-David Crowder, WRGA News-
The Floyd County Commission approved an 80-day moratorium on data center projects.
The move comes in preparation for an ordinance that would establish specific requirements for data center projects, including a requirement that each future project be considered by the commission after a public hearing.
Commissioners added the moratorium to the agenda by a unanimous vote after a lengthy discussion during the pre-meeting caucus.
“I would like to add to our previous discussion that we had in caucus,” said Floyd County Commissioner Scotty Hancock. It’s that, as a commission, we have only been aware of a vote for one data center, and that was in the Coosa area, and that was a rezoning issue. Any other data centers that are even being talked about have not come before this commission. This commission has not taken a vote on them. There has not even been anything filed on anything else that we know of, other than a Microsoft data center. So, that is only two within the county. Of course, the Battey property is in the city limits, so that is considered action that would be taken by the city commission.”
A proposed ordinance will be presented to the Planning Commission for its recommendation and is expected to come before the commission by late August.
Update on Historic Courthouse, LE Center
Commissioners also gave updates on several major county building projects. The Tax and Tag Offices have moved into the former Law Enforcement Center building and have been fully operational in that space since the Historic Courthouse fire.
Renovation work on the second and third floors of the Law Enforcement Center, including elevator installation, is underway and expected to take approximately eight months. Design work for the first floor is proceeding, and county staff continues to evaluate the best use for that space.
With work on the Historic Courthouse complete, cleanup is the next step. Permanent stabilization testing will follow to better assess the building’s long-term needs.
