Resident urges removal of Flock cameras and calls for limits on data centers; council member proposes study

During public comment Erin Dawson of Hawks Hill Road urged the council to take multiple actions on surveillance, data centers and environmental protection.

Dawson said she was concerned about Flock license‑plate readers near Lowe’s and in Oxford, citing ACLU statistics and alleging misreads and a lack of transparency and oversight. "The flock cameras in front of Lowe's and in Oxford are a big concern for me," she said, and asked the council to end contracts with those systems. Dawson also linked the camera technology to corporate ties she described in a broader critique of surveillance technology.

She urged the council to reject new data‑center projects and seaplane bases that she said threaten coastal wetlands and water resources, and requested at least 30% of county‑purchased properties be set aside for wildlife preservation.

Council members responded: one council member announced plans to explore a data‑center moratorium and a county task force to study data‑center impacts; another raised concern about a recent ICE enforcement action and described it as terrorizing the community. The council did not adopt any new surveillance policy at the meeting, but members acknowledged the concerns and one pledged to pursue further study.

No county staff or vendor representative responded with technical validation of the claims about Flock cameras within the recorded meeting excerpt. The statements by Dawson were delivered during the public‑comment period and recorded in the meeting transcript.