Residents press Norton City Council on proposed data center near Limestone mine; council delays mine purchase right

Residents at the Norton City Council meeting on Aug. 18 pressed city officials for more information about a proposed data center at the former limestone mine property on Limestone Drive, citing concerns about noise, groundwater, air emissions and rail hazards.

The questions came during the public-comment period from neighbors who said they learned about the project only recently. “I live roughly 600 feet from that property,” said Glenn Yasko, a resident of 3717 Aura Avenue, who urged the developer to provide a property-assurance offer to ease uncertainty about noise and carbon impacts. Michelle Yasco, who also lives on Aura Avenue, said, “I have COPD, so I have worries about that,” and asked how much CO2 the facility would release and whether groundwater wells would be affected.

Rod Moore, who identified himself as representing the property owner at 3700 Limestone Drive, told council and residents that some technical details are still undecided. “As of today, that number is still undetermined,” Moore said when asked how many gallons the project would use. He described the cooling approach as “a closed loose loop system,” said the site would not use Barberton municipal water for industrial cooling (only for administrative uses such as toilets and kitchens), and said water replenishment would be scheduled to avoid impacts on local wells based on capacity studies.

Moore also said the project would be electrically independent, with on-site…