Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

I'll call the 3 p.m. session of the July 28, 2026 meeting of the Henry County Board of Supervisors to order. I'd like to welcome all of our visitors. Remind you, if you want to address the board, you must sign up seven days in advance of any of our regular meetings to be put on the agenda. The county administrator is the contact person for the board. However, the public may address the board under the agenda item, matters presented by the public that we'll take up as agenda item number 19 later this evening. Again, welcome everyone. Thank you for coming out and participating in your county government. Our first business items of consideration would be the items of consent. Agenda item number five. What is the pleasure of the board?

Mr. Chairman, if there are no additions or corrections, I move that the items of consent be approved. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? It is five. And all of our actions today will be one absent. Mr. Pruitt cannot be here today. That takes us to agenda item number six. We'll have a monthly report on delinquent tax collection efforts. We have with us County Treasurer Tiffany Harrison. Tiffany, welcome.

For our delinquent taxes, personal property collections, as of June 30th, 2026, we collected 89.02% of the 2025 personal property taxes. We collected $80,415.99 in the month. For real estate, as of June 30, 2026, we collected 95.28% of the 2025 real estate taxes. We collected $75,769.58 for the month. Since June 30, TAC has collected $724,165.88. For debt set-off, we collected $11,299.03 on July 16th. For the year for debt set-off collections, we've collected $241,425.59. Total stops for the month of June was 453. Okay, thank you. Does anyone have any questions of Ms. Harrison at this time?

Just a couple of questions from our constituents. What is tax? T-A-C-S.

That's short for Taxing Authority Consultant Services. They do our collections for us, their house out of Richmond.

The collections concerning? Delivery taxes as far as real estate and personal property. Okay, and when you say you have stops, what does that mean?

We use DMV stops as a collection tool for personal property. So during the month of June, we do our own in-house stops now. So we place stops on any delinquent personal property taxes. We did that for the 2025 tax year. And so for the month of June, that's how many stops were removed. So we collected. It's a formal collection.

I think it's the word stops. What are you stopping? Why is it called that?

Constituents are not able to renew their tax if they have delinquent personal property taxes. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome.

Any other questions? Thank you.

Thank you.

Attempt item number seven, a presentation of the Virginia Association of Counties, known as VACO Achievement Award.

Mr. Chairman, members of the board, my name is Joe Lurch, and I serve as the local director of government policy for Virginia Association of Counties. innovative programs that he had success with. Just a little bit for your constituents who may not know about Vega, we've been around since 1934. We represent all the counties in Virginia, chiefly through our advocacy efforts at the state and some at the federal level. and communications programs. A little bit about the Achievement Awards program. We established this in 2003. This is our 24th annual Achievement Awards program. We received 103 entries this year. And out of that number, 40 winners were selected from 26 counties. So it's truly a competitive program when less than 40% of your entrants get recognized. As you all probably knew from previous years, you know, what our judges are looking for in the guidelines, is it offering an innovative solution to address a problem, situation, or delivery of service? Second thing is, does the government promote intergovernmental cooperation or cooperation at the local, state, or federal level and with private enterprise in addressing the needs? Does the program provide a model that any other county can go ahead and add on to or take it and run with it? And then lastly, does it represent kind of a customization and innovative approach for a local government program? So this year's award goes for the coach, the coat drive for kids. And I'll just say a few words about it. I know I suppose this is near and dear to your heart. It's been around since 1996. The impact over thousands of coats over that time. for families that really need this during the winter months. And some of the innovative things that you're doing, and it looks like it's been built up over the years and really brought in a lot of partners, bringing in private enterprise, having a dry cleaner, cleaning these, I think that's really innovative. And then just kind of the annual impact, up to $13,000 a year is in savings for these families, and that's just really impressive. You know, a lot of times when we give out these awards, these are for newer programs. I think what's really fascinating about this is we're giving this for a program that's been around for 30 years, but that's a testament to its state, pal. And I think it really is a testament on something that other counties could take it as a model. So pleased to present that award. We've got an award here. We can do pictures. And I don't know if anybody else would just say any other words for me to do that.

I'm going to ask Mr. Wagner if he'd give us some additional background on this and mention the funding partners that have been part of it.

I think Mr. Lurch covered it very well. This program was established many years ago at the leadership of Fort Factor District Supervisor Debra Buchanan. Over the years, each of you have also gotten involved as well as the community that truly represents what's on her logo in accounting community. Supervisor Dillard stepped up and actually, I think last year as well, did additional work making sure those codes got to the right child in the school system. And all the partners in this just makes it a really great program from the school system to the volunteers. such as Walmart that provides a coat set up, you know, a very reasonable price when we buy the new coats. One Hour Martinizing that, you know, does some of the dry cleaning, collects the coats for us, and all the volunteers that transport the coats and gets them out. So, a tremendous award, and it speaks volumes about the love and care of our community. Just very proud of you. Thank you, David.

Prior to asking comments from Mr. Dillard, since you have gotten involved with this and you're kind of our conduit between the board and the school system, would you mention how this went for you this year?

Yes, Ms. Buchanan is on point. You know, she's really, this is her brainchild. She really works hard at it and she's out doing all sorts of, you know, connecting with the community to make sure when she, you know, get coats that are gently used, they are clean coats and A lot of the items are new, so she's met with a lot of different people and really commend her for her effort. And I would also say that it's a great program that shows the true partnership. She's able to get a lot of the coats. The school system has the kids and that partnership is created and the students really enjoy when they get the coats. We deliver them to each school and then they just find kids that match up with them. We have families who are calling because maybe one kid got one, another kid didn't, so we're trying to match sizes up and it's always a great It's kind of like Christmas early for a lot of the kids and we've even adjusted some because a lot of the older kids do not wear the big coats. They like hoodies and things of that nature. So Ms. Buchanan took it upon herself to meet the needs of those older high school kids who prefer hoodies as opposed to the big coats. So I want to commend you and thank you for your commitment to Henry County and to the citizens of Henry County. Yes, ma'am.

Mr. Cannon, I know it's so hard to think about a coat when it's 85 to 95 degrees outside, but if you will express, when do you start? And I know that you can't wait until it's cold before you start. So, and speak to the program itself.

How much time do we have? Because I'm a big spokesman, of course, for the coat drive for kids. And as Mr. Dillard said, we try not to let any coat go unused. And if we do get a coat, sometimes a donated coat that's been dry cleaned, we partner with the Salvation Army to make sure that people that come to the Salvation Army, and sometimes it's the homeless, have a warm coat but over the last 30 years it's been a partnership between our community the individuals the churches the businesses that have come together and i think it shows the true spirit of our community we are a community of giving and of caring 30 years seems like a long time but in the scheme of things it's not particularly when you have a child that is cold and the The phrase that I always use is a smile on a child's face makes all the difference, and it definitely does. When you see a child that might not have had a brand new coat before, it might have been a hand-me-down through the years, and to receive a new coat, I've actually had the experience of seeing children who get a brand new coat for the first time, and it just, you won't, you want to be happy but you also want to wrap your arms around that child and and just give them the biggest hug so working with the school system and mr dillard here we've been able to partner for the last several years making sure that our children do have a warm coat and thank you so much for looking out for us

and mr. Dillon if you all will receive this from Vaco on the board's behalf okay that takes us uh now to uh agenda item number eight we'll take up financial matters beginning with 8a an additional appropriation referencing a basic community center planning grant for the planning zoning and inspections department uh mr wagner county has received a grant of seventy five thousand dollars from the virginia department of howard

The PER will include cost associated with any proposed improvements and renovations of the facility, including the mitigation of hazardous materials. The West Piedmont Planning District Commission will oversee the project while the county will serve as the fiscal agent for the grant. And the grant does not require any local management.

Okay. With that, what is the action the board desires to take on this?

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to approve the additional appropriation of $75,000 from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development Grant as requested.

Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? It's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. 8B, an additional appropriation and award of contract referencing state asset forfeiture funds for the sheriff's office. Mr. Wagner.

Sheriff Wayne Davis. Attorney Andrew Nestor is asking the Board to approve an additional appropriation of $45,000 from the Commonwealth Attorney's State Asset Forfeiture Fund and $44,066 from the Sheriff's State Asset Forfeiture Funds to purchase ballistic vests for the SWAT team. In addition, Sheriff Davis is asking the Board to award a contract of $89,066 to Angel Armor for the purchase of the ballistic vest. The purchasing department has approved Angel Armor LLC as the sole source provider for this purchase. And Lieutenant Colonel Heston is here, should you have any questions.

Okay, thank you for the background and we have additional background as part of your board packet. What is the desire of the board in regard to this appropriation and award of contract?

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to approve additional appropriations as presented and awarding a contract of $89,066 to Angel Armor LLC for the purchase of ballistic vests.

Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? That's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. Eighth C, an award of contract for replacement vehicles for the Sheriff's Office. Mr. Wagner.

Sheriff Wayne Davis is asking the board to award a contract for $390,280 to Haley Ford to purchase seven 2027 Ford police interceptor utility vehicles and one 2026 Ford F-150 police response truck. Sheriff Davis has indicated that Ford utility vehicles will replace seven high mileage vehicles in the patrol division and the responder truck will be issued to a lieutenant of professional standards for the day. Pricing for the vehicles is based on the Virginia Sheriff's Association Vehicle Procurement Program specifications. Funding for each replacement vehicle is included in the fiscal year 2027 budget.

In regard to awarding to this contract, what action would the board like to take?

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to award a contract of $390,280 to Haley Ford to purchase the replacement vehicles for the Sheriff's Department as presented. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? It is five affirmative votes, Jennifer. 8D, an award of contract referencing voting supply cabinets for the Registrar's Office. Mr. Wagner.

General Registrar John Spoltzvon is requesting the Board to award a contract that amounts to $75,758 to print elect to purchase 17 secure voting supply cabinets. The registrar currently has seven of these cabinets and additional cabinets are needed to secure the boating supplies for the remaining precincts. The funding for this purchase is included in the fiscal year 2027-28 capital budget.

Okay and we have background material as part of your packet as well as that. What motion would the board like to put forward on this?

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to award a contract of $75,758 to print elect to purchase 17 voting supply cabinets as requested.

Second.

Let me interject. Yes, sir. It is the fiscal year 2027 capital vote. Say again, please. The fiscal year 2027 capital vote. Thank you.

We have a motion to second. Any other clarification or discussion? All in favor? It is five affirmative votes, Jennifer. Agenda 8E, award of contract referencing software licensing for the information technology department. Mr. Wagner.

Mark Alley, director of information technology, is asking the board to award a contract of $107,348 to Main Micro Technologies Corporation for the renewal of Microsoft Office 365 license. Mr. Alley explains the desubscription license will ensure employees have access to critical services such as email, OneDrive, Word, Excel, SharePoint, and Teams, while also enhancing the county's cybersecurity productivity and disaster recovery capabilities. The pricing for this contract is based on the OMNIA contract number R250307. staff recommends approval of this award and future renewals in accordance with the terms of the contract the funding for this project is included in the fiscal year 2027 budget the portion of the cost will be reimbursed from the public service authority okay thank you uh in regard to awarding of this contract uh what is the desire of the board

Mr. Chairman, I move that the board award a contract in the amount of $107,348 to Main Micro Technologies for the renewal of the Microsoft Office 365 licensing.

Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion?

Okay, as amended. Okay.

Second. We have that amended and seconded. Any discussion? All in favor? It's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. Agenda 8F, award of contract referencing radio console equipment for the 911 Center. Mr. Wagner.

Director Tiara Dillard of the Martinsville-Hendon County 9-1-1 Center has asked the Board to award a contract of $208,318 to GCS EAC Incorporated, which is located in Martinsville. The project will update the 9-1-1 Center radio console equipment, providing better functionality to the county's public safety radio systems. The Purchasing Department has authorized this procurement pursuant to terms of a free services. The funding for the project is included in fiscal year 27.

Okay, with that, what action would the board like to take in awarding of this contract?

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to award a contract of $208,318 to GCSEAC Incorporated for the 911 radios console equipment updates as presented.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? I have affirmative votes, Jennifer. 8G, an additional appropriation referencing 1% of sales tax fund for new construction and renovation for the school board. Mr. Wagner.

The school board is requesting an appropriation of $838,000 from the 1% of the sales tax fund designated for new construction and renovation of schools. In a memorandum from the superintendent, it's indicated the funds will be used to replace the electrical switch gear at Philandale-Collinsville and Laurel Park Elementary School. I know representatives from the schools here, if you have questions.

In regard to this appropriation, what is the desire of the board?

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to approve the appropriation of $838,000 from the 1% sales tax fund for new construction renovation of the schools as requested by the school board.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? It's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. 8H, an additional appropriation referencing school security officer grant for the school board. Mr. Wagner.

The school board has requested an additional appropriation of $75,026 received from the school security officer grant program through the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Covenants. will be used to help fund an additional school security officer position at Bassett High School and Magnum Vista High School. The grant does require a match of $23,533, which the school board has indicated they will provide from their fiscal year 2027 school budget.

Okay, in regard to this additional appropriation, what action would the board like to take?

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to approve the additional appropriation of $75,026 received from the DCJS grant for the school security officers as presented. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? It's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. Agenda item number nine, person representing West Piedmont Higher Education Center was unable to be here today. So we'll move on to agenda item number 10. It's the FY2026-2027 budget amendment discussion. And Mr. Wagner.

