Residents press officials over noise, water and oversight as Cyrus One details Freestone County data center proposal

Cyrus One representatives described a planned data-center development on a 200-acre site in Freestone County and answered extensive resident questions Thursday about water use, noise and local oversight. Katie Hancock, Cyrus One’s vice president for community affairs, told the commissioners the company is proposing four buildings for phase one, expects the first building to be operational in 2027, and estimates a phase-one investment of roughly $600 million.

Residents and county officials pushed the company on environmental and quality-of-life concerns. Hancock said the company uses closed-loop cooling, that ‘‘1,100 gallons a day per building is what we are required to use for water’’ for domestic needs (toilets, sinks and fountains), and that larger makeup and fire-suppression needs are handled separately. Company staff also described modeled noise limits and a contractual limit of 55 dB at the property line, and said third-party noise consultants (named in the meeting as Trinity) performed noise modeling the company plans to post publicly.

Why it matters: The project would create a new long-term taxable asset and short-term construction activity while residents stressed potential irreversible impacts to groundwater, wildlife, and rural character. Cyrus One said phase-one tax terms include a negotiated pilot payment (company-cited figure: about $850,000 per year for 10 years) and that the project would pay 100% of school and hospital taxes — company staff estimated more than $6 million annually in those taxes for the first phase.

What speakers said: Lee Beller, a resident who recommended the county adopt a formal major-industrial review policy, urged commissioners to require comprehensive impact studies and protections for aquifers and neighbors. ‘‘I would respectfully ask the commissioners of Freestone County to review and to adopt a similar policy,’’ Beller said. Multiple residents described visiting operating facilities where on-site sound measured higher than modeled and asked for written, third-party noise and water testing protocols; one urged the court to ensure frequent, calibrated monitoring and public reporting.

Cyrus One sought to draw a distinction between established hyperscale operators and lower-quality crypto-mining operations that the company said have caused reliability and environmental problems elsewhere. A company representative said the firm has been building and operating data centers for 25 years, that it voluntarily meters wells and reports usage to regulators, and that it intends to post environmental and noise reports on a Freestone FAQ page and to meet one-on-one with residents for technical briefings.

Local authority and limits: Commissioners and staff repeatedly told residents the county can negotiate contract terms for any local economic-incentive package (for example, noise and water-use limits written into tax agreements) but that some regulatory authority (groundwater and certain environmental enforcement) rests with state agencies. Several commenters asked county leaders to press state legislators for clearer enforcement tools.

Jobs and training: Company representatives said construction would employ hundreds of temporary workers and that operations would require roughly 40 employees per building, supplemented by local ripple effects. Cyrus One detailed apprenticeship and training partnerships (a cited 235-hour ‘‘data center pathway’’ course and scholarships) and said it has donated to local workforce and public-safety needs.

Next steps: Cyrus One said it will post noise and environmental studies and a Freestone FAQ on its website, make company technical staff available for follow-up meetings, and appear at a public hearing scheduled for June 17. Commissioners did not block future phases; company staff said the adjacent 200 acres for a potential phase two are under evaluation and not yet purchased. The meeting record shows continued community concern and a request for more technical evidence and commitments before any expansion proceeds.