Residents press Hutchinson City Council for more information on proposed data center near school

Hundreds of Hutchinson residents’ concerns about a proposed data center near an elementary school dominated public comment at the Hutchinson City Council meeting on May 26.

Residents said they fear noise, water use and pollution from the facility, questioned whether required public notice reached nearby households and asked whether the development would raise local utility bills or public-health risks. “I know that those data centers can and do increase the ambient air temperature around them creating heat islands,” Robert Pease, who identified himself as a Hutchinson resident, said during the public-comment period. “Any studies that are done be, you know, made public would be great.”

Why it matters: Residents said the site’s proximity to a school and other community uses raises safety and transparency concerns and highlighted broader questions about who bears costs like new utility infrastructure or potential environmental remediation.

At the meeting, city staff and council members told residents that the conditional use permit (CUP) and site plan were previously approved by the planning commission and that, as of May 26, no building permit to construct the facility had been submitted. A council member said the city follows state and local requirements on when environmental studies are needed and that the city does not mandate a standalone environmental-impact study for a facility of this size. “We will gladly release whatever anyone asks for,” a council member said when asked about records and studies; staff instructed residents to request information or contact the city’s published email addresses.

Residents described several specific technical and health worries. Jeremy Lee, who said he works in electronics, told the council he was concerned about water usage and potential contamination from closed-loop cooling systems, and said small communities receive few long-term job benefits from such facilities. Jim Pease, who said he works with high-voltage power, said the site would need a substantial power feed and asked, “You take 20 megawatts in, that heat’s gotta go somewhere — where’s this heat going?” He urged greater scrutiny because of the school and nearby grain elevator.

Several speakers said notices about the proposal did not reach many households. The council and staff explained that notices are sent to properties within the legally required radius — staff cited the applicable notice distance as 350 feet for this kind of permit — and that earlier public hearings on the project took place during the planning process (staff said the discussion started in January 2025 and that hearings preceded the council action). “A lot of these questions, quite frankly, can be answered by Hutchinson Utilities Commission,” a staff member said, urging residents to attend the utilities commission’s monthly public meeting.

Not all technical claims were presented as established facts at the meeting. Multiple commenters said they had reviewed outside reports or anecdotes about data centers elsewhere; council members and staff repeatedly told the audience that specific impacts such as rate changes, long-term environmental effects or the need for groundwater withdrawals depend on the final facility design and utility arrangements and that some determinations are the purview of Hutchinson Utilities Commission or state regulators.

What happens next: Staff told residents to request public records or contact named staff (Matt Janek) and the utilities commission (Jeremy Carter was cited as a utilities contact) for technical questions about rates and energy supply; city staff said they will share information on request. No final construction permit had been filed at the May 26 meeting, so the project’s next public milestones would include any future building-permit submission and any additional reviews required by utilities or state agencies.

Quotes from the meeting include a range of technical and emotional appeals: “This data center has really got everybody in a rep uproar,” one resident said; another urged the council to “look into this” and “learn more.” The council ended the public-comment period after several speakers and proceeded to regular agenda business.