As you know, May 5th, the Board of Supervisors adopted the fiscal year 26-27 budget based on the best available data we had at the time. The total budget was $231,528,674, including $117,973,744 for public education. Subsequently, on June 29th, the Commonwealth finally approved its state budget which include several significant impacts on local governments. Specifically, of most consequence on the local budget is under constitutional officers in other state-supported positions The state budget increased salary recommendations of a 2% raise plan on July 1st to that of a 3.5% increase on August 1st. And these would be for sheriff's deputies, treasurer's office, commissioner of revenue, registrar, those types of positions where we get considerable state funding for those positions. As a result of that, that requires an additional local match to complement the increases to make sure we provide the local match as well as it's been our practice to provide the same increases to all employees since we're sharing positions and do a lot of the same jobs side to side with each other. And also the budget requires additional funds to be provided in a similar fashion to other county departments and DSS and 911 as well, which create additional strain on our current year budget. On the public education side of the state budget, there was provided an additional $2,152,971 of state funds. And as a result of the additional state funds requires the locality to provide an additional $615,361. A big part of that and very much needed is a fund for a 4% salary increase for state's funding school positions that were effective on July 1st. So how do we close the gap between what we budgeted and the consequence of the state actions on our new budget? I bring to you some recommended actions to get us to a balanced budget to meet all our obligations. So during our budget preparation, At your discretion, you offered at the end of the budget process, there was an additional $225,000 that was not allocated. You said put it in reserve with foresight knowing that the state budget was probably going to require more of us. So we have that $225,000 to work with. Some other actions I'm recommending we take to fill that gap is that we delay hiring the financial technician position that was supposed to start July 1st until January 1st, 2027. delay hiring the administrative assistant position for the sheriff's office until january 1st 2027. delay hiring the community standards officer until September 1st, 2026. And I would have likely had recommended this January 1st, but we were well into the hiring process for this individual and I don't want to postpone it since we've already advertised and lined up interviews for that position. So I'm recommending we postpone that to September 1st, which will wind closer with our interviews. That'll save us into three months of the salary there. Your current budget included a new position for a cybersecurity position. I've had extensive conversation with our IT director and we're recommending that we reclassify one of the existing employees in the department who has a degree in cybersecurity and has been gaining experience in cybersecurity with additional responsibilities so they can focus 100% of their time on cybersecurity matters. and then create the new position as an entry level desktop position to save money and also fill in that on January 1st, 2027. Another method I'm recommending is we have included four paramedic level positions in the public safety budget. I'm recommending that we convert two of those positions to the EMT level which will be some savings in salaries. And to cover the rest of this, we're asking the Department of Social Services and 911 to utilize vacancy savings and other savings throughout the year to cover the additional funds needed to match the state for that. On the public education side, staff has recommended that we direct the 2025 local carryover funds to fiscal year 2027. that amount is 532 239 dollars that would meet all our local funding requirements with the new revenue from the commonwealth and it would also continue a discretionary amount for the school system of 123 878 dollars So our next steps as we proceed, a couple things I asked of you today. Since it was budgeted at 2% on July 1st for salary increases, I ask that you make a motion to rescind that 2% salary increase for July 1st and improve a 3.5% salary increase for all full-time county employees. that you know in the next couple of days and then the second part of that because the new state funds changed the budget amount by greater than one percent along with the local funds that public hearing is required to amend the budget so I'm suggesting that you set a public hearing from August 26 at 6 p.m. to amend the school budget by two point two million six hundred six thousand eight hundred and ninety three And I'm happy to answer any questions. And Mr. Jones, Chief Financial Officer, is here if you have money-related questions.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Wagner. The board has before it some possible actions that we could take, as mentioned by Mr. Wagner. And the first is rescinding the previously adopted 2% salary and approving a 3.5% salary increase effective August 1. What action would the board like to take in regard to that item?

Mr. Chairman, I move that the board rescind the previous adopted 2% salary increase effective July the 1st of 2026 and approve a 3.5 salary increase. for all full-time county employees effective August the 1st of 2026, and that we set a public hearing for August the 25th at 6 p.m. to receive public input on the 2026-2027 budget amendment.

Do we need to separate those motions, or can that be a part of one?

I think that's sufficient to separate.

Okay. All right. Is there a second?

Second.

Any discussion at this point in time?

I have one question. Yes, sir. And I guess it would either be Darrell or Dale. But my question would be, we moved these to January the 1st, which is fine. I'm assuming that's because we're getting half a year out of it or like, what's the difference of, you know, September versus January or vice versa? What's the, what are we saving by doing that? I guess is my question.

Carol may have the exact dollar amount, but essentially we had to come up with the additional money to match the additional funds needed to provide the salary increases for constitutional officers. That's all I got.

Other questions or discussion? We have a motion and a second. All in favor? It's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. That moves us to agenda item number 11, informational items. I will begin by taking comments from the board, starting with Dr. Cobbler. Mr. Dillon.

Yes, sir. Just one. Just a reminder, National Night Out is next. It's August 4th. The Sheriff's Department, if they want to mention that or highlight that at all, if so, feel free to do so. But welcome all community members to come out, and it's going to be at Southside Park in Martinsville starting around 5 o'clock. State Sponsor Initiative. city sponsored it, okay, all right. And then, you know, I mentioned to you all I do have some impact funds I'd like to request and it's four different activities, events, however you want to say it, and each, you know, at $500. You know, one is, again, a football, it's a quarterback wide receivers camp. And, you know, one of the things in talking with all the folk who do these events, I do encourage them not to just make it a camp, but it's an opportunity for young folk to get out, participate, offer some good positive words. And that will be sponsored by the Fielddale Ducks. And then CPJ camps, you know, we'll do another camp. And then there's an Ultimate Summer Bash. You know, at some point I want Irishwood District to have all of these great events that you're having in Bassett and Ridgeway. And I'm hoping that, you know, events like this Ultimate Summer Bash and then the Wing King, Wing Queen event that's taking place, you know, those will catch on. and become annual events in the Irish Wood District. I think it's important for each district to have their own identity events that people look forward to each year. And as a board member, I'd love to support those events. And like I said, hopefully they'll catch on and be something we can look forward to annually. So that's the Fielddale Football Camp, CPJ camps, the Ultimate Summer Bash, which will be at the Smith River Complex, and then the Wing King Queen event, which will be at the Eat Spot, which is in the Irish Wood District. And it's $500 for each of those.

Okay. Do we need to have separate motions, or can that be collective in one? Okay, I'm going to accept that dialogue as a motion. Is there a second? Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? It's five affirmative votes. Anything else, Mr. Dillon?

Yes, but I'll wait until I get home and share it all with my wife.

My understanding, there's some home cooking going on.

Yes, it is, and I think she intentionally did that today.

Ms. Buchanan? The only thing, and I forgot to answer your question, when the coat drive starts, and it starts after Labor Day.

After Labor Day.

After Labor Day, you can start taking your coats to one-hour martinizing or giving me a call, and we'll pick them up, or they can drop them off.

Great. Great. Thank you. Mr. Wallace.

I love my job. That's it. Okay. You're the boss. I love my job.

I don't have anything. Mr. Wagner.

I was just wondering how you become the Wayne King.

Is that just...

There's a wing eating contest, and there are eight eating, and then there are eight gentlemen, there are eight females, so you can be the wing king, wing queen. They're going to receive a belt, and hopefully it will be a great family day and kind of parallel in the Roanoke Wing Fest. And that's what we're hoping for to grow into an event like that.

Just to be in it, right?

I don't think you can lose if you're in there eating.

I'm not in it, so.

Okay. With that, that takes us to agenda item number 12. If someone will cite the items that allow us to go into closed meeting.

Mr. Chairman, I move we go into closed meeting under 2.23711A1 for discussion of appointees to the Community Policy and Management Team and the Roanoke River Basin Association, 2.23711A7 for discussion of pending legal matters, 2.23711A3 for discussion of the acquisition disposal of real estate, and 2.23711A5 for discussion of as yet unannounced industries.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. All in favor? It's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. I'll see you all upstairs in five minutes. A closed meeting on a motion by Ms. Buchanan, second by Mr. Lawless. Mr. Powell, will you poll the board, please?

How do you vote? Mr. Adams?

Yes, sir.

Mr. Lawless?

Yes, sir.

Mr. Buchanan? Yes, sir. Mr. Dillon? Yes, sir. Dr. Dahlman? Yes, sir.

Mr. Lawless, I believe that you have a countywide appointment for the board's consideration.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. For the Roanoke River Basin Association, I'd like to ask that Mike Ward, he desires to serve another term, and he serve another term on the Roanoke River Basin Association.

We have a motion and a second. All in favor? It's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. And the board needs to consider two actions, one being a local performance agreement and one being a Commonwealth Development Opportunity Fund performance agreement. Mr. Wagner, do you have any comments prior to us taking action?

Just to celebrate the announcement of the rule team part of their commitment to bring 150 jobs here and invest $40 million in capital investment. We entered into a performance agreement with them and the Commonwealth of Virginia did as well. Those have to be approved by this board. For the Commonwealth's Opportunity Development Fund, the Commonwealth is committing $750,000 level Henry County's committee $4,000 opportunity fund for them to be investing $40 million and they don't get any unless they perform as expected so the performance agreement you have a copy of them the industrial development authority put them in yesterday and they're available for your consideration

Okay, we'll take the local performance agreement first in regard to that. What action would the board like to take in regard to adopting that or approving that local performance agreement?

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to approve the local incentive performance agreement as presented.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor?

It is five affirmative votes, Jennifer.

And then as far as the Commonwealth Development Opportunity Fund Performance Agreement, what action does the board desire to take?

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to approve the Commonwealth Opportunity Fund Performance Agreement as presented. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? There's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. Mr. Wagner, do you have any items for the board to consider prior to taking a recess? I do not. Oh, well, okay. Board members, do you have any? Okay, we will stand in recess at 4.37 and start promptly at 6 p.m. for our evening session. I'll call the 6 p.m. session of the July 28, 2026 meeting of the Henry County Board of Supervisors back to order from our recess from our afternoon session. I'll start again. I'll call the 6 p.m. session of the Henry County Board of Supervisors meeting to order from our recess of earlier this afternoon. I'd like to welcome all of our visitors. Remind you, if you want to address the board, you must sign up seven days in advance of any of our regular meetings to be put on the agenda. The county administrator is the contact person for the board. however the public may address the board under the agenda item matters presented by the public uh later in this meeting is agenda item number 19 and that is aside from our public hearing that we will have tonight again welcome everyone thank you for coming out and participating in your county government our first business item of consideration tonight is uh

under general highway matters agenda item number 14 we have with us David Kaiser from VDOT David welcome thank you good evening there was several things getting underway in Henry County for VDOT we'll be starting a second round We're getting ready to begin our second round of mowing. We'll be starting with the primary roads and then moving to secondaries, and that will be starting next week. We had a pipe get washed out with the recent heavy rain on Route 777, Mount Olivet Road. We started the emergency repairs for that and expect the road to be reopened within two weeks. The Route 1330 Mountain View Road pipe replacement that was supposed to start this week has been delayed a week because of the 777 failure, but it will begin that pipe replacement next week. There was another pipe replacement at the intersection of 868 Pine Street and 869 Seventh that actually started today. And then one more scheduled for next Monday on Route 949 Spencer Pin Road. All of those have temporary road closures and detours while we're replacing those pipes. Our VDOT crews will be continuing to patch roads ahead of next year's paving schedules. And the schedules for this year are all underway or have been completed. The latex schedule walk was only on Route 58 and 57, and those have been completed. And those roads have been, pavement markings have been re-striped. The plank mix schedule is underway. The largest section will be on the bypass, both northbound and southbound from the Bassett Forks area down south. And there's other roadways on the plant mix schedule too that's upcoming. Any secondary surface treatment schedule work began last week and they'll be doing various roads. There's a lot of paving and patching and construction zones set up all across the county. We also have a primary tree primary route tree trimming crew that started yesterday on 220 near the hydro dam and they'll be moving to various spots doing some tree trimming. The lower park smart scale project is still underway, and I believe the flex poles that had been knocked down to the delineators at the intersection of 220 and Church Street and Ridgeway, I think maybe those were asked about last month, and we have, on the 15th, we reinstalled those. That's all the updates I have for you all tonight.

Before we take the 14A, does anyone have any items for Mr. Kaiser?

You mentioned the Laurel Park project. Do you have any idea when that's going to be completed? Because school will be starting soon.

Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't know what that completion date is right now. But I can find out for you.

Yes, sir. I appreciate it. Are there other items?

That moves us to agenda item 14A, a consideration of a resolution supporting smart scale application. Mr. Clark, do you want to give us some background on that, please?

Okay, VDOT requires a resolution regarding submission of projects for a smart scale program. In consultation with VDOT, staff has asked the board to approve a resolution supporting two project submissions to the 2026 VDOT smart scale program. First project proposed reconstructing the intersection of Preston Road and Alefield Pot Highway with an R-cut design to more safely move traffic through that intersection. and the second project proposes to improve 85 100 of a mile of barris mill road through widening the roadway service improving vertical and horizontal alignment which will improve access to industrial and economic development sites project applications cannot be submitted without a resolution of support by the board of supervisors you've got to be working papers uh both of the drawing sketches that were prepared the applications have already been prepared and been entered into the smart scale system VDOT will only design one project per year and the project that we chose this year for VDOT to design was the intersection of Preston Road and 58 You've got the proposed resolution in your working papers should you vote to or decide to adopt that resolution for support. Without that resolution, the project cannot be submitted.

In regard to the Barras Mill Road on that, since that was part of our background on this,

that project was previously designed in years past did not score high enough to be funded that's why we chose to resubmit that project because it had already been designed the only new project is the 58 Preston Road all right thank you do you have to approve both of these or it's well put it together as one resolution okay there are two separate applications If for whatever reason you decided not to support one, I would still ask that you adopt the resolution omitting that project, and I would prepare a new one for the chairman's signature prior to it being submitted. I have to submit this application by about Monday.

Is there any long-term effect if one of these projects was voted down? Would there be any effects for future considerations?

Yeah, these projects, generally speaking, when you have a smart scale project and it actually is awarded funding, my experience is it takes probably about six years or so before the project is ever comes to construction if these rounds of submittals only take place every two years so if a project is passed over we obviously would not have another opportunity to submit for another two years

All right. Thank you, Mr. Clark. Ms. McKenna, I believe you had some comments to offer.

Yes, Mr. Chairman, and I ask that those two projects be separated. One is in my district. I've talked with Mr. Wagner. I've talked with Mr. Clark. I've talked with Mr. Kaiser. I've talked with a number of people in my district. And This project has been in question for a number of years. We've gone back and forth with a stoplight, rumble strips, we've even talked about cutting the grade back, talked about moving the driveway of the Dollar General down, and I was not aware of this design until it appeared in our board packet. So I don't see, when they're talking about an R-turn and U-turns for these tractor trailers, it's just not going to work. And from Horse Pasture Price Road to Carver Road is definitely, you have accidents, there's no doubt. But I think VDOT needs to take a closer look at how they can make it work without having to cause, I think, additional accidents in the long run. I know that VDOT has really taken this r-turns and they're using them quite a bit now, but I don't think in that area it's going to work. So I'm asking that it be taken out and with VDOT their consideration of a new design in that area.

and what I would ask is that you adopt the resolution removing that project from the resolution and then I would just prepare a new one for the chairman's signature oh yeah that's great and then I'll I'll submit the one resubmit the one project and the other one will wait a few years couple of years and see what projects we want to submit them

But I am asking that that project be resubmitted to VDOT under the Smart Scale project. I want them to review that with VDOT.

You'll have to ask VDOT whether they can do that.

Yeah, I checked before the meeting tonight, and it's a two-year process. The pre-application window, when it was originally submitted, window to get them submitted and then you develop it to this point that it becomes an application

for this round right okay but I don't understand why I didn't even know that this project this design was even being considered until the board packet

yeah I know that when we when we submit these to VDOT VDOT prepare or goes through their engineering process to prepare a design I don't know exactly when I was made aware of the design that they settled on

I guess we can do the resolution of support, but I think we need to go back to the drawing board. And it's going to take two years.

