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Editor's note: This article contains a continuation of coverage of last week's special Granville Township supervisors meeting held to approve the municipality's data center ordinance. The original article was abbreviated due to deadline and space constraints.
GRANVILLE -- Residents of Mifflin County will not stand for data center development in their neighborhoods.
That message was clear last week as township supervisors approved a data center ordinance that will not apply to the project currently under review.
The ordinance, approved during the supervisors' meeting, establishes regulations for future data center proposals. However, township officials have said it cannot be applied to the current proposal because developers submitted plans July 10, before the ordinance was adopted.
That decision frustrated many of the dozens of residents who attended the meeting, several of whom urged supervisors to reject the proposal outright.
"Its going to harm our way of life, our environment," resident Crystal Porch said. "There's nothing good other than money that is going to come out of it."
Several residents questioned how much water a data center would consume and whether the project could affect electric rates. Others asked township officials to invite Mifflin County Municipal Authority Executive Director Craig Bubb to a future meeting to answer questions about water availability.
Others criticized the process that led to the proposal.
Resident Nate Fisher questioned why former Supervisor Mark Ellinger's land negotiations allegedly began months before township officials publicly discussed the project.
"Ellinger started a land deal in November of 2025, yet the township didn't know anything until April 2026. Why?" Fisher asked.
Several residents said they reviewed the development plans submitted July 10 and argued the application should be rejected.
Donald Parkes, an engineer who said he lives less than 500 feet from the proposed site, told supervisors he identified what he believes are significant deficiencies in the plans.
Among them, Parkes said portions of the application reference Bloomsburg ordinances instead of Granville Township regulations.
"They didn't even have the respect to know that they were submitting in Granville Township," Parkes said.
Parkes also alleged the plans were not properly signed and sealed and said stormwater calculations and other engineering information were incomplete. He submitted his findings to the supervisors for review.
Resident Mike Leeper questioned what options remain available to stop the project and urged greater involvement from county officials.
"It appears to me one hand does not know what the other is doing," Leeper said.
Fisher agreed, saying county commissioners and the county planning commission should be engaged even if they have no formal authority over the proposal.
One resident cautioned that township officials must follow the law regardless of public opposition if the application complies with local ordinances. His comments were met with boos from members of the audience.
Resident Cori Hockenberry said she fears additional data center development could permanently change the township.
"If we let them build these two data centers, we won't have a township left," Hockenberry said.
Another resident, Elizabeth Sparkle encouraged residents to continue voicing opposition, saying she believes strong public resistance could influence the developers' plans.