Tyrone residents press council for answers on Microsoft data center, blasting damage and public notice

Dozens of Tyrone residents used the council's public-comment period to demand clearer answers about development along Highway 74, focusing on a Microsoft data center approved by the town in 2024 and years of blasting that residents say has damaged homes and sewer infrastructure.

Alvin Todd, president of the Rivercrest homeowners association, said blasting has caused “two force mains to burst” and damaged property near 165 Park Haven Lane, and asked the town how it is "holding Hettesburg material accountable for the blast." Todd said residents have tracked dates and times when blasts "knocked things off the wall in our homes," and that several households have spent "over probably $20,000 in repairs."

Penny George (315 Gaelic Way) said she recently learned of the planned data center at Highway 74 and Jenkins Road and raised concerns about utility costs, citing a March 2026 Food & Water Watch report she said links industrial users to higher household energy bills. "Data centers raise household energy costs," she told council, and asked whether Tyrone has noise and water ordinances or plans to limit community impacts.

Several other residents gave similar testimony. Eric Woods and Selwin Hinton said blasting has lifted sidewalks and strained town services; Vincent McDougall and others questioned the promised local economic benefits of data centers and argued the structures hurt the town's character.

Mayor Dial acknowledged the public concern and told speakers the town had performed the required public hearings when the zoning change was approved. He said staff has requested technical information from Microsoft about power, water and noise and that the town will share those materials with the community. Philip (town staff) and other officers said they are prepared to arrange a dedicated community meeting to present the data and answer questions.

Public-health concerns were raised by Sean Dudley, a self-described public-health practitioner, who urged a health impact assessment for developments he said could affect long-term resident well-being. Multiple speakers asked whether the council could reverse the 2024 approval; the mayor and staff said any such questions would require legal review and further public process but that they would provide the factual record to residents.

The council did not take formal action to change approvals at the meeting; staff committed to providing the information obtained from Microsoft and to scheduling further community engagement. Several residents said they will pursue open-records requests and press for a focused public forum on the project.