So resolution of support tonight would be to move forward what's been proposed. don't support that, then you wouldn't pass the resolution, and it would stop the process, because that's needed to carry it to the next step.

OK. Then we don't need to vote on it together then.

if you already have it separated yeah it it sounds like what i hear is you uh you're interested in separating two i recommend a motion related to the barrett's mill project and then if there is the board's desire they can make a motion or not make a motion related to the 58 west okay barrow's wheels in your district okay that's fine

So I make a motion for the resolution to move forward with the plan for the Bear's Mill project with the VDOT.

We have a motion. Is there a second? Second. We have a motion, second, and this is a resolution of support for the Bear's Mill project. All in favor? Aye. It's five. Okay, I found it over there. Five affirmative votes, Jennifer. One absent. Supervisor Pruitt cannot be here tonight.

Mr. Chairman, I also ask Mr. Clark to make sure that it's included in the smart scale project at the next round or for consideration.

Sure, absolutely.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you, David. Do we need to do anything in regard to the other, other than if we're not passing a resolution?

If the board has no desire to pass it, you don't have to do anything in the application for that.

Okay, thank you. Agenda item 15 is probably what the majority of you are here tonight, and prior to me moving to that, I would like to thank members of the Horsepasture Rescue Squad and Fire Department that were here in support of not wanting that VDOT project to move forward. You all have expressed your concerns, and we appreciate that. You've expressed them to your supervisor. She's passed them on to us. And thank you all for being here tonight. We appreciate it. Since the majority of you are here of agenda item 15, we're going to take the remainder of the agenda first. It will move quickly. So we will start with agenda item 16, which is a public hearing on rezoning application R-26-13 for Blue Ridge Airport Authority. Mr. Clark.

This property is located at 525 Airport Roads in the Horse Pasture District. The property is shown on tax map 48.9 and slide 31C. The applicant requested resigning of approximately 25 acres from Agricultural District A1 to Industrial District I1. The applicant plans to construct a new terminal building that will enable the potential expansion of the airport services special use permit is also required to allow this use to expand onto the property and that application has been filed and is scheduled to be heard by the board of zoning appeals tomorrow following a public hearing by the planning commission both the planning commission and staff recommended approval of this request

I'll open the public hearing for this rezoning application at 616. Is there anyone desiring to speak on this rezoning application for Blue Ridge Airport? Okay. Seeing. Yes, sir. Are you speaking? Yes, sir. For this rezoning application? I have a brief policy statement to read. This is a time for public comment. We welcome your participation. We're here to listen to you. When you come to the podium, please state your name and the district in which you live. By coming to the podium, you've agreed you will exhibit respect for the board, the staff, and its members. Please try to keep your presentation to no more than three minutes.

thank you mr. chair for allowing me to speak thank you to the board for allowing me to speak as well Chad Martin 111 Hammond Drive Axton Virginia 24054 number one I just want to say first of all I think the airport is an amazing resource that you have here but just heard tonight for someone who's actually talking about the other zoning piece that you all are dealing with about the amount of smoke and the amount of toxic air potentially coming from the airport When I did further research along to also research for the zoning for what you were talking about for data centers, I found out that Martinsville and Henry County do not have any kind of air monitors from DEQ or any purple air monitors. which says that you the public is not privy to how much pollution air toxic that's actually going on from the airport so my question my ask would be if you're going to put any kind of zoning new regulations please consider putting an air monitor there to let people know how much their air quality is being affected thank you is there anyone else wishing to speak on this rezoning application

Anyone else? Seeing and hearing no indication, I will close the public hearing on this at 618. Ms. Buchanan, this is in your district.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. I make a motion to approve the rezoning as requested. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Affirmative votes with five. Jennifer. Agenda item 17, a public hearing for rezoning application for Hydro Clean Services LLC. Mr. Clark.

This property is located at 2405 Daniels Creek Road. It's in the Collinsville district. The property is shown on tax map 29431 as lot 1A. The applicant here has requested rezoning with approximately two-tenths of an acre from suburban residential district to office and professional district B3. Rezoning will bring the existing use into compliance and will allow greater flexibility for other potential uses. Following a public hearing, both the Planning Commission and staff recommend approval of this request.

I'll open the public hearing at 619 to take any input from anyone on this rezoning application for hydro clean services. Is there anyone desiring to address the board for this rezoning application? Seeing no indication, as such, I will close the public hearing at 619. Mr. Lawless, this is in your district.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. I make a motion for the rezone application of R2614 hydro clean services LLC.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? There's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. Agenda item 18, a public hearing for rezoning application R-26-15 for Joseph Scaldnoy.

Okay, this property is located beyond the end of Oak Road and behind the address of 123 Oak Road in the Collinsville District. Property shown on tax map 28618 is lots 74 and 75. The applicant is requesting rezoning of approximately 5.7 acres from Suburban Residential District to Agricultural District A1. The applicant wishes to use the property for agricultural purposes specifically the keeping of livestock. Filing a public hearing both the planning commission and staff recommended approval of this request.

I'll open the public hearing at 6 21 to take any input on this. Is there anyone desiring to address the board on this rezoning application? Seeing and hearing no indication, I will close the public hearing at 621. Also, Mr. Lawless, the senior district.

Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to approve the rezoning request as presented.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor? It's five affirmative votes Jennifer. Agenda item 19 matters presented by the public. This is for any subject other than the zoning ordinance amendment. Does anyone wish to address the board on the matters presented by the public on any other subject other than the zoning amendments? OK, I don't see any indication. So that takes us back to agenda item 15. And with that, we'll conduct a public hearing on zoning ordinance amendments for the Planning, Zoning, and Inspections Department. Mr. Clark, if you'll give us background, please.

Okay, back in February of this year, the Planning Commission held a work session with staff to review and discuss potential amendments to the existing zoning ordinance. Following that work session, staff proposed zoning ordinance amendments and then held a public hearing on it on April 15th of this year also. At the time, there were no comments received from the public. Last month, June 23rd, the Board of Supervisors, I presented the proposed amendments that were recommended by the Planning Commission to the Board of Supervisors. Following review of those proposed amendments, the Board decided or elected to schedule a public hearing for this meeting. to receive public comment. The public hearing has been properly advertised for this evening. To go over those amendments just briefly, you have obviously all of those amendments that were proposed or presented to you last month. they've not changed they're still in your working papers generally speaking the amendments they clarify the definitions of a group home we added container homes to our zoning ordinance to allow them in agricultural zones We clarified where sawmills can take place. We raised the allowed size of accessory structures on residential and commercial properties. We defined what limited retail stands are and addressed where they can be located. We allowed certain uses to take place by right on commercial property such as health clubs, arcades, apartment units we also added RV parks that will be allowed by special use permit of note in that we we added for purposes of promoting housing as much as possible now apartments will be allowed to be constructed as by right use in commercial zones which is is significant We combined some industrial uses together such as quarries and crushed stone operations. We lowered our allowed solar farm acreage to what has already been approved by the Board of Designing Appeals. We also proposed both a data center and a battery energy storage system ordinance to create some minimum guidelines should these uses ever be proposed in Henry County. Items that we've suggested in that ordinance are things such as a water supply impact study, screening, noise, and setbacks. The ordinance is quite a few pages long. You have it all in your working papers there in front of you. The biggest reason why staff and the Planning Commission brought this, that last issue, the data center ordinance up is that we're aware of how these uses have proliferated around Virginia. and wanted to make sure that we had something on the books just in case something like that were to ever be proposed in Henry County. The concern of both staff and the Planning Commission is that right now what we have are lots of permitted uses in Henry County. One of those that's not defined are data centers. There's no such definition in our ordinance whatsoever. There are there are legal arguments out there that a data center is nothing more than a warehouse of computer servers. I'm concerned about that. The Planning Commission was concerned about that and we don't want to leave ourselves unprotected. currently if something like that were to be proposed in Henry County I'm concerned as to how that might be addressed because warehouses as they should be are allowed in industrial districts and as I stated just a minute ago a warehouse of servers is almost by definition what Data centers are. So what we're trying to do as staff and planning commission is put some standards on the books, define what a data center is, and put some minimum standards in place just in case these were to be proposed. We don't want to leave ourselves unprotected and currently that's what we are.

Thank you, Mr. Clark. Prior to the public hearing, this was at the back. Many of you have signed, I think 20-some names, almost 30 names have signed the list, and I will call your name. If you choose to speak or if you've heard what you intended to speak and decide not to, please indicate as such. I'll ask everyone to be respectful of the speakers. Speakers, please address the board. Same thing, we're here to listen to you. and the first name on the list and again same same applies about three minutes please and be respectful of everyone else's time to speak first name I have is Melissa Curry Melissa Jim can we make sure that they give their name and their location says Ridgeway Virginia okay

hello everyone I do not have anything planned this was kind of last minute I don't have a beautiful speech for you but I had to get up and say something it is important because we're all from here this is all our area I want to speak on behalf of everybody you may have seen us on the street lately we've been holding up a lot of signs talking about no data centers it's extremely important to us to do everything that we can to limit this I know that um there are certain rules and ways for them to get around things like this where they can call discrimination and say well we've done something to not allow them we want to make it as difficult as possible and i want to explain our reasons for doing this as well everybody has their argument you've got the environmentalist you've got the the conservative side you've got every different side here that has an opinion on this i just want to express my side is number one The data centers are a bit of a nuisance. They destroy our resources. They destroy our land and they make agricultural zoning an issue. We in this area, we're rural. We like to keep things this way. Most of the people here aren't here because it is rural. It is farmland. It is where we garden. It's where we provide for our families. A lot of people like myself were conservative Christians. We want things simple. We're not okay, number one, we've got the issue with the infrastructure, the issues it causes by bringing this to town. Number two, we have issues with it permanently taking jobs. There's a lot of talk, of course, everybody has my data, my data, my research, what I've done. Well, it's pretty proven that in majority of places, it does provide jobs right off the bat. It does, it's gotta be constructed, it does a lot in the beginning. But then those jobs are taken away from everybody in this room because These are training units. A lot of these, like the Berryhill Mega Site that you see in Danville, is an AI, which stands for Artificial Intelligence Training Center. That is a big issue because these AIs are being designed to do the job of our blue collar workers of our average factory workers that make up the majority of the people in henry county this is an issue as well we have side issues everywhere with this and we want to protect henry county the best that we can so i just would like to implore you to consider all of that all right thank you miss curry thank you our next thing um

Next name, Melody Cartwright.

And the name after that would be Janet Martin.

Good evening, Chairman Jim Adams and all of the Board of Supervisors tonight. Good to see you. My name is Melody Cartwright. I'm a longtime native of Martinsville, which is an independent city still located in the middle of Henry County. I ran in both a special election in 2024 and the general election in 2025 for the Virginia House of Delegates, District 48. Also, I've committed to run again in 2027. You can see me listed on the VPAP. I do have to get the signatures and I will get double the amount as requested. Now listen, I come from farm stock. Both my parents grew up in small farmland and then they went on to be educators. There's no greater calling than farmers and educators. We were taught to honor and respect the land. Farmers and people come first. I know many of you in fact shared multiple forum opportunities with several folks and I believe that you are good people who are in your positions to try to do the best for our citizens. However, elected representatives are public servants. You know that. And that is also why we are here today to ask not only to be heard, but also heeded. What I heard from what we were talking about just now for zoning, the words minimum guidelines and standards. We're not looking for minimum. We're looking for minimum. strict codification of what can be allowed and not just promises. We are asking for at least a year moratorium while more data, plans, and facts are confirmed. A ban on data centers in Henry County should be a possibility. I'm with a group called the Henry County Virginia Coalition Against Data Centers and we're going to be here for as long as it takes. I'd like to read real quickly, since we're talking about the General Assembly and the House of Delegates, something that was just passed. in the House of Delegates. And we urge you to adopt Section 3 of the Resource Protection and Agricultural Freedom Act to enforce strict, non-negotiable guardrails on data centers and energy storage facilities. We need mandatory Tier 3 special use permits, 100% closed loop water cooling to protect our wells, strict 50 decibel property line sound ceilings, which that's not really acceptable to me, and full rate payer protection. These measures match our comprehensive plans clear directive with heavy industrial projects that must be proved infrastructure compatibility and environmental safety before approval. Crucially, they match the Virginia House Bill 1393, a state law that legally binds tech developers to cover 100% of their electrical grid, transmission, and substation upgrade costs. Under HB 1393, And our local plan, outside corporations must pay for their own infrastructure impact, ensuring our local working families never see their utility bills spike to subsidized server farms. Thank you for your time and your consideration.

Janet Martin.

next name after that will be Lily Turner good evening to the members of the board and the planning commission My name is Janet Martin. I'm from Collinsville, and I'm a property owner in Henry County. I'm here because I couldn't stay silent about protecting our working lands. We are asking you to immediately adopt Section 2 of the Resource Protection and Agricultural Freedom Act to build an unassessed... unassessable firewall around our farms and timberlands traditional agriculture and forests form the true fiscal and cultural anchor of our county paying steady taxes while demanding very little infrastructure this protection matches our Henry County comprehensive plan which designates agricultural zones as vital economic drivers that must be defended against speculative industrial conversion. It also matches established state law under the Virginia Right to Farm Act, Virginia Code Section 3.2-300, which explicitly shields bonafide agriculture and forgery operations from burdensome local zoning overreach and nuisance claims. By adopting Section 2 today, You honor our agricultural heritage, uphold state laws, and ensure that our working lands remain productive for the next generation. Thank you for listening.

Lillie Turner. And after that, it will be Adam Murphy.

Hello. My name's Lillian. I'm from Bassett. I'm sure the people that I'm here with will tell you all about the data centers, but that's not what I'm here to tell you. I want to tell you about the AI, how it's harmful, and why we shouldn't encourage the growth. I'm sure you're all aware of what AI deepfakes are.

Mr. Turner, if you'll pull that microphone in a little closer to you, and that way I have a few people straining to hear.

AI deepfakes are videos, images made by AI to look like people. real people, but they're doing things that they would never do. 98% of all AI deepfakes online are pornography, people that didn't consent to that. There are over a million children across 11 countries that have reported having images manipulated into essentially explicit deepfakes, according to a 2025 study conducted by Interpol. The damage that AI does on children's brains and development, when they can just go online, do all of their work for them, they don't struggle to learn, they don't go through that process, they don't have any creativity, they don't have any sense of self. I just graduated high school myself and I saw, as AI continued, the sense of self and creativity and intelligence decline. I just want everyone to think about their kids and their grandkids. I'm a kid. The kids that I may want to have in the future, I don't want this to be a world of artificial intelligence for them. And it's in your hands. I want you to consider that. Thank you.

Thank you. Adam Murphy.

