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Generally, when good things are coming to a community, public officials and developers aren’t shy about making announcements.
Just weeks ago, a local developer announced plans to breathe new life into the former Wilson’s Gift & Jewelry building downtown.
As part of the project, the former Trolley Car building will come down. Not everyone was happy about that.
But they also learned Square Cafe & Bakery would be expanding into the space. The developer explained the vision. Questions were answered. People knew what was coming.
Walk into Square Cafe today and you’ll hear customers buzzing with excitement.
That’s usually how good development begins.
Now compare that with what has unfolded in Granville Township.
Rumors of a proposed data center seemed to appear out of nowhere. Township officials were fielding questions from residents before many of them had answers themselves. Before long, hundreds of people were packing meetings looking for information, demanding answers and trying to understand what this project could mean for their community.
Regardless of where you stand on the data center issue, that should give all of us pause.
This isn't about whether data centers are good or bad. Reasonable people can disagree about that.
It’s about the process.
Businesses often have legitimate reasons for keeping projects confidential while they’re negotiating land purchases or working through early plans. Not every proposal becomes reality.
But there comes a point when a project grows beyond a private business transaction.
When you’re talking about a development that could reshape a community for generations, the people who live there deserve more than rumors.
They deserve information.
They deserve an opportunity to ask questions before plans are submitted, not afterward.
They deserve to hear why a developer believes their community is the right fit before neighbors are left trying to fill in the blanks themselves.
Instead, speculation filled the void.
That’s never a good place for a community to start.
The timing only added to the skepticism.
Land development plans were submitted at 3:34 p.m. on the Friday before township supervisors were scheduled to consider an ordinance that would have imposed stricter regulations on future data center proposals.
Was the timing intentional?
We don’t know.
But that’s beside the point.
Whether it was strategic or simply a coincidence, it had the same effect. It left many residents wondering whether the public had been given a fair opportunity to understand what was happening before the process moved forward.
Trust is difficult to build.
It’s remarkably easy to lose.
Today, municipalities across Mifflin County are reviewing zoning ordinances. Residents have organized. Public meetings have become standing room only.
That reaction isn’t just about data centers.
It’s about people wanting to be part of decisions that could change the place they call home.
We’re grateful representatives of the development team have agreed to participate in next week’s town hall meeting.
That conversation is important.
But it also raises a simple question.
Why now?
Why after the land has been purchased?
Why after plans have been submitted?
Why after trust has already been shaken?
Public engagement shouldn’t begin after opposition forms.
It should begin before.
Whether this project ultimately moves forward or not, one lesson should already be clear.
Communities don’t expect every answer on Day One.
They don’t expect every proposal to be perfect.
But they do expect honesty.
They expect transparency.
And they expect to be treated as partners in conversations about the future of the place they call home.