County counselor outlines 18‑month moratorium on data centers and seeks insurance quotes from local providers

County counselor Austin Parker told the Brown County Commission that his office has prepared language for an 18‑month moratorium intended to give the county time to study public health, public safety and welfare impacts of certain large projects.

"The moratorium related to data centers, battery energy, battery energy storage systems, solar energy, chip manufacturing, and cryptocurrency," Parker said, explaining the draft would pause permitting and related approvals to allow staff to research potential impacts and legal authority. Parker said the moratorium is being framed under the county’s police powers to consider public health and safety.

Parker also led a sustained discussion about employee health insurance options. He described a proposal he has been coordinating with Amberwell Health — one that, if feasible, could offer a local $0 co‑pay/no deductible option for county employees at certain in‑network providers — and stressed the need to provide county demographic and claims information to the county’s current third‑party claims administrator so competing vendors can produce formal quotes.

"All we have to do is just forward that email," Parker said, urging the clerk to loop WATCO (the county’s existing third‑party claims administrator) into the conversation so Amberwell and other vendors can run numbers. Commissioners agreed administratively to allow the clerk to share insured‑population data with WATCO and to solicit proposals; no formal procurement decision was made at the meeting.

Commissioners discussed practical concerns about changing administrators and emphasized employee access to local health providers in any model the county might consider. The board agreed that gathering information and competing quotes was appropriate before any budget or vendor decision would be made.