Good evening, board, fine folks of Henry County. My name is Adam Murphy. I'm running for Congress here in Southwest Virginia. I live up in Cave Spring, but Henry County is part of that ninth district. And the reason I'm here speaking with you all today is my background is software engineering, and I can speak very clearly on this data center issue. I think it's good to want to put some guidelines in place, but I think as a society, we need to adopt them more for him until we have larger guidelines in place at a federal level, so that way these data centers do not come to places like Southwest Virginia and look to take advantage. They know a lot of our communities need help, they need the funding, and they come to places like this promising $10 million a year to be able to help our communities. And the reality is, what are we betting on with AI? The best case scenario is, guess what? It works, and it works so good that it takes all of our jobs away. Or it works poorly, and it's a bubble, and we have an empty building that takes up a huge amount of resources. Perfect example, and with Phil, they have a second data center announced there that they want to do a gigawatt facility. It has a thousand gigawatts it would take every day to run that facility. That is 4% of the power of the entire state of Virginia in one building. We have to understand the scale of these buildings, the infrastructure costs are insane. And in the state of Virginia, no matter what happens when a data center comes to town, your electric rates are going to go up. It's a guarantee. We have to have a setup here in the United States where the federal government protects its people by making sure if these developments want to come to town, they have to pay for 100% of their costs, they have to make sure that their environmental standards, such as sound, water, and power, that they have to use renewable backup generation, not just diesel generators. And that when we think about places like Southwest Virginia, I want everybody to understand, we have 700 data centers already in Virginia. That is the most in the whole world. That is more than China. If we really need a data center, which I do not believe data centers are a matter of national security, it does not need to be in Southwest Virginia. And I think you'll find as you go throughout this district and you talk to the people here for many different reasons, for different reasons why they love living here, the people of Southwest Virginia very clearly do not want a data center. And I would hope that this board, if considering any developments like that, does not enter into any NDAs and potentially take away the transparency for the community. Because building in guidelines, I think, is a really good... Thank you so much for your time, board. And I want you to consider this seriously because, I mean, look around you.

Appreciate it.

The next person, Mary Thompson and then Joe Prider.

Good evening, Mr. Chairman and board. This data center study that planning and zoning has, thank you, thank you very much. The data center study that planning and zoning has apparently conducted, a lot of people here are disappointed. We didn't know that we had any input up to this date. It's been kind of quiet. And we have just undergone probably one of the worst droughts in memorable history. In fact, they're saying it was one of the worst drought springs in years, maybe even 140 years. We're worried about the water table and that should be primary for any decision that is made on data centers because two years ago we were right here in the same building and we heard how solar farms were going to lower your electric bills. They'd be good for the tax base, and it's a zero on both sides of that equation. And we don't want to go through this again and have to think about our water supplies. Another thing is under the permitted uses in the rural districts, you have three foot side yard and property lines. that setbacks that's kind of crazy people live in the rural district of this county rather than martinsville because they don't want to look into their neighbors windows and a lot of us have uses we've got cattle we're in an a1 district but we have a lot of rural neighbors around who live in rural residential districts and Good grief. It's going to cause neighborhood problems when they have a chicken house or they have a horse barn that is allowed on one of these. I think it's riding horse barns as a special use permit application under rural residential. That's great, but you know, horses produce flies. and they produce manure, and they produce nosy neighbors, and nobody wants to get into it with your neighbors. And that just seems pretty ridiculous. And all accessory structures, they've increased it from 50 to 75% of the principal structure. That's quite large for an accessory use. on a piece of property in some of these smaller house lots in some of these rural residential districts, just saying. And one thing that's been bothering me is under the data center restrictions or their parameters, they say that there's a noise ordinance. They'll be collecting data on noise every five years. It'll be a survey and it's conducted in a certain way. Well, five years is kind of a long distance time between inspections for anything and I know when they'll be doing that noise study it'll be a day that it's all down for maintenance anyway and I am also disappointed with a lot of the people perhaps in this neighborhood because I love Mr. Clark But Mr. Clark's name now is on for sale signs all over Henry County. And I don't like that, because I taught real estate for years. I taught for the University of Connecticut, and I've had realtors, I've been a broker in three states. You cannot serve two masters. You either work for the people, or you're not going to.

Thanks for the subject.

I am, I am, but the name was on the notice, so I'm bringing it out. You know, you have to be very, very, very careful. There's a lot of money blowing around with these data centers coming in. Just saying. So, that's it. Thank you, and thank you.

Next is Joe Prater. After him, Gordon Metz.

Good evening. My name is Joe Prater. I live in the Reed Creek District of Henry County. What I've heard tonight by the people really amazes me. I have to tell you. Something I haven't heard is I've heard nobody say anything about the water. how much water is going to be used a data center can use as much as 30 to 50,000 residents a day do we have that kind of water maybe right now but look at 10 years from now look at 15 years from now our lake's gonna go dry you don't believe me look at lake powell seven states from that one river is using data centers and they're pulling the lake dry it is down 170 feet you take 170 feet out of field park we're not going to have a mud hole it's not but 180 feet deep we do this moratorium i think we need to put a restriction of 1500 feet that they can come they cannot come within 1500 feet of any waterway in henry county I'm talking springs. I'm talking creeks. I'm talking people out here talking about not having water. Whales are going dry. Well, I'm talking about that also. Look up the definition of waterways. It covers any and all water. And I think that needs to be done. And as far as the batteries, you're going to build a storage facility for batteries? Do you know what a battery is? It's a bomb. I know because I've had one to blow up in my face. It's not a good feeling. And Henry County cannot afford that if it does happen. I just hope whoever does it has good insurance policy. And I hope Henry County can afford to clean it up. I think that's all I have to say, and y'all have a good evening.

After Mr. Metz, it will be Dudley Dawson.

Thank you for your time. Let me thank each one of you for your service. I know this is probably the toughest job there is in public service, because you're right here amongst all of us, and you hear of all the things that are bad and sometimes not the good things, but I appreciate what you do. A little background on me. I've been in business in the Horace Pasture area, 227th, Bassett, Barnesville, and Figsborough. I've met a lot of good people, a lot of good people that live here because they love this area, because they appreciate what we have here. I also grew up on a farm. We appreciate the water. We appreciate the grass. We appreciate a lot of things, and when we don't have it, we really notice it. What I want to say to you today is I'd like to tell you a story since I'm old, that's what I do. About 50 years ago, my father was approached by several people, came over to the house. They were getting ready to build a large, high-voltage power line through our farm and many others. And the neighbors came over and said to my dad, said, we've heard you could move this power line. My dad said, I don't think so. They said, well, we've heard a couple people say you could. He said, well, that's interesting. He said, Becky, that was my mom, said, go get a pen. Brought it back, he handed it to the man, and he said, if you would, write down which neighbor you want to put it on. immediately they knew that it's the answer and so if he said let me tell you something when the engineers in Ohio put this power line on my place I don't like it but I can live with it but if my neighbor put it on me I'm not sure I could live with it that's what I'm asking you today a couple questions is number one would you put a data center or a solar center next to your house if the answer is yes then it's yes I don't think so I know I wouldn't want it so I'm asking you if you would then please tell us which one of these neighbors you're going to put this on if it comes That's something a lot of them would like to know. I'd like to tell you this. I don't know all the things about it. You don't have control over how AI centers are made. But billionaires are doing this because they're smart and they're making money. If billionaires can do this, why can't they comply with all environmental rules? If Chris built a boiler down in his place to do something, and he says, by the way, it won't pay for itself. I need some help so I'll get tax credits. It won't pass environmental standards, so my neighbors will all be having smoking off. He wouldn't have a chance of doing it. I don't know why we are giving a chance to these people to do things that we've all, through these years, worked so hard to get away from. The cooling system, we use glycol systems in big refrigeration units. If a B&A needs to build something, they'll find a way of cooling it without using our water and our technology. If these B&As, if this thing is profitable and so good, then they'll also build power centers so that they don't run power lines through all of our properties. They'll also fix it so it won't vibrate and half a mile or a mile away, our good neighbors all through the county, wherever that might be, have to put up with it. So I ask you again, would you build it beside your place? And if not, which one of these neighbors do you want to put it on? Thank you.

Dudley Dawson. And after that, it will be Yvonne Pack.

Hope you'll indulge me. I'm the second engineer to speak tonight. I don't know if that's too much for one group. First of all, I want to congratulate you for even considering the problem, taking it under consideration, planning ahead. We've lived in Ridgeway for a number of years now. I was born and raised in Virginia. I love the state. I also love the state flags. Sic semper tyrannis, thus always to tyrants. And if you don't believe these billionaires are tyrants coming into some of these communities, I don't know what they are. But I want to address the particular issues. Cooling water is one. You generate heat, and these things do. It's got to go somewhere. It goes into the water, it goes into the air, but it's gonna go somewhere. And the surrounding farmland, if it goes into the air, which the new systems do, it can increase the air temperature up to five degrees above the ambient. So if it's a 90 degree day in the summer, it's gonna go to 95 degrees on that farm, and it's gonna affect the crops, the animals, the irrigation. Second thing is noise. Setting a decibel limit is one thing for music or a parking lot, but this is 24 hours a day, seven days a week while you're trying to sleep, while you're trying to have a church picnic outside. The third thing that doesn't get often addressed is light pollution. These facilities have a tremendous amount of lighting, and it's gonna be a glow on the horizon. Your sunsets are gonna be marred by this. Quality light's gonna be affected. One of the big ones is the cleanup and the trash. During construction, you're gonna have a lot of debris. That's going into your landfill. Secondly, they're predicting that the electronics in these facilities are going to need to be replaced every three years. That's the advancement of the technology. So every three years there's going to be a warehouse, a huge warehouse full of electronic trash going into your landfill. And the third one is what happens after the project is done. And it's parallel with solar farms. Solar farms, the new ones now, they are required to have a bond put in place to restore the land after they're done with it. It's used as a solar farm. Because the economics are such that the developers just walk away from them. They let the land go back to the county for taxes because it's cheaper to dump it on the county than it is to clean it up themselves. So I would consider, as you look at this, to require a restoration bond before permits ever issued for this. Energy use. The trend now is toward clean energy. which is a synonym for nuclear energy. And the other thing is co-location, putting the energy source right next to the data center on the same property. And the third thing you'll see, an acronym SMR is small modular reactor. These are factory built units that sit on the same property. They're nuclear power units. So I don't know much about nuclear power. I doubt if any of you do. But that's something that's on the agenda. Finally, transparency. We have property in Person County, North Carolina, south of South Boston. And that's been just a horror to watch. There's a new data center going in there for Microsoft. They're in collaboration with Duke Power. The entire thing, the entire board, county board, was signed to non-disclosure agreements for the sale of the industrial park to Microsoft. So they couldn't talk about it. They couldn't tell the county residents what was coming. It was a done deal by the time the county found out about it. It's a small county, probably half the size of Henry County. There were 350 people. when the meeting was held, finally they knew what was going on. And I bet 340 of them were working hard to get all the commissioners replaced at the next election. You're twice that size. Are you prepared for 700 people here looking for blood? The thing is, be very careful with these people. Their public relations machines, their presentation machines are incredible. They've got the system down. Talk to your county attorney. Do not sign non-disclosure agreements. Do not sign any sweetheart deals or midnight deals. It's going to be a disaster and the people are going to hate you for it. Finally, I've spent the last six months researching this as an engineer and a landowner. I would be glad to talk to any one of you or as a group or county staff, anything I can do to help. I used to charge some hefty consulting fees. I'll do it all for free. Just want to see this coming.

Yvonne Pack, and after that, Terlin Twiss, I think.

Okay, I don't do repeat, but it's like 300,000 to 5 million gallons of water a day. Depends on the size of the data center. And I moved, I lived in Axton. My dad had a windmill in his yard that generated electricity just for the lights. He, you know, and I watched, I watched it be taken away from us because our mother was in the nursing home. Sold for little to somebody from Rhode Island. I moved from Bassett, I lived in Bassett, loved Bassett, loved the lake, moved from there, accident to Bassett, really traveled, come back to Martinsville, live on Barrows Mill Road, used to be nothing but trees, hardwood trees. No factories, no nothing. Oh, this is nice country, you know, like this, here we go. I watch it go. Well, it was supposed to be for jobs for people. I count five empty buildings out there in that industrial park. And one of them is leaking out, and I can't pinpoint the time. I can't breathe. My husband's fine. I have to hold my breath. I don't know what hits me. It's not all the time. So I don't know when they release it, what they're doing. I don't know. But I know it's in the air, and I know friends live within the five-mile radius of complaining more of their breathing and lungs. So I don't know what's going on there. But I watched the hardwood trees disappear. I watched all that, and it turned into an industrial park, which they did a good job. It's pretty. I like the little waterfalls and all that stuff. But you know, and now there's another building being built right on the road. You talk about putting wide-ended roads coming down. I thought, how far are them things going to go that will come to my house? I don't live about three miles out the road. I watched it all disappear over a short period of times. And I'm seeing the data process. Where will they put that? The grid went up out there too. So I don't know what it's doing to us. And I'm like, what in the world is going on? Who's making decisions? I mean, they mean, well, jobs. But if you have jobs and you have no water and you have polluted water, where do you think I'm going to get water from? So I think Elon Musk needs to put them things in outer space. And it'll keep it cool. And it won't be hurting anybody. And I think the 700 that's in Virginia, they need to do something to get rid of them too. Put them in outer space. And that's all I got to say.

Please tell me your last name. I'm sorry I couldn't read the writing.

It's all right. I have bad partnership. I own it. My last name is, my first name is Terry Lynn. My last name is Twig.

Okay, thank you.

I live in Leatherwood.

Thank you.

I have a couple of things I want to touch on that other people have not tonight. First of all, everybody's talking about the batteries and stuff as in just pollutants and the word bomb was used. But I want to bring up something that a lot of people are not thinking about is we've all heard about the Tesla car fires. Them are lithium ion batteries. They can't put them out for hours and hours and hours and a lot of people have died. Now imagine 50 of them in a building and our little teeny tiny fire departments trying to handle that when they go up. The chances of them actually catching fire, I've read in some places there's so many studies on it and they all say different things, but it's between 30 and 60% that they can go up at any given moment for no given reason. And that is very, very concerning because it will not only be a problem to put out, it will pollute our air, it'll pollute our ground, it'll pollute our water. And we shouldn't be putting ourselves at risk like that. And the other thing I want to touch base on is we need to keep agriculture proper in this county. I know there's a lot of miscommunication with the difference between agricultural and Ag One. And I just want to make sure with stuff like the retail and everything that you guys have been discussing is not going to include Ag One for farm made products. because that is truly a lot of our bread and butter. And I don't feel that any of us should have to have a special use permit for stuff that's coming from our farms and our labor and our hard work. And that's all I have to say right now.

Thank you. We have Daryl Craig and after that it will be Sherry Mitchell.

