LA GRANGE — Concerns about data centers were again raised at the July 7 La Grange City Council meeting, with word that OLDA deems itself unrestricted by recent moratoriums and recently refused to put a 150-day pause on data center development.
Councilor Trey Kamer, one of the La Grange-appointed members of OLDA, first mentioned that he made a motion for the board to put a 150-day pause on data centers in the form of a moratorium on June 12, but that the motion was not seconded and thus failed to pass.
“I believe it came from our development partners and others in the room that they claimed that putting a 150-day moratorium on OLDA would send a bad message to the business community,” Kamer told the council.
“There was also a claim, which I think was brought forth when we passed our 150-day moratorium … that the city doesn’t have jurisdiction over Oldham Reserve even though that’s part of the city limits — I don’t really agree with that.”
City Attorney Beach Craigmyle said that OLDA has “semi-exclusive jurisdiction over its zoning, subject to review and recommendation by the Oldham County Planning Commission,” because Oldham Reserve has Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning.
Mayor John Black said that he attended the meeting as a guest and also encouraged OLDA to adopt a moratorium, but “a fellow named Chris George interrupted the conversation, he’s the attorney for Hollenbach Oakley, who is our private developer … [and said] there was concern that somebody was going to get sued …
“We have talked about this LOI, letter of intent, with this company since sometime last year … and they have shown a letter of intent as interest in the place, possibly … [George advised] the OLDA board not to do this for fear of some kind of lawsuit”
When asked if the company he was referring to was Western Hospitality Partners, the developers of the previous data center proposal, Black said “No, a different one.”
Oldham Chamber and Economic Development President David Bizianes then addressed the council, saying that though Hollenbach-Oakley’s attorney was obligated to advise the board that a lawsuit was possible, Bizanies does not think there was “any interest from the partners to sue over a moratorium.”
Bizianes also mentioned “the city’s transparency with OLDA,” citing the fact that Kamer is on the board; that Black, Cragimyle and Davenport all regularly attend the meetings; and that the two other La Grange-appointed members are the presidents of the city’s “two top employers,” Baptist Health La Grange President Clint Kaho and Encompass Develop, Design & Construct President John Stewart — the chair of the board.
“There is no fear that this community is going to have a data center proposed or an application put in place before the moratorium has ended and that there are regulations in place — I don’t think anybody’s concerned about that …
“The OLDA board is a development board; they are in the business of creating a tax base … and at the point that a data center or any other type of employer may want to have a conversation with them, I think they owe it to the community to at least go through that conversation.”
Citizen Don Erler addressed the council thereafter, saying that the minutes from the OLDA board’s meeting in November 2024 read that a developer was interested in pursuing a data center, but required OLDA to send a letter stating that a data center would be an acceptable project to approve, which the board unanimously approved Stewart to sign.
In other news, the council held a first reading for an ordinance that would amend the previously approved ordinance exempting individuals who provide entertainment services within license-holding businesses from business license taxes and temporary vendor permits.
The proposed amendment simply removes the word “temporary” from the ordinance, allowing for any entertainer to perform freely, as certain entertainers who perform regularly may not be considered temporary.
The council also held a first reading for an ordinance that would repeal all prior ordinances regarding personnel policies prior to the adoption of the city’s 2024 employee handbook. Craigmyle and Councilor Laura Taylor said that doing so would make the personnel policies more simply defined and adaptable.
Passing personnel manuals as ordinances is an old and “bad practice,” Craigmyle said, and the city would be able to make changes as needed by municipal order if the ordinance is passed at its second reading.
The council also approved a municipal order regarding the recently passed entertainment destination center ordinance, which will allow the city to organize an open alcohol zone in downtown La Grange.
The order amended the center’s geographical boundary to more clearly define that participating pedestrians could walk on both sides of East Main Street to access the La Grange Train Museum. The order also adds the Oldham County Fiscal Court Building and the renovated event space next door.
The next La Grange City Council meeting is scheduled for Aug. 4, 2025, at 6:30 p.m.