FRANKFORT, Ind. (September 10, 2025) — Clinton County Commissioner Jordan Brewer speaking to a group at the Paul Phillippe Resource Center Wednesday morning informed those in attendance that the Clinton County Commissioners will not be voting on the data center September 16.
He said the reason not to vote is due to his not being in attendance and the desire that all three Commissioners need to be present. Liz Stitzel, area plan director for the county, will attend the September 16th meeting to present the “no” or “neutral” recommendation of the area plan commission to the commissioners. Indiana law requires the recommendation to be presented and the commissioners then have 90 days to vote on the measure.
Brewer further stated that the topic will come up at either the first or second meeting in October. His personal feelings are Doug Swain, the developer of the data center project, “cannot be trusted” and will be voting “no” when the topic does come up.
The data center project, initially presented to the city-county PIP (Partners in Progress) board in a brief 20-30 minute “speed dating” style of meeting in May, involves the rezoning of 115 acres by the city. Brewer highlighted that the developer proceeded with city planning meetings in July without informing county commissioners, leading to a breakdown of trust. He recounted telling the developer in a July 25th meeting that the developer had “effed this whole thing up” by making commissioners appear dishonest to the public.
A key concern for Brewer is the unknown “end user” of the data center. He stated the county’s consistent stance against rezoning without knowing who they are dealing with, as changes become “limited” once rezoning occurs. He gave a hypothetical example of a developer proposing one-story buildings, only for an end-user to demand 50-story structures, which would be difficult to stop once zoning is approved.
The developer of the data center is hosting a public meeting on Monday, September 15, 6 pm, at Willow Creek Barn located at 1575 Kirklin Brick Rd., Frankfort.
Several other matters were discussed at the public gathering.
Senior Services Funding: The Paul Phillippe Senior Center received $5,900 from the county this year, part of $100,000 allocated by the County Council for various community requests that typically exceed $150,000. Overall funding for the Senior Center primarily comes from United Way, totaling $19,000 annually.
A committee at the Senior Center prepared a report which highlighted that other counties provide significantly more, with some supporting senior services with hundreds of thousands of dollars. The county’s funding originates from landfill tipping fees, which provide roughly $1 million per year, though the portion allocated to commissioners has remained stagnant since 2017-2018. A renegotiated contract will introduce CPI (consumer price index) increases every other year starting in 2026.
Annex Building Construction: The county’s new annex building is slated for an October move-in, though the timeline was not met due to “craftsmanship” issues and what Brewer described as a lack of “pride in our ability to do things well anymore.” Many “little things” required fixing by subcontractors, not structural issues. The project manager for the annex will not oversee the courthouse renovation due to a perceived failure in holding subcontractors accountable; however, Envoy will continue on and serve as general contractor for the courthouse renovation. Brewer mentioned significant time was spent on minute details like interior signage to meet ADA and braille requirements.
Hydroponics Lettuce Development: A proposed hydroponics lettuce development south of NHK on I-65 has been in discussion for one and a half to two years. While it has a broader vision for an “ag tech park” designated by the Indiana Department of Agriculture, it has not yet secured a commitment letter and has not asked for abatements. Brewer noted that the project is largely automated, leading to few jobs.
Its funding, tied to an insurance company in China, has reportedly been held up due to US-China relations. The project is expected to use 300,000 gallons of water per day, which would help circulate water in an empty water tower in the area. Frankfort Utilities has kept the tower empty due to having to dump water from the tower due to lack of water usage in the area.