Good evening, distinguished members of the board. My name is Daryl Twigg. I'm the owner of Brigham Farm out in Leatherwood on 57. My wife just spoke. I have something I want to point out real quickly to the board members, which hasn't been pointed out yet about data centers. You may have seen online social media certain posts coming out that claim, if you sign this petition against the data center, you must stop using Facebook, Gmail, GPS. Streaming net service, chat GPT, and a whole bunch of other things. This is a lie. There is a difference. Traditional data centers have been around for 30 plus years. We have used them every day in our lives. They are normally traditionally air cooled. They don't use a lot of electricity. The reason being is they use central processing units. CPU is the same thing in your average everyday computer. The problem is over the last three to five years, the data centers that are being presented to board members in different counties and across the country are actually AI data centers. They are now being rolled in with traditional in order to get passed by many communities. The difference is an AI data center uses a GPU, the same chip that is used in high-end video cards, because it's faster, it compiles data, it analyzes data. That is the reason. When a new data center comes in, it needs the expensive water usage for cooling. It needs expensive electricity, because these are what these specific chips do. They run higher, faster, and they calculate at higher rate speeds. These centers are not for your everyday media streaming, for doing your email, for storing your photos. Those are still done in traditional server centers. All of that is done. AI is developed in these specialized centers. And then when it's developed and it starts working, they transfer it over to a regular server. That's what you use every day. When you type in your phone and say, hey, where's the nearest restaurant? AI comes up now. Oh, there's this restaurant here. It's pretty good. That's not the traditional server. That's not AI. So when these data centers are coming in, they're being made and built for one purpose and one purpose only, money. These people will collect your data. They will analyze the data. They will store your data. National security uses them. There is a site out in Loudoun, Virginia It's almost buried five feet down in the ground for the noise. It's got a significant security force to protect it. It's lit up 24-7. You can see it from space. Is that what you want in this community? Because that's what you'll end up getting. And again, these data centers are a cash cow. They wave that carrot in front of people. Oh, we'll come in. We'll build a data center here. We'll promise you a closed loop water system. We promise you we'll build our own power plant on site so your electricity bills won't go up. We'll give back to the community. We'll donate to your schools, your homeless shelters. We'll build parks and recreation. Just let us come on in. But what happens when that construction begins and you have all those guarantees? What happens when six, seven months down the road, they come to you and say, Our special equipment for that cooling system didn't come in from China. We can't get it. Can we get an exception, get water off the municipal water grid? What are you going to say to them? No, stop a multi-billion dollar project? No, you're gonna give them that special permission. And then they're gonna take another inch, and another inch, and another inch. And before you know it, you're gonna get a quagmire of an AI data center running lawlessly throughout the county. Another thing I'd like to point out real quick, These places are building their own power generation systems using natural gas. That uses water, but folks, it uses water, steam. 80% of that goes up in the atmosphere, gone. Now, people say, well, you can't destroy water. No, no, no, that's true. You can't destroy water. But golf courses and other places, paper mills, the water they use at their sites goes back in that site. Golf courses water the ground. Water goes back in the ground, goes back in the local aquifer. Paper mills are situated near major rivers. They take the water from the river, process it, goes back out when they're done with it. In Maine, a paper mill was sued by an environmental group because the water they put back into that river was too clean. They failed to inspect the salmon. Data centers don't put the water back. It goes off. Steam, where does it go? 100 miles? 200? 300, 1,000 miles before it drops to rain, doesn't come back to the county. I urge you to seriously look at this and don't fall for the propaganda that's put out there. I am not pro-data center. I am not anti-data center. I am responsible. I want something responsibly done. If they can meet your parameters and be responsible, I don't have a problem with that. But they've got a long way to go. Thank you for your time.

Sherry Mitchell and then Amy Gage Good evening

My name is Sherry Mitchell, and I'm a lifelong resident of Henry County, currently voting in the Blackberry District, and I come before you tonight as a deeply concerned citizen. When I first read the proposed zoning amendments a few weeks ago, I felt sucker punched. Seeing provisions for data centers, battery, energy storage facilities, buy right privileges, and transient toxic waste sites made my knees buckle. I felt immediately betrayed and sick to my stomach. However, over the last several weeks, I've learned a few things. I've learned that things aren't always as they seem under Virginia law. I now realize that explicitly zoning for these facilities is incredibly important. The proposed ordinance is a necessary start, but it contains dangerous holes that will lead to the demise of our beautiful county if passed as it is. My primary concern is the total lack of protection for our agricultural farmland. This fear intensified today when I learned that 1,355 acres of agricultural land right here in Henry County is already owned by a foreign entity. We must immediately update our comprehensive plan to include aggressive, explicit protections for our agricultural zones and farmland in general. Otherwise, we'll be in danger of losing it all to the highest bidder. This you can do. We must address the dangerous by-right label given to battery energy storage facilities when they're linked with solar farms. There are allegedly 10 to 13 solar projects in the works today. Things are escalating quickly and by design. Not only are we in danger of losing our precious farmland, these Best facilities will be using our precious water to extinguish fires that go hand in hand with these sites. Immediate action that needs to be taken, in my opinion, language needs to be addressed to the proposed ordinance that requires non-flammable best facilities in order to help protect the citizens of Henry County from all things associated with the common fires at best facilities. Regulations regarding solar farms need to be tightened. Moving forward they should be restricted on properties adjacent to working farms or homes. They, along with battery energy storage facilities, should have strict setbacks of 500 feet or more in conjunction with a visual buffer along the whole perimeter of the site. This should be required. No one should have to see these sites from their property or the road for that matter. Anything less is not only disrespectful to your constituents but cruel otherwise the red carpet will be rolled out for the corporations that are concerned with profit margins over the health and livelihood of henry county residents each of you should have been given a copy of the resource protection and agricultural freedom act i would like to see the above recommendations added to it along with a very extensive decommissioning plan that requires billions upfront in escrow or bonds that can be used for our protection. The Act matches our comprehensive plan perfectly and it provides the exact framework that we need to close these loopholes, safeguard our borders, and protect the citizens who elected you. Please protect Henry County's future before it's too late. Each of you took an oath to uphold the US and Virginia constitutions and I'm hopeful that that you all recognize that the health and livelihood of current and future generations in Henry County are counting on you to make sure that this zoning ordinance is done right the first time. This vote will be your legacy. Please do everything in your power to save the oasis that we call Henry County. And I pray that you have the strength to do the right thing. Thank you for your time.

Amy Gage and after Amy Gage, Mo Hager.

I'm a talker. I don't want to sound like the micromachine guy from the 90s, but I'm going to try to get through all this as quickly as possible. I want to thank you all for being here this evening and for allowing your citizens to voice their concerns, for the privilege of holding to a democratic way of life and a government that's held to the standard of being of the people, for the people, and by the people. I live in Ridgeway, having moved here just a little over a year ago. My experience, as I have come to know the people around here, is that they, we, share an affection for the natural beauty here, and it is a great place for those who are stewards of the land as God intended. Ridgeway in particular has recently been trying to carve out an identity as an area that is known for bees and their wonderful honey and their contributions to our lives. And since I figured most of the other topics would be covered, I'm gonna focus on this one. I'm sure at some point the plight of the bees has come across your path and impacted us all, though realizing the truth in that may sometimes elude us. Maybe you've heard the catchphrase, no bees, no food. Of course, technically, we can outsource our food supply, we can grow it in labs, or hand pollinate every fruit, vegetable, and crop, but I think everyone can agree that that would be undesirable and impractical in so many ways. Across the globe, numerous studies have been conducted regarding bee populations and the specific impacts of high voltage power systems that emit EMF, the kind such as AI data centers utilize. The results do not paint a pretty picture. Additionally, studies have shown that even micro shifts in climate, while hardly noticeable to most humans, can literally decimate local bee populations. These minute shifts, if you're a bee, can mean utter devastation. As AI transforms the digital economy, the hidden climate costs are harder to ignore. The Australian Centre for AI Trust and Governance published the first of its kind big picture future forecasting look at how AI driven data centres connect to ecological impacts on native pollinator communities. The prediction model used indicates that between 2024 and 2035, at the current rate of data center growth, it could add 4.8 to 15.4 gigatons of CO2 emissions. To put that in perspective, a gigaton is 1 billion metric tons of CO2 emissions. This would result in a global temperature rise by at least 0.0026 to 0.0084 Celsius. I know we don't do Celsius in the US, but that's anywhere from about a degree and a half to five degrees. It seems small. Even slight shifts when using the B barometer referenced in this particular report sparks extreme weather events that put entire ecosystems under stress. This study shows us that our tech choices today do ripple into biodiversity risks and makes the case for much stronger conservation, smarter innovation, and coordinated policy action, which is what you're being asked to consider today. Technology is ever evolving. What once took an entire building to compute fits into the palm of our hand. When data centers are pushed by our collective decisions to ask them to find a better way, I believe that they would. But as is, if we accept this as the only way, we will be too late. While the Australian study only illustrates these issues relating to specific bee populations native to them, it also examined honeybee populations as well. An additional 2023 study published in Science Advances found that exposure to EMF or electromagnetic field radiation emitted by high voltage power lines and towers induced significant physiological stress on honeybee populations as well. They negatively impacted their pollination behavior in permanent and irreversible ways. These signals show changes to the expression of genes related to essential bee behaviors, foraging, navigation, learning, and antioxidant behavior. And if you've ever used honey when sick or having allergies, it is that same antioxidant behavior and quality that helps you feel better. Honey bees exposed to high levels of EMS visited fewer flowers, leading to reduced seed production and lowering local plant diversity and abundance. Crop death. These effects were only seen when electric power transmission towers were actively emitting EMF. Meeting the ever-growing demands of data centers requires major electrical grid infrastructure changes that include new and higher powered high voltage power lines, transmission towers, and substations. Often data centers claim that they're using non-ionizing EMF and that makes it harmless. However, there is also science-backed evidence linking non-ionizing EMF exposure to a range of human health issues, miscarriages, childhood leukemia, neurodegenerative diseases, and other cancers, just to name a few. Concerning enough, but federal regulations do not take into account the stress on plant, animal, and insect populations. Another 2023 report regarding EMF published in Reviews on Environmental Health documented honeybee populations experiencing directly related decreased reproductive capacity, altered behavioral patterns, irritability, oxidative stress, DNA damage, impaired development, navigation and orientation disruption. Over 1,200 research studies were compiled on wildlife, flora and fauna, and were summarized in a 2021 publication, Reviews on Environmental Health. It was a report, sorry, it's a wordy one. Effects on non-ionizing electromagnetic fields on flora and fauna, part two impacts how species interact with natural and manmade EMF.

Mr. Gage, you've gone twice of the allowed time. Can you conclude?

I most certainly can, yes. The point is that this altered the behavior and reproduction of all of the species that were subject to the EMF. There are numerous other studies found, and this is not new science. They've actually done studies all the way since back in the 1970s about how hives are particularly impacted by EMF It takes a simple Google search to find the numerous varied angles of research confirming that impact as well as a plethora of anecdotal evidence presented by farmers and beekeepers all over the world. This area has struggled to have an identity again that it can use to promote it for a great place to live or to visit. And the bees are an identity that my town of Ridgeway has only recently started to cultivate as part of that appeal. When I read on your proposal that your proposed ordinance is that pollinator plantings would be established surrounding the storage facilities and data centers, this is what I needed to speak on, because you can plant all the pollinator-friendly things you want, but if the place you plant them no longer has pollinators, then what good are they?

After Mr. Hager, it will be Heather Price

Good evening. My name is Mo Hago. I live in the horse pasture district. Thank you all for your service. I feel compelled to speak tonight because I'm part of the problem. And in fact, this was written by . My job is AI transformation leader for a global health technology company, so I use AI every day. I know a little bit about AI, and I understand that our digital world depends on physical infrastructure. But that does not mean that Henry County should pay the price by surrendering our land, water, electricity, and quality of life so the rich, big tech billionaires that I work for can get richer. Let them build their data centers in their own backyards. I choose to live in Henry County because I love the land, the woods, the lakes and rivers, the wildlife, and the quiet. My greatest concern, which has been spoken to, is water. Despite the recent rain, Henry County is experiencing, as somebody pointed out, our fourth driest year on record, and that's 132 years. Only three years ago, if ChatGP is correct, the county sought access to millions of additional gallons of water per day from Philpott Lake to meet growing residential and industrial needs. And did those projections include the enormous demands of AI data centers? We need to know exactly how much one of these facilities would consume at full build-out during the hottest week of a severe drought. When households, farms, animals, streams, and existing businesses need that same limited resource. And I understand the county is already planning new water infrastructure to serve development near Blue Ridge Airport. So before we promise water to data centers, residents need to know whether our limited supply can meet all the commitments already being placed on it. And as has been pointed out, we need to know, we need to be honest. about who benefits and who pays the price. Data centers do generate some tax revenue, but at what price? They create very few jobs beyond the construction and the people making all the money are not our neighbors. They won't have to live within the industrial home day and night or worry about paying their electric bills or pray their wells don't run dry. You and I will. There is a reason these facilities are pushed on rural communities. Cheap land, few restrictions, and the expectation that we will offer little resistance. How can we not fight for our home? Henry County is our home. It's not theirs to use up, not for data centers, not for solar farms, not for anybody who sees this community as a cheap and easy way to make another billion dollars. So I urge you to say no to AI data centers in Henry County. Thank you.

Heather Price. And then Candace Owens.

Public speaking is not my forte, so hopefully I don't pass out up here. Okay, thanks. Good evening, my name is Heather Price and I'm from the Forest Pasture District. I would like to thank the board and the chairman for proposing these important zoning requirements for data centers. We're very appreciative of that. However, there are some gaps that may require further consideration. The first one, the noise limit requirement in the zoning proposal is a great start. However, studies done every five years is not sufficient policy. Independent noise testing should be completed at least once a year and when major equipment changes occur. We must also require them to conduct sound modeling prior to the start of any construction to ensure that regulatory compliance is met. The board must also consider that A-weighted noise testing is inadequate. Per industrial noise and vibration center, A-weighted noise is only sound that could damage your hearing. This standard noise test does not account for low frequency hums associated with these facilities. We must implement a requirement for DBA, DBC, an octave band, or one-third octave band analysis to mitigate complaints and health issues from constant noise. The possible health issues caused by long-term low frequency sounds include anxiety, headaches, cognitive impairment, and cardiovascular risks, as evidenced in a scientific journal article published by MDPI in July of 2020, along with many other studies. Another consideration is the light pollution generated by data centers. Typically, data centers use bright outdoor lighting throughout the night. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, this disturbs migratory bird patterns and habitat development among local birds, butterflies, bats, cats, and turtles, just to name a few. Not to mention disrupting the circadian rhythm, hormone balances, and sleep patterns of residents in close proximity. According to Dark Sky, light pollution can be mitigated by enforcing and requiring the five principles of responsible outdoor lighting and technical standards such as IES RP-43-22, which is an American national standard, and this will help protect the circadian rhythms of local wildlife and residents. And I noticed that the board was requiring the battery storage to have an emergency plan, and I feel like that should also be a consideration for data centers for things like fire or environmental exposures to hazardous waste. According to the International Association of Firefighters, responding to a data center fire requires a completely different approach than a typical structure fire. They must coordinate with the building personnel, use the correct suppression agents, avoid electrically charged equipment, rate their radio operation challenges, and issues related to lithium ion batteries. And these are all things that firefighters have to consider as they respond. The board must also consider local contamination by hazardous waste items used within the data center such as batteries, refrigerants, cleaning chemicals, and these specialized fire suppression systems. This introduces the need for an emergency and specialized hazardous waste management plan and should be required in the submission for zoning approval. Thank you.

