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Residents press council for transparency after data‑center soil tests and security incidents
Summary
Multiple residents asked the council for disclosure and action regarding a private data‑center project on Royal Road: soil‑test results remain pending, residents reported a March 22 accidental firearm discharge by an on‑site security guard, and speakers urged stricter oversight, training and public notifications. Council members said they would pursue test results and legal/administrative follow‑up.
Residents pressed the Michigan City Common Council on April 7 for greater transparency and public updates about a private data‑center project on Royal Road, citing delayed soil‑test results, a workplace firearm incident and concerns about security and public safety.
Shelley Yankee and Dominic Yankee, neighbors, said soil testing remains unresolved and asked the council to obtain and publish test results. "We were told by a council member in December that we could breathe a breath of fresh air that the soil was not contaminated," Shelley Yankee said; she told the council she recently requested updates and that she has repeatedly been given extensions for the testing timeline.
Dominic Yankee described a workplace injury at the project site on March 22, saying a security guard accidentally discharged his firearm while loading it and was shot in the calf. Dominic Yankee urged the council to require the developer and security contractor to stop arming personnel or to mandate proper firearm training and certification. "I strongly urge the city council to request that the data center stop arming their security personnel due to the community safety threat," he said.
Multiple speakers also raised procedural concerns: requests for timely soil‑testing results, questions about non‑disclosure agreements (NDAs) that limited council access to some materials, and broader worries about developer activity and site security lighting and fencing. Some callers argued the city should use its leverage under agreements and abatements to demand stricter site controls and better community notification of workplace incidents; several asked that the city attorney and relevant departments press state agencies for definitive soil results.
Council members said they heard the public's concerns and pledged follow‑up. Councilman Prince Valinski said he would ask the city attorney to contact the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to obtain soil results; other members urged faster, clearer public updates. No formal council action was taken during the meeting; residents asked for a short, documented timetable for the outstanding tests and for improved incident reporting from the project owner and contractors.
Provenance: public commenters raised the soil‑test and safety issues during the public comment period; councilmembers acknowledged the requests and directed staff to seek further information.
