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Residents urge pause on data-center approvals, press council over water-quality notice
Summary
Several Rosemount residents urged the council to pause further approvals for data-center development and to await operational data from an existing facility before proceeding; residents also pressed staff for clearer answers after a notice that gross alpha levels in the citys water exceeded the states annual average standard.
Public commenters urged the Rosemount City Council on March 3 to halt consideration of additional data centers and to give priority to resolving recent water-quality findings.
Jeremy Beller, of 12572 Ardmore, told the council the parcels north of County Road 42 purchased by Gymnast LLC (which he said is owned by Meta) appear destined for a second data center and said the city should not rely on modeled projections alone. "Why the rush? Why the rush to determine final design or construction decisions and any necessary improvements or mitigations to execute a study with projected future system conditions and simulated scenarios?" he asked, urging the council to return the balance of an escrow account, exercise the escrows no-obligation clause and pause rezoning until an analysis using actual operational data is available.
Melvin Evans (14349 Alderway) supported Bellers concerns and added neighborhood safety requests, including asking about digital radar detectors on Konamara near Lifetime to address frequent high-speed driving.
Anita Freedelland (15643 Chestnut Way) said a recent letter about gross alpha radiation in the citys water was vague and worried residents were being asked to shoulder costs for home filtration. "From what I've heard ... are we equipped to handle this?" she said, urging the council to consider a moratorium on new data centers similar to one adopted by Egan on Feb. 17, 2026.
The Public Works Director responded to the comments and described the testing timeline and regulatory trigger. According to the director, gross alpha sampling is performed quarterly by the state public-health process; "from their quarterly sampling in 2025, the pattern was such that they determined that the annual average value of the gross alpha was above their standard," reflecting four consecutive tests whose average exceeded the limit. The director added that "nothing in the letter says that that's required or necessary right now" and that the city is developing a response plan; staff expect to present recommendations in the coming months and will post updates on the city's water-quality webpage.
Rob Edinger (3676 154th Street West) also raised questions about the significance of the numeric results and urged the council to consider long-term fiscal planning as the city grows.
Council response and next steps: Council members noted staff would follow up with more detailed answers at a future meeting and reminded residents staff are available for phone follow-up. The Public Works Director said staff have been working on solutions for several weeks and that some physical remedies could take from one construction season up to multiple years depending on the scope. Staff directed to return with recommendations was the procedural outcome recorded at the meeting; no moratorium or formal new zoning action was adopted at this session.
