with the highest ethical standards of integrity, transparency, accountability throughout my career in public service.”
That last remark drew laughs and groans from some in the audience, with Voegele addressing them to deny the allegations made by Ender’s attorney in a public letter sent that morning to county officials and the media.
“I categorically and unequivocally deny all unspecified allegations of corruption, bribery, favoritism, abuse of power and retaliation that have been directed at county government,” said Voegle, who added that he welcomes “a fair and full investigation by the Kentucky Attorney General,” which he’s “cooperating fully with.”
Voegele then announced that he would recuse himself from the rest of the meeting’s deliberations on the data center moratorium. As he left the room, Magistrate Kevin Woosley — one of the chief critics of the data center proposal — asked “If we have a loss of faith in you, can we fire you as well?” which brought loud cheers and applause from the audience.
During the public comment period that followed, more than a dozen residents blasted Western Hospitality Partners and county officials for how they have dealt with the company. Many directed their ire specifically at Voegele and referenced parts of the recorded meeting that were released.
Christopher Wiest, a prominent northern Kentucky attorney representing Ender, sent county officials a letter that morning outlining Ender’s recording of the meeting and the subsequent actions of him and Voegele. He wrote that he would sue the county under the Kentucky Whistleblower Act if they went through with firing Ender and “personally sue all participants in the retaliation.”
Wiest wrote that the recording of the meeting shows Voegele and others made promises to Western Hospitality Partners relative to the construction of their data center, “and solicited from (them) promises to purchase land and build a sports complex and/or swimming pool for the county in exchange for obtaining zoning and other promises.” He added that “an agreement and decisions were reached on that front between the parties.”
The letter adds that the attorney general’s office denied a resident’s appeal seeking a ruling that the fiscal court’s economic development committee violated the Kentucky Open Meetings Act by holding the undisclosed May 22 meeting in private, as a quorum of the committee was present. Wiest wrote that the office only did so because Voegele “falsely told” them that no agreement was reached in the meeting, which is counter to what the recording showed.
Wiest wrote that Ender indirectly sent the recording of the meeting to state Sen. Lindsey Tichenor — a Republican who represents the district and is a vocal opponent of the data center project — “who in turn immediately reported it to the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office, which has opened an investigation that is still pending.”
The attorney also wrote that Voegele moved to fire Ender when he refused to sign an affidavit stating that he did not record the meeting and leak it.
In a video posted by We Are Oldham County, Ender explains his decision to record the meeting, saying he witnessed “corruption, favoritism, bribery, misconduct, retaliation and abuse of power.”
“I don't regret telling the truth, because the people deserve honesty, not corruption in the shadows,” Ender said. “Doing what's right shouldn't come with punishment.”
Clips of the recorded meeting have been posted by We Are Oldham County over the past two weeks, including one in which an attorney for Western Hospitality asks local officials present to only pass a data center moratorium that exempts the application they planned to file for the smaller site.
When confronted by Oberg with specific conversations from the recording at a June 17 fiscal court meeting, Voegele said there was no private business meeting to strategize the way forward for the company and he was making it up. Wiest’s letter says Voegele “falsely told the public that nothing that is reflected on the recording actually occurred.”
Wiest told Kentucky Public Radio that morning that Voegele “is a liar, and I cannot tell you how thrilled I'm going to be to put that man in front of a jury, and how many zeros they're gonna put on the verdict.”
Wiest had not yet filed a lawsuit as of Wednesday afternoon.
Opponents of moratorium fear lawsuit from data center company
After a half hour of discussion among county magistrates, they voted 4-2 to approve a data center moratorium with no carve outs or exceptions. Voegele and two other magistrates who attended the May 22 meeting recused themselves from the vote.
Magistrate Brent Likins voted against the moratorium, explaining that the county attorney indicated they will likely be sued by Western Hospitality Partners if they pass a moratorium that does not exempt the application they previously submitted.
Countering the many vocal moratorium supporters in attendance, Likins said “if we have all these people out in this audience come up and sign an affidavit that they would be personally responsible for any legal fees, any judgments against us… after all, that's what you're asking every other citizen in this county to do, is to take this liability.”
At one point during the discussion, Voegele reentered the room and attempted to speak with Magistrate Wayne Theiss, who was presiding over the meeting in his absence. Voegle then left and Theiss explained what happened to the curious onlookers.
“(Voegle) said, ‘I wanted to tell you something,’” Theiss said. “I said, ‘it's not appropriate that you tell me that.’ Okay? And I said, ‘Judge, please leave.’” Theiss — who was present at the May 22 meeting and recused himself from the vote — then received applause.
Magistrate Stephanie Hawkins also attended the May 22 meeting, but made the motion for the moratorium without exceptions and voted for it.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