Candace Orr from Ridgeway and then after that Logan Wheeler.

My name is Candace Owens and I'm an English teacher at Magna Vista High School. I'm here to present you all the plethora of reasons why Henry County should not consider or accept any proposal for a data center. And I wrote this all myself.

640.

640 data centers in Virginia. According to BlackBridge Research and Consulting, Virginia hosts the largest data center market in the world and is home to more than 35% hyperscale data centers worldwide. As of right now, most of those data centers are in Northern Virginia and don't impact us here, and we need to keep it that way. Why, you may ask? The reasons are simple, water and electricity. Data centers are massive technological buildings that require water to keep cool, not just warehouses of servers. A field research report conducted by the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences states a vast majority of data centers are simply hooked up to the local water mains, meaning most data centers' cooling water comes from potable, drinking-quality sources like treated municipal water or groundwater. One analysis estimated that around 57% of all data centers use water from potable water supplies. It is also estimated that 80-90% of this water is consumed from watersheds, such as lakes, rivers, or aquifers, often the same sources providing drinking water through public water systems. Let me draw your attention to the first part of that fact. Cooling water comes from drinking water. It is bad enough that only a small percentage of the earth's water is fresh water. Now we have companies coming into our cities, taking away the little water that we have in the first place. You've already been reminded tonight that we are still in a drought. You may argue that a data center in Henry County can't be that big. It won't use all that water as others. But even a medium-sized data center consume up to 300,000 gallons of water per day, equivalent to the daily water usage of approximately 1,000 households. 1,000 households worth of water per day for water that is meant for human survival would be taken from us to cool down a giant computer we didn't ask for and we don't want. On top of extreme water usage, data center cooling systems often use chemical additives to prevent corrosion, scaling, and the growth of algae and bacteria. Common additives may include anti-corrosion scaling chemicals, biocides, chlorine compounds, glycols, and so forth. Additionally, some non-water liquid coolants may contain ingredients in PFAS, also known as forever chemicals. Considering how lax many companies and factories are about adhering to laws regarding proper disposal and treatment of dangerous chemicals, those toxic materials are definitely going to end up in our groundwater. And I don't know about you, but I don't want forever chemicals in my water. On top of the issue of water usage, data centers are also concerning because of the amount of electricity they need to function. According to an article titled, Here's How Ada Data Centers Affect the Electric Rib, published this year, data centers are projected to consume about 6.7 to 12% of U.S. electricity in 2028, up from 4.4% in 2023. Electricity costs for areas near data centers increased by as much as 260 different percent compared to five years ago. Now, my students will be the first to tell you that I'm bad at math, but even an English teacher can see that's a crazy increase in anticipated electricity usage over the next four years. If Henry County has a data center, residents will see a massive increase in the cost of electricity, an increase most of them can't afford to pay. You think your electric bill is high now? Just wait until they bring a data center to your neighborhood. Allow me to give you a personal anecdote to prove my point. My parents live in Central Virginia, and their electric company, Dominion Energy, also serves several data centers. Ever since those data centers were built, their electric bill has increased tremendously. As stated in an article from CNBC titled, AI Data State of Frenzy is Pushing Up Your Electric Bill, Here's Why, households are partially subsidizing the AI data center expansion. And according to that same article, residential retail electricity prices in September were up 7.4% to about 18 cents per kilowatt hour. Between inflation, yo-yoing gas prices, high interest rates, ever increasing costs of groceries and so on, do you really want to add a higher electric bill on top of that? Do you want people in your county to choose between buying their child's medication and the gas they need to get to work? That's the choice many people will have to make if a data center comes to Henry County. Now here's the part where I tell my students to include a counter argument. That one thing that could possibly undercut their overall argument. When it comes to data centers, the main thing people argue in favor of them is the alleged economic impact. They cry, jobs, jobs. And yet, what they don't know or don't admit is that those jobs are few and far between. According to the Brookings Institute, data centers are among the least labor intensive structures in the economy, meaning they don't hire very many people. They go on to say that, for instance, large data center projects often promise only dozens to a few hundred permanent workers while the associate construction jobs are temporary. On top of that, the report also points out that in Virginia alone, the data center sales tax exemption costs an estimated $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2025. So not only do data centers not create the economic opportunities their companies say they do, they also are costly to us on a daily basis when it comes to our taxes. Again, not great at math, but the supposed benefits are not outweighing the cons here. Overall, I've presented you with numerous facts regarding the negative effects and impacts of data centers. The only positive thing possible is temporary jobs. If we're going to go thirsty and broke for something built where we live, it needs to do something worthwhile for us and data centers don't do that. The only reason why anyone would vote for bringing a data center to Henry County is if they're getting some sort of financial kickback that benefits them personally. Because on the whole, data centers are a waste of time, space, and energy. There are already 640 of them in the state. We don't need to make it 641. Thank you.

Logan Wheeler, and then after that, Demetra Clark.

Good evening, Chairman and Council. I am bringing a list of questions that I have relating to it.

Speak up a little bit. Right.

This list of questions is brought up because I have two children and I've lived here for about 10 years now and I care deeply about what our future will look like and how this will be done as far as the zoning ordinance. My questions are, is this data center ordinance being proposed proactively or has the county already been approached by companies interested in building? If previously approached, what are the incentives and how are they going to be used to benefit us as a community? What minimum separation is required between a data center and existing residential neighborhoods? Regarding the water supply study, if it shows major impacts on public water or private wells, what would that be grounds to deny the special use permit or could the project still be approved with conditions? Has either the county or utility analyzed how a future data center will affect the cost of electric bills or power security and reliability? If it comes to light that there are negative effects on these necessities of our people's lives, will it affect the approval of any such permit? With the recent drought in mind, if water rationing becomes advised or even necessary, will the people or the business be held responsible for rationing water? What would be done to enforce a water ration on a potential data center? And what will the council do to protect our people in the event that after a theoretical establishment, despite our warnings and caution, negative impacts are then and only then realized? Will you all be held accountable? That's all I have to say.

Commissioner Clark, and then after that, Dwayne Marker.

Hi. Thank you so much for allowing me to speak today. So, Henry County does not have a single data center today. Not one. That means you're standing at the only moment in time that will ever matter. Before the first application. When standards are still free to write and free to keep. After tonight, they get expensive. I want to be direct about this ordinance and what it does and does not do. It requires an applicant to study their water use. It doesn't say what happens when the study comes back bad. There is no withdrawal cap, no threshold that triggers denial. A study that cannot stop anything is not protection, it's a permission slip with footnotes. You already know how to do better because you already did it. This same code requires a decommissioning bond for battery storage. It caps acreage for solar. Ask yourself why the largest, thirstiest, loudest use in the book is the one you're letting in walk in scot-free. And either weigh the promises against Virginia's own auditors, not the brochure. JLARC found the benefits. land mostly during construction, and that is demands like this to push electricity bills up for everyone else. The 74,000 jobs you're going to hear about over and over again is an industry number and it's statewide. The permanent local payroll number is an error. Most data centers employ about 12 people permanently. This county has been promised prosperity by industry before. We have watched the buildings go quiet and the jobs leave and go elsewhere. And we were left holding the empty shell and the cleanup. Don't let it happen with a straight face and a tax exemption. Cap the water, bond the decommissioning, cap the acreage, do it tonight. Because there is no version where this gets easier later. And some other things I want you to consider are the increase, and you can look this up, is the increase in suicide rates in close proximity to data centers. Increased anxiety, high blood pressure, loss of sleep near these data centers. The mental health damage and cost to us, to our county, we're gonna be the ones paying for that, not the data center. Infant and maternal mortality rates, which is kind of ironic that I'm worried about that considering we can't deliver a baby in our own county.

Pollution by released water.

The massive water consumption. The facility uses, a data center facility uses the same power as at least You can look this up, 100,000 homes. They wanna fill rural areas with data centers because they think we're so desperate, we're gonna sell ourselves out to any snake oil salesman that comes to town. Well, that's stupid because we're not and we're gonna hold the line and this is our county, thank you.

Dwayne Barker and after Dwayne Barker Christy Baum Thank you all for listening I'm from the Blackberry district and I just wanted to give you some data I hate to say that cause we're talking about data center and it was easily accessible and I'm gonna give you some data that I accept without a data center so why do we need one why would we want one okay first thing is on the smallest data center which is a one megawatt to a five megawatt data center they will use approximately enough electricity for six thousand homes and this is the smallest data center so that's the subject at any time in this county that six thousand households could do without power because the AP's will get the data center power first the water usage the same county uses about a thousand gallons of 100,000 gallons of water per day, which would be equal to 1,000 homes here in the county. Put that in perspective, Smith River runs about 1,200 to 1,400 gallons per second. 100,000 gallons don't sound like much. Multiply that over a year's time. That's like Smith River being completely cut off for 10 hours. Can you imagine the river being cut off for ten hours? What would happen? PSA supplies roughly twelve thousand households. A thousand households going about water, that's ten percent of the population. Which brings me back to the population, that's what I'm worried about. In our county we had twelve thousand seven hundred people that were sixty five and up. We had twenty five hundred, a hundred and forty. 8,000 on the property level. We have 8,925 on a disability. Only 4,000 of those collect a check. These are the people that are going to be hurt the most. Because if the data centers don't put the bill for their infrastructure, it gets passed on to everyone here. Your water bill, your light bill, all that cost we'll all have to eat. The cons far outweigh the pros of having a dentist under here. And that's all I got to say about that.

Christy Vaughn and then Naomi Hotchmuse.

Hi, my name is Christy Vaughn. I'm in the horse pasture district. want to commend all of you on the excellent work that you did and putting together the Henry County comprehensive plan it's definitely a step in the right direction and I want to second what everybody else has said about the data centers but I want to focus on the housing portion of the zoning and offer a solution that I'd like to promote We're urging you to adopt Section 1 of the Resource Protection and Agricultural Freedom Act because zoning ordinances were never meant to act like a homeowner's association. Micromanaging our homesteads or placing heavy roadblocks in front of families trying to build housing during a national shortage. That section matches the exact goals outlined in our Henry County Comprehensive Plan, which calls for encouraging accessible housing options and respecting private property stewardship. It also matches state legislation, specifically Senate Bill 388, the Faith and Housing Act, which prioritizes residential accessibility and limits the weaponization of discretionary special use permits against housing development. So by adopting Section 1, you align our county with modern state housing policy, remove unnecessary red tape for local builders and families, and ensure county regulations that focus where they belong, on heavy industry, not on our private front yards. Thank you.

After Naomi Hodgmuse, Chad Martin.

Good afternoon, everyone. I am Naomi Hodge-Mews, president of Martinsville-Henry County NAACP and an environmentalist down in my soul. I'm the woman that has 42 solar panels on her house. I compost. I am as much of an environmentalist as you'll ever meet in your life. I drive an EV. That's how much of an environmentalist I am. And I love this earth. And just riding up the road through, because I live in Chadlongs, and watching, looking at the crape myrmidons, I said, Lord, you put me in a flower pot. I love Henry County. Traced my ancestry back in Henry County until 1749. Been here a long time. And I'm not going to preach to you about what you've already heard. I'm going to ask you to take a look at the law enforcement setting that year. They are here to protect us. Praise God. We have a wonderful sheriff and good law enforcement. You, you are the law enforcement for our air and for our prosperity. You stand, you are the sentries. You have been given your marching orders. Everybody in here has told you, we don't want it. Don't want it? Then go away. Now, you might not have the sword and the shield, but you got a checkbook. They got lawyers who specialize in zoning. you don't have that but you got a checkbook go find the best lawyers that you can and write a zoning law that will be so odorous that these monsters will go somewhere else First, the voters have spoken. Vote black and white, Republican and Democrat. We don't want them? Let them go somewhere else. Now, take your checkbook, find you the right lawyer, write it up, write it up, and let it be done. Thank you so very much.

CHAD MARTIN AND THEN DEBORAH FLANAGAN-HOOLIN.

CHAD MARTIN. THANK YOU AGAIN, BOARD, FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK. ONE OF MY ROLES, PREVIOUS ROLES, OUT OF 200 PEOPLE THAT APPLIED, IT WAS ONLY FOUR OF US HIRED FOR VIRGINIA DEQ, AND I WAS ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COORDINATOR, WHICH I COVERED THIS AREA ALL THE WAY UP TO SHANNON DOVER. One of my roles was to come into meetings like this, translate back to DEQ what people wanted, and to translate to local public officials, zoning and ordinance, permitting laws and rules. One of the things that one of my supervisors essentially said to me, and it stuck out, and it just really bothered me, which I only stayed there for a year, he says, Chad, essentially DEQ gives a permit to pollute. While I am glad that you are taking some precautionary measures and doing the zoning piece, no matter what you do for zoning, you are essentially giving a permit to balloon. Let me give you some numbers. This is without a data center here. This is what we currently are here. The CDC social vulnerability index, Henry County has an overall social vulnerability index of a score of approximately 0.7. The highest is a 1. indicating relatively high social vulnerability. Identifies communities where socioeconomic conditions, household characteristics, housing, transportation, demographic factors may reduce resiliency during environmental or public health events. Higher SBI values indicate great vulnerability. The U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index. Communities including Martinsville, Collinsville, Bassett, Ridgway, and Axton fall within approximately the 84th and 93rd percentile for climate vulnerability. reflecting elevated exposure and sensitivity to climate-related hazards when compared with many other communities nationwide. EPA EJ screen. Environmental justice screening identifies Henry County as having an asthma environmental justice indicator in the 80th to 100th national percentile, suggesting that respiratory health should be an important consideration during land use and permit decisions. Virginia Department of Environmental Mapping tool, which I had the job of actually teaching locales, says that we are already an environmental justice community. 2016, I was on the Virginia Tech research study. I was a research assistant for Virginia Tech for Martinsville-Henry County for the lung cancer issue. They reported that we had not a death rate, but a higher incident rate for lung cancer higher than the state of Virginia. The reason why I bring this all up, Dr. Sokobe Wilson, an environmental health scientist and professor at the University of Virginia, who runs the Center for Engagement in Environmental Justice Health, which I am a senior fellow, and will be actually receiving the award in September for the 2026 Climate Justice Fellow of the Year, has been vocal about social and environmental economic impacts of rapidly expanding data centers in the United States. He says that they're guzzling millions water, noise pollution, and raising homeowner's utility bills. They often locate in near working class and historically marginalized communities which already face higher environmental burdens. Dr. Wilson argues that data centers proportionally undermine these communities because they contribute to urban heat islands, flooding risk, and they increase energy costs for residents who may already spend a higher share of their income on utilities. I also, this year, got a chance to be a part of the Bullard Center for Environment and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University as a community environmental leadership program. I don't know if you know who Dr. Robert Bullard is, but he is known as the father of environmental justice, and I currently now have the the opportunity of learning from him. Dr. Bullard, widely known as the father of environmental justice, views the rapid unvetting placement of massive data centers as emerging environmental justice crisis, marrying historical patterns of systematic neglect. He highlights on these energy and water intensive facilities follow familiar discriminatory categories by disproportionately targeting low income black and brown neighborhoods for industrial sacrifice zones. Now, I actually created a white paper, and I sent it to this gentleman, and hopefully he will send it to each of you. It was too long to say within our three-minute time period. But one thing I want to leave you with, in olden times, they used to give small communities what is known as a white elephant. It was because it was this great mystic animal, this great mystic being, and they were giving this to low cows. What happened was what they found out, it cost a lot for elephants to eat. And they would actually bring whole communities down because of the cost they would bring. We do not want a white elephant in this area. We do not want that.

