Residents raise cell service and data‑center concerns during public comment

Several residents spoke at the June 3 public comment period about local communications and proposed industrial development.

Darryl Hester said he and neighbors near the east side of Newnan–Coweta Airport routinely experience poor cell service and worried about reaching 911 in an emergency. "There are times that I have difficulty making a call without the service dropping off," Hester said, noting the problem affects multiple carriers and residential areas near major corridors.

Multiple speakers raised concerns about proposed data centers and related development revenue projections. Laura Beth asked whether the county would hold public hearings or town halls on data‑center ordinances and urged commissioners to weigh qualitative impacts on nearby neighborhoods, not only projected revenue and traffic. Connie Litton highlighted large discrepancies in repeatedly published revenue estimates tied to Project Peach and related proposals, noting one early DRI figure of $1.6 billion was later corrected to $163 million and more recently to figures near $100 million over 10 years. She asked the board to consider those changing numbers as it evaluates proposals. Ron Bachrath criticized tax incentives and warned of infrastructure and utility burdens associated with data centers, including electricity and water demands.

Commissioners acknowledged the comments. Staff said revenue figures originally came from applicant submissions and that corrections had been made; a commissioner characterized many revenue claims as speculative at this stage. The board did not take immediate action on data‑center policy at the meeting but had earlier set a July 1 public hearing on related zoning amendments (backyard chickens item separate).