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Ripley board asks city attorney to draft terms for proposed CleanSpark data center on city land
Summary
Ripley aldermen unanimously authorized city attorney Mark Manikov to draft a term sheet as a counterproposal to CleanSpark’s purchase agreement, seeking community protections and binding development commitments for a proposed data center on city-owned industrial property.
The Ripley Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday unanimously authorized city attorney Mark Manikov to draft a terms sheet to negotiate commitments from CleanSpark for a proposed data center on prime city-owned industrial property.
Manikov told the board the existing purchase contract contains no binding commitments about development and recommended a detailed counterproposal to protect the city and nearby neighborhoods. “This is a wonderful piece of property,” Manikov said, noting the purchase price described in the agreement as “$15,000 an acre” and warning that, without negotiated terms, a buyer could purchase and later flip the land without completing the promised project.
Board members discussed potential concerns the city should address in a negotiated contract, including noise from continuous server operations, buffering for adjoining subdivisions, capital investment commitments, and due diligence tied to TVA interconnection and microgrid upgrades. Manikov also noted questions about water use and operational characteristics for the facility; he said CleanSpark described water as a closed-loop cooling system but that those operational details, along with noise parameters, should be specified in writing.
Mayor summarized the board’s authority over the property and asked for clear protections: the city must decide whether it wants to sell the parcel “and not worry about it,” or to secure commitments that protect community character and provide the investment the city expects. The board then voted to instruct the city attorney to prepare a terms sheet reflecting protections the city should seek and to circulate the proposed terms to aldermen before further action.
The motion, made by Alderman Chipman and seconded by Alderman Frasier, passed unanimously. Manikov said he would prepare proposed terms and return them to the board for review; board members asked that any draft be emailed to them as it becomes available. The vote does not finalize a sale; it authorizes the city’s attorney to begin formal negotiations and to propose contract language meant to secure stated commitments from CleanSpark.
What’s next: the attorney will develop the draft terms for board review. The board will consider any negotiated obligations before approving a final purchase or development agreement.