Thank you.

Deborah Flanagan-Hooling. And after that, Tiffany Hayworth.

hello and good evening thank you to the board for allowing all of us to speak and your patience with all of us you're probably going to need a lot of that with me I have a lot of stuff here and a lot of it's been covered so I'm going to be trying to flip through and not go over what's already been said that I have here but In this country we have 5,427 data centers and over 1,200 of them are operating and thousands are in the plan and less than one-third of all these data centers nationwide actually track their water usage. So they don't even keep up with it. The large data centers use 5 million gallons of water a day and that equals to the water usage of a population of 10 to 50,000 people, which Henry County falls into that. That would also include right now Martinsville City in that figure. The data centers that are for AI, they're known as hyperscaling data centers, they use even more and then there's carbon emissions from that. Supposedly all the people who want these data centers are the same people who were against carbon emissions. Okay, now the Earth only has, the whole planet only has 3% of fresh water and 0.5%, that's one half of 1% of all of that, is accessible and safe to drink. Let me see here. Medium has been covered. OK. And the electric use, 80% of all the fresh water used by data centers evaporates. And the other 20% is polluted wastewater. They prefer to hook up to, for some reason, they prefer to hook up to the local water supply, meaning the municipal water supply. It's cheaper for them to do that because, okay, who ends up paying for the transmission lines just like with electric use? the customer the ordinary customer the ordinary taxpayer ends up paying for the new transmission lines for the electric use and and also for the water use let's see the okay Also, there's indirect water use for the power source for which there's water used in the electrical generation of the power that they use. and this isn't really a topic today but even the CHIP facilities in case one should want to drop in at Henry County they also require a lot of water now okay And as far as creating a big economy boost to the county, most of the top paying jobs for either the data centers or the battery storage facilities, the BESSs, their top paying jobs, they have those people already picked out. They don't go to somebody here. And the medium paying jobs they likely also import and they also contract out a whole lot of work which is temporary work and they'll bring those people in. So the only jobs, the few and far between jobs that might go to a regular full-time local person who might receive benefits is around the maybe a few people at a $30,000 range. And then when the data centers and the battery storage facilities come into any area, they usually come in and get lots of tax breaks to start with. And so that doesn't really help us either. So we're paying to help them get here and then will pay to help them stay. Something that has not been addressed by anybody today is the battery storage facilities and the fire potential. and the gases they give off. These battery storage facilities, they can and the gas they give off is odorless, colorless, and it's toxic. And they give off these gases, and there's no monitor that I've found in my research. And in fact, in 2019, in the Arizona Public Service, McMeekin BESS site, The place exploded when a person, the fireman I think it was, somebody opened the door and that caused the explosion. And four firefighters were injured. And so we have like these toxic gases. Let's see, I've got a toxic gas list here. Where did that come from?

Ms. Hurley, you've gone about twice over the allotted time. Oh, really? Yes. Oh, I'm sorry.

You know, I didn't know about the... Yes, could you conclude? Yeah, I'll wrap it up. Okay. Thank you. Anyway, the gases kill people. dead in seconds and the fires from a battery storage facility, it can be in seconds and the whole thing is going and they're hard to put out and they can re-ignite and they require specialized training. Now, okay, my bottom line was that this, the item that's being presented to you is 23 typewritten pages. Now, It also covers housing and it covers data storage and it covers the BES. Well, my suggestion is that the housing part of it and the data storage and BES be separated into two separate things because a lot of the housing is related to developing around the data storage centers and that and the BESS and well really who's going to want to live there so and the population of Henry County has dropped from 60,000 in 1990 to around 47,000 today and so somewhere somehow the 60,000 people had a place to live in Henry County and now we have 47,000 so there appears to be adequate housing out there for people to live if they really want to live and work here. Thank you and I'm sorry about staying over my time.

Tiffany Hayworth.

after that uh well go ahead please good evening board of supervisors chairman thank you for allowing me to speak tonight i'm going to concede most of my time because my comments were submitted prior to the meeting so it is part of public record i do want to make sure that you are aware that we have engaged Did I say I'm with the Dan River Basin Association? I did not. Tiffany Hayworth with the Dan River Basin Association. We have engaged the Southern Environmental Law Center, a long-term partner of DARPA, and together we have shared already recommended zoning revisions and considerations to county staff. and those are available to you as well we respectfully ask that these recommendations be carefully considered as the county works to balance economic opportunity with long-term environmental protection We also encourage the county to go above and beyond the minimum public notice requirements to ensure all affected constituents have a meaningful opportunity to ask questions and share their perspectives. Before any final action is taken, we hope you will make every reasonable effort to ensure citizens learn about your proposals prior to deliberation. also we are aware of the citizen-led petition calling for a moratorium on data centers in henry county and although darba did not initiate this we are extremely supportive of citizens engaging in the public process and we will always provide support to citizens who take an active role in shaping the future of their communities i can see the rest of my time

next name was Mary Martin but I think I saw Miss Martin leave she left after that Kelly Peters

Good evening board. My name is Kelly Peters. I'm in the Iriswood district and we farm, my husband and I farm. We have multiple animal species and agricultural plants. I am licensed in veterinary technology. I am passionate about preserving wild spaces and educating others about it. I am also passionate about matters of government and returning power to the people, which is why the Facebook page that Henry County and Virginia Coalition Against Data Centers came from and why I speak for you tonight. It is my understanding, which Lee Clark clarified earlier, that we currently have no zoning oversight on data centers despite being an exclusionary zone to county and that this meeting is to fix that. My response is to immediately issue a legal multiple year meritorium on them. There are plenty of ways toward it to avoid litigation for discrimination. However, we all know companies aren't actually people to be discriminated against. During the moratorium, zoning can be fleshed out with things such as caps on water usage and megawatt usage, and also the decibels, the DBA, DBC usage, et cetera, so that both existing companies can continue to operate, and then we can welcome environmentally responsible companies in the future. I'm not against growth or bringing jobs or tax revenue, but we need to let companies know that Henry County supports humans and their beautiful outdoor spaces, not AI. After seeing what other counties' Board of Supervisors have done to their constituents, I ask you tonight to pledge not to engage in NDAs regarding data centers for any reason. Please don't give in to the hollow promises for financial deals, basically with the devil. If a data center can solve any sort of budget issue that we have, then the budget is out of control. uh we can and should be more mindful of taxpayer money and and wishes as evidenced by tonight's uh very large turnout um so don't zone and give them home thank you next celia ruddle time

Celia, Ruddle, Hein. I'm going to say that that one's done. After that, Michael Peters.

Good afternoon, Henry County Board of Supervisors. My name is Michael Peters and I reside with my wife in the Leatherwood area, which is an Irish root district. I've lived, worked, and played in the Virginia outdoors for the entirety of my life. I grew up in the mountains of Bath County and have called Henry County my home for over a decade. There are numerous reasons to place awards for him on data centers in our county. I will be touching on the irreversible harm a data center will have on our precious rural outdoors and agricultural way of life. If we take away the rural ag land and strip bare and cover it with tons of concrete, steel, and electrical devices, then we have lost that portion of agricultural heritage forever. With less ag land, there will be less goods to be sold at our farmers markets, which not only hurts the good people growing and raising these goods, it also hurts the consumer who likes to shop and do business locally. Having a career as an extensively trained diesel technician in both on and off-road diesel engines and equipment, These data centers will be using huge 2000 horsepower plus diesel generators for power during such times of need. I recently read an article stating over 100 of these generators are going to a data center in the Ashburn area. The article stated the make and model of the generators and that they comply on the tier 2 level of the EPA Clean Burn Scale. The current requirement for on and off-road diesel engines is Tier 4 or Tier 4 Final. That means Tier 2 is more harmful than Tier 4 Final to our atmosphere, according to the EPA. However, the problem with Tier 4 and Tier 4 Final is they are required to inject and burn DEF, diesel exhaust fluid, or urea. California has already discovered and deemed the excessive bark depth is killing fruit trees along the roadways. I don't think anyone in this room who has or wants fruit trees would like them dying off because of pollutants for a business that has no product sold locally and has more harmful properties than beneficial ones. my ask from you the board is to table or put a moratorium on any data center project that don't sell our history of ag and heritage for an empty promise of tomorrow thank you next name Rose Pia if I mispronounced that I apologize

Good evening, my name is Rose Pyjak. It's a pleasure to be here today. Good evening to the board and to the members of community. I stand before you to ask you to say no to all proposals of data center plans of the past, present, and future. The people of Henry County do not want nor want or need those appearing in our backyard, especially as it becomes more evident that data centers do not provide jobs or depending on resources and polluting communities. There is also a rise of concerns over mass surveillance. and the rights of our own data and privacy are at risk. Just like dynamic pricing data centers must go for they do not provide any benefit to existing communities. In the past week, from July 22nd, electricity flickered on and off across the eastern United States of America, from Chicago to Boston to Miami. The cause of this is linked to Virginia and the data centers that already exist here. Concerns across the nation have been rising around the strain data centers are placing on the American power grid. The Henney Power Grid relies on old infrastructure. When it rains here, the lights flicker. When the wind blows the wrong way, the lights flicker. We are known to have brownouts here. A data center in Henney County would put more stress on the grid that the grid currently wouldn't be able to handle, and I do not wish to see my community facing more risk and more crises. Virginia as a state already has between 660 to 700 data centers, most located in the northern region of Virginia, in an area that is currently nicknamed Data Center Alley. It's not a good look, and looking closer to Henry County, the Richmond area is reported to have around 90 data centers alone, which honestly seems like very excessive. Data centers are not what the community wants. The people are tired. We live paycheck to paycheck doing honest work. We want to live and for there to be a future for us and the children that are here and are growing up. Data centers do not allow that future to exist. Say no to data centers. Though not much research is out there on the effects of data centers, many of us have been hearing stories of those living close to data centers. The noise pollution is causing children to not sleep. Cattle and livestock are becoming lethargic. Data centers have been caught lying about their water use, as well as the waste they produce. Reports are coming from communities that tap water went from clear to brown, in a way that is comparable to Flint, Michigan, who still does not have clean water. Do you want to see us not having clean water and your community not having clean water? Sorry, I lost my place. So I ask you to consider the true impact of data centers and never to allow one to exist in Henry County, Virginia. Other counties are saying no and rejecting data centers. Let Henry County stand with the people and say no to data centers. Thank you for your time.

OK, I may need a little help with this next name. It looks like Mary maybe Gherkin or Gakin. I'm not sure if they're R's or N's.

Mary or Manny?

Left, okay. Thank you for letting me know.

I didn't know you have to sign up to speak. So is your room still not filling?

We will make that announcement in just a moment. Thank you. Teresa Mitchell?

Teresa Mitchell hello everyone Blackberry district we all know that nobody wants the data centers the battery storage centers the one that the one that just got approved in Danville 3,000 acres where do you think they're getting their water from I know you know Eden where does Eden get their water from the Dan River and the Smith River that's what feeds their aquifer or their water source so not only is that one center affecting Danville it's Patrick County because that's where the Dan starts Henry County Halifax County Pennsylvania County the Smith River starts up here at the dam You're going to deplete our water source already because of the one in Danville. And then you've got some backdoor deal going on or you wouldn't be wanting to rezone. That's just the way it is. We're not stupid. This has been in talks for a long time. And I've already read that somebody put in for some FOIA requests. to find out just how long y'all been planning this. And it sure is awful funny that 1,200 acres was just sold right down at the Barrow Mill road expansion. You don't think that we're not stupid? We put all this together. We know what you're doing. You've sold us out. You've ruined this area, allowing this to go on. You don't even know the effects of the solar. panels that you put everywhere all over this county without our input and we're not happy we're not happy and we're gonna get down to the bottom of it somebody's getting kickbacks that's all i got to say it's coming it ain't gonna be nice

Kimberly Armijo? Kimberly Armijo?

I don't public speak, so pardon me. But I am just gonna touch on one thing because I'm in the healthcare. And I don't think that you guys have really considered the cost that is gonna cost the people around here for their healthcare. And I don't think that Martinsville has an adequate health care system in place. So that is my proposal. I think that it is horrible. I think that it's horrible for health. I think it's horrible for the community. And I think that the health care for the constituents and residents should be considered before you put something in here that's going to cause detrimental health to them.

Just a moment, no to her, not to you, not to you. That does conclude everyone that has signed the list. How many wish to speak that did not sign? Please raise your hand and please line up, beginning with the lady back there. Yes, ma'am. So I need you to line up so that we can expedite the process.

And Jim. Jim, make sure they give their names.

Yes, ma'am.

Jim.

And please state your name and the district in which you live.

My name is Anita Garcia. I live in Martinsville, Henry County.

Hold just a moment, please. Please come to order so that we can hear the speaker.

I'm going to be real quick. I've been here, it'll be four years, from Texas. Name, please. Anita Garcia from Henry County.

Okay.

