Mark Dean, a resident of East Piney in the Lehi Mounds District, told supervisors on Dec. 23 that the proposed data center at Progress Park raises technical and environmental questions the county should answer before approving agreements. "Where will this water be drawn from? Water table or utility? If water table, this could have a devastating impact on the neighboring agriculture during low rain periods," Dean said, citing estimates that a full water treatment plant is capable of producing up to 4,000,000 GPD and noting typical data‑center draws range widely.

Another resident, Andy Kegley, said he was troubled by the sequence of closed sessions, nondisclosure agreements and property conveyances tied to what he identified as Project Gradient and a company named in public records as Solus Arcs Virginia LLC (noted in the comments as "Cadence DBA"). "You're only transparent when you want to be," Kegley said, and he read a timeline of meetings and closed sessions dating from January through June that he said led to land transfers and a performance agreement that until recently was not publicly available.

County staff and board members did not adopt new policy decisions at the meeting. Deputy County Administrator Mr. Hankins, in an earlier staff report, noted the county has created a public project webpage with information and frequently asked questions and said a performance agreement tied to the project has been made available through a freedom‑of‑information request. The board did not take a formal vote on any development agreement that night.

Why it matters: Residents and landowners said they are asking the board for definite, documented answers about water use, infrastructure commitments and transparency before the county proceeds further with any performance agreements or property conveyances. The questions touch on environmental impacts, utility capacity and whether the county or a private developer would bear infrastructure costs.

What was asked and not answered: Speakers pressed for "absolute and accurate predictions of water usage" and for clarity on whether potable water would come from the county utility or groundwater. Kegley requested public access to performance agreements and asked the board to explain closed sessions and nondisclosure terms; he said a performance agreement has been made readable after an FOI request but that he had not yet reviewed it.

Next steps: Board members and staff referenced a county webpage for the Solus Arcs project (www.withco.org/solusarcs) and indicated project documents are on the public record or available via FOI. No binding vote or new contract was approved during the Dec. 23 meeting, and speakers urged the board to provide more detailed technical and mitigation plans before any final commitments.