Commissioner Al French defends his involvement, outlines hydrogen-context and denies secret meetings

After a lengthy public forum, Commissioner Al French used a point of personal privilege to respond to criticisms about his involvement in local economic development and to rebut claims of secret meetings or conflicts of interest. He said his engagement began with inquiries about hydrogen-fuel manufacturing and that data-center conversations emerged later as developers explored preheating process water and co-locating facilities.

"Davat data center was never even part of the conversation when we started down this road," Commissioner French said. He told the board he had no financial interest in any West Plains property or proposed projects, that meeting calendars and records were available via public records, and said the discussions included efforts to protect local water and ratepayers. He referenced state law obligations for county commissioners' economic development responsibilities and cited a National Association of Counties standard for data centers as an informational resource.

French described technical features he said developers proposed — using waste water rather than potable aquifer water, buying energy from other states to avoid local rate impacts, and hydrogen backup generation to reduce diesel emissions. He said those factors guided how staff and commissioners evaluated proposals and that he planned to publish his remarks online for public review.

No formal policy or approval followed from his remarks; the comments were presented as context and a response to community claims about secrecy and motives. Commissioners thanked the public for testimony and signaled further consideration of a possible pause on approvals.