And I moved here four years ago from Taxa-choo-sits. People call it Massa-choo-sits or Masca-choo-sits. There's not gonna be any new jobs brought with this data center. They are going to outsource from Texas, Pennsylvania, you name it. They're gonna bring companies down here that have no relation from anybody from this place. That's how it's gonna be built. And then they're gonna leave just as quick as they came. And then we're gonna be stuck with all of the the downfalls. So new jobs that don't go to us and then zero stay. Water usage will be crazy. I couldn't believe when I moved here from Massachusetts that my water bill was more than it was in Boston. That to me was crazy. And to have it go up, I will move. I will just keep moving. There has been several in several Everything that I'm about to say, I can happily email you the links, the studies, et cetera. I'm just going to ramble through them. People are having brown water come out of their faucets within a 20 to 30 mile range or no water. Water bills are going to go up. everybody's already said how much water they take to cool these machines that is going to be chemicals just going straight back into the our water stream and we're going to drink it in Texas beekeepers have been saying that all of their hives have been dying and they're those are all within 100 miles of data centers like the lady was saying at first about you know we might not hear it but the bees are going to be affected no bees no food farm animals are becoming sterile so yeah no food the noise pollution uh and the light pollution i don't want to live next to an nfl stadium at two in the morning shining into my lights and i don't want to hear i don't know if you guys have heard half of the videos that people who have had data centers move into their towns it's like Just imagine that. You trying to enjoy a beer on your porch and that's what you hear. What else? Sorry. Like I said, I'm going to wrap this up right now. Saw you guys looking sleepy. I thought I'd wake you up with some data center sounds. And the house values will go down. This has all already happened in other places where people have moved data centers in. We are known on Google as Data Center Alley. We have more data centers in Virginia than the rest of the world. And about the FOIA request, those are called Freedom of Information Acts. For anyone who ever wants to get them, you can go to any city hall.

Please address the board. Oh, I'm so sorry.

And you can see who all is getting kickbacks, and they can all be voted out. Thank you for your time.

I'm Mary Kay Berger, and I live in the Reed Creek District. And I go home on Barrows Mill Road. But my concern is we're talking a lot about pollution and everything coming from these centers. We also have a huge building going up on on Barrows Mill Road that is a tin recycling and also they burn the tin and there's all the pollution and stuff from where they do that. I just, you know, I don't know this thing's come in and I don't know what the pollution is when they smelt the, you know, the tin. I just have concerns that That's another huge thing that has come in that we're not measuring or going to be measuring the pollution from that. So I think maybe with the data center, maybe just have no data centers, period.

Good afternoon. My name is Sarah Candy and I have property in the city of the county. Recently, I bought my first property when I was 18. My water bill was minimal. My electric bill was no more than $83. This morning I had to ask for help to pay my electric bill. It was $1,600. I've worked at your factories, I've worked at Bass and Fieldcrest, Toltec and all. When it gets to a point that we can't take care of ourselves because we're outsourcing everything to everybody else, what do we do? Everybody in here has got some kind of medical exam that they've had and everybody's got something wrong. If you don't, you have not lived in here in California. From the Bassets to the Lesters to all the companies that have moved here and gave us all these incentives, we have been left with everything. All the 5Bs, the textiles, we have been gutted. We don't have anything left to give. I'm one of the disabled people. I take care of a lot of people that are disabled. When I go down, they go down. So what are we going to do? When we, as the residents of Henry County, go down because they poisoned us, who's going to take care of us? They're going to be gone. Why do we have to have the data of the world? Can't the rest of the world have some of the data, too? Why do we have to have it all? That's all I'm going to ask. Why do they get to poison us? Let them poison everybody else. We don't need it anymore.

Good evening. My name is David Gersley. I live right outside of Martinsville City in Henry County. I'm not a professional speaker by any means, so I'm just going to say what I have on my mind about this. Billionaires and corporations strip drinking water from poor folks and us alike. They take resources, they choke the land with data centers. We see research everywhere saying how awful these things are. For you to even consider these in our county is bringing death to our door. You kill our crops, you take our water, you take away jobs, and the very few jobs that come from these data centers are not even permanent. All I'm saying is that I urge you to say no. This is going to destroy our county, our land, and ruin what this town is good for. That's the nature, that's the people, and that's community. And that's all I have to say, is say no. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Can you hear me? Can you hear me?

Yes, sir.

My name is Mackenzie Matthews, and I thought about this whole meeting. It covered just about everything that affects human society within our county. I don't know what you all are yourselves doing, But you look like to me you all don't understand the word no. What part of no that you don't understand? You make things so complicated it don't make no sense. You don't uphold the Constitution. Everything you've been talking about is about the weather and all this other stuff. But you ain't talking about nothing about your freedom and your privacy. I haven't heard nobody say nothing about your privacy and your freedom. You break the Constitution, the Fourth Amendment, you put up these old flock cameras that's sending people to jail without the public's permission. You doing the wrong thing, all of you. Ain't nothing but criminals. That's who you all are. You got the suit on and you wear it and you say it's right. Do you remember the book of Job? When Job was there in the so-called heaven? And Satan came up there. The Lord asked him, said, well, where I come up there, Satan? He replied, I come up and down two and four and up and down in the world to see whom I may devour. If you all don't understand what these data centers gonna do for you, it's pushing you to the one world government. Guarantee you. And you gonna be waking up and like I say, no. We don't need this. We don't need it. You all either gonna follow the Constitution or you gonna be through. That's all I have to tell you.

My name is Brenda Sessor. I'm from Ridgeway. And I'll just go ahead and say I agree with all these people that I don't want the data centers. But I just wanted to make just a little bit of a comparison. I live with a solar farm in my backyard now. When they say that they tell you you're going to get all of these people and they're going to get a job, they did that with a solar farm. They said we're going to have all these people, all these jobs. All the jobs were people that were from out of town. As soon as the construction and everything was finished, all those people left. As far as the rules and regulations that you all were going to come up with, we had the rules and regulations for the solar farms. These people have so much money they don't care about your rules and regulations. Whatever regulations you make, you need to make the highest ones you can. You need to double it on top of that. Because the solar farmers that are here now, they had their rules and regulations. I don't know how many times they've fined, but I know it's numerous times they've been fined already. Those fines are a drop in the bucket to the money those people have. They don't care your rules and regulations. They're going to break them. over and over, and they're just going to pay their fines, and they're going to go on their way. You can compare everything for those data centers that are coming in to everything that's happened with these solar farms. And we didn't need the solar farms, and we don't need the data farms.

Good evening, board. My name's Dawn King-Garrett Greer. I'm representing the citizens in Henry County, Virginia with the Watch of the Mountains. I represent and present to you from the citizens of Henry County, To the governing bodies, we undersigned the citizens, landowners, farmers, working families of Henry County, Virginia, do hereby formally petition the board to adopt the Resource Protection and Agricultural Freedom Act into chapter 180 of the code. Remind this board today that with the unyielding spirit of the Piedmont heritage, zoning exists to regulate heavy industry corporations and commercial infrastructures, not micromanage private property and working citizens. Our county is not a homeowners association. Our supervisors have no business redistricting homesteads or regulating housing during a national housing crisis. Let the records show our stand protect our farms and guard our aquifers and keep zoning focused where it belongs. In defense of our well aquifers, our working agricultural lands under the Virginia Right to Farm Act, our electrical rate payer protections under HB 1393, and the historical Piedmont Hills we call home, we affixed our names to this historical scroll and the unyielding declaration of our local rights and responsibilities.

Please give that to the county minister. To the county?

OK. This is the citizen's name. Just like in the Revolution, this region collected 2,000 names. We have collected the names of Henry County citizens. And we present to you the public that wishes to protect the land, the water, and the occupiers of Henry County. This is in one week, sir. Could you remind what we did in two days? to put that into perspective. This is what your citizens request, protection.

Okay, anyone else? I want everyone to feel like they've had an opportunity.

Please come to the podium. And the state of Virginia expects us to pay for their infrastructure. Even though they've already published that they're making $40 billion a year, the state of Virginia is only getting $1.5 billion of that. But you expect us to pay for their infrastructure, for their power. AEP's gonna jack our rates up. So I got a proposition for you. For the kickback back to the consumers that live here, that try to raise their children, how about 40% off on our real estate taxes? As our, being we gotta pay for everything, you ought to give us a discount. Because you know, y'all say, county says they've been in surplus now for about what 15 years you audit yourself every year so why can't we get a discount why do you keep expecting us to shoulder everything and we get no benefit from it well what do you think Why y'all so silent? Why is he on his computer? He is not even paying attention. Hasn't been for a long time. I've been watching you. Hasn't people y'all didn't even listen to? I don't understand why y'all don't understand. We are pissed.

I like her.

I think I might want to run.

okay that concludes the public hearing portion of this prior to ma'am ma'am we don't have good internet we don't have good service so i didn't even i don't ever know we don't do anything we don't know how this is what's on facebook my facebook don't come in at half the time And I wish y'all would do this with all these other signs. Have a sign on 220, have one on this road that blinks that there's going to be a meeting before this meeting so that people will have a voice.

All right. Thank you. That concludes the public hearing portion of this agenda item number 15. Mr. Wagner, do you have anything? I'm going to call on the county attorney. I don't. County Attorney George Lau, would you comment as far as, as you say the zoning ordinance is a protective measure?

Well, the Planning Commission had their public hearing, they reviewed it, they proposed it. There are additional There are additional things we could do. I mean, there are additional protections that we could have put in place. I heard many people speak about a moratorium. I would advise against that. I do not. I think that would be a risky position to take. I think if we were to lose in a moratorium battle, it could leave us in a very vulnerable position if someone were to challenge it and want to use their land for a data center. I think the more cautious, the more conservative approach would be to move forward with adopting some form of data center zoning so that we can regulate it through special use permits, through additional zoning. There are other things we could do that are not in the current proposed ordinance. But I think we would be better to move forward having an ordinance than adopting some resolution of moratorium that I think would be vulnerable, expensive to defend, vulnerable to a legal challenge and leave us in a very poor position with developers if they were they to challenge it rather than to go on and regulate it than to regulate it through zoning.

I do this is more deliberation ma'am we've had the public hearing I do appreciate members of the Planning Commission who have been through this as far as the entire ordinance mr. Clark do you have anything that you would like to add before have deliberation by the board okay board members

I'll go. For complete transparency, without any previous plans or kickback, we'd like to or I would suggest that we continue to listen and have more options having this been something new that has come to Henry County. So I move that the board remove data centers from the proposed zoning ordinance changes at this time. This would include removing data centers from the list of special use permits code 21-1102 and removing Article X data centers 21-2000 from consideration tonight. And this is specific to the data centers. And further, I move that we direct staff to bring back to the board again a proposal That includes an ordinance or changes that would include additional public hearings as requested tonight, additional review by the Board of Supervisors to give us more options and more time, more research, and other safeguards in addition to a special use permit should a data center ever be proposed in Henry County. That's one motion that I have now.

Is there a second?

I'll second that. Let me ask a question. So you're saying with the proposed ordinance that we have presented to us now, to approve that but take out the data center part to allow it to go back to the Planning Commission to review, bring back additional suggestions, and then offer another public hearing?

Yes, and that is, I mean, that's specific to the data centers. If there was something else that another board member knows that's in the ordinance that they would also want to change, I mean, I'm up for discussion with that. But for me right now, it's specific to the data center. Yes, Deborah. Yes.

We have a motion and a second. Any other discussion as far as that? All in favor? It's five affirmative votes, Jennifer. As far as the remaining part of the zoning ordinance, is there a motion to adopt it? No. Was that part of that motion? No. no I think she said this is specific to the data center the remaining portion which is 20 some pages of it that does not include data centers you all have had an opportunity to review that well I didn't hear it really any comments other than housing housing is still an issue

And I think what we have to do is put bumper guards on what we have in our ordinances are intended to regulate. And we need bumper guards. If we don't have that, then we have an influx of things that we just cannot deal with. You know, what I heard tonight was data centers. And I heard about housing. And we are addressing the housing issue. I think Pam's motion pretty much answered what we well yes we need a second why do we need another motion

Well, I don't think she didn't propose a motion to vote on the other items. Right. To approve the amendments to the zoning order. She said pull data centers out from consideration tonight. I think that's the motion the board just passed. OK. That's what I heard.

So we took that action first as far as pulling the data center from there. Now we need to at least the board whatever their desire is as far as adopting the rest of the ordinance amendments as presented to us.

If there's no motion made on that tonight is there something that can be revisited at a future meeting or does that mean that if we don't motion tonight that it's dead?

If you take no action tonight whatever's in effect right now stays in effect.

Okay. And is there any urgency that what is in the ordinance that it has to take place within the next month? Is there any urgency that if we don't vote on that tonight, that something awful is going to happen within the next month?

So that's up to your discretion based on what you vote tonight and what you want to take action on. The piece about housing allows us more flexibility So it would be good to make the changes to that. However, I don't know that a month would make a difference. We're not going to have developers come within a month to go that way.

I think our zoning I do think the Planning Commission has done a good job with most of what has been proposed here and taking out the data centers I think is the biggest issue and I think we do need to move forward on our ordinance amendment.

Is that in the form of a motion? It is. Is there a second?

I second.

We have a motion and a second. Any discussion at this point? Any discussion or clarification needed? Okay. We'll call for a vote. All in favor? It is five affirmative votes, Jennifer. That concludes tonight's meeting. I will accept a motion for adjournment.

could I have one comment I know I'm not gonna get this opportunity but since y'all care about the community trash pandas we meet Saturday love to have you guys 100% Saturday and real Saturday trash pandas care about your community

Well, just, I would like to say that, you know, love the, if we could just have your attention just for a second. You know, I do love the energy that is in the room tonight. You know, Henry County, I don't want to say that we are a struggling community, but we have a lot of struggles. And it takes the energy that's in this room tonight to resolve those issues. We heard things about physical health, mental health, poverty, disability, and jobs. Some of these things we cannot solve. You know, we can't solve mental health, physical health. Some of those things require us as individuals get out, get active, get the assistance, get the help, the things that we need to resolve these issues. So we take the same energy out into the community to our churches to our families then you know a lot of the problems that we have we can fix those things as a board you know we will do what we can do we will hear what citizens have to say and i encourage you keep this energy but take it to your organizations take it to your church take it to your families so that we can make our community the best that it can be and that has nothing to do with data centers There are things that we can do to make us better, and it has nothing to do with data centers. And the other thing is, I haven't taken any kickbacks, will not take any kickbacks, and I like the fact that the young lady who mentioned kickbacks, she talked about compromise. We've lost the art of compromise. America was founded on compromise, but we have come to a point now where we stand on one side or the other, and we're not willing to meet in the middle. If we cannot meet in the middle, it's a constant fight. At some point in time, everybody's got to give a little, take a little, but if it's all about my way or no way, we'll never solve any problems. So let us look at ways to solve any problems that we have in Henry County, you know, using that great method of compromise. That's all I have to say.

I'll accept a motion for adjournment.

Make a motion. Second.

We have a motion, second. All in favor?

Yes, ma'am.