Warrenton City officials made it clear Tuesday night that not only have they not signed any non-disclosure agreements with Evolve Energy Partners for the proposed data center to be located in Warrenton, they don’t believe that they could legally sign such agreements.
Alderman Larry Corder in particular said he did not believe city officials could sign non-disclosure agreements and asked Assistant City Attorney Bradley Pryor to look into and confirm whether Corder is correct.
The same officials also shared during a public comment at the Sept. 2 Board of Aldermen regarding the data center that they have shared all the information they know about the project.
The issues were presented during a portion of Tuesday’s meeting that lasted over four hours, where several dozen area residents voiced their concerns regarding the proposed data center and demanded answers from city officials about what they know about the project.
During the discussion, Mayor Eric Schleuter repeatedly told the overflow crowd in attendance that no formal proposal regarding the data center has been submitted to the city and therefore the city has no definitive plans to consider with respect to the proposed project.
During the meeting, Schleuter fielded a question about the legality of the annexation and zoning for the property, located north of the Warrenton West interchange, but as city officials did not have specific details regarding the annexation no answer was given at the meeting.
During a separate interview with The Record Friday afternoon, Schleuter said city officials had consulted with their legal staff and received an opinion regarding the proposed annexation. According to information provided by City Administrator Brandie Walters, under Missouri law, a city can annex property as long as it is “contiguous and compact” to existing city limits. That definition includes situations where the property is separated from city boundaries only by a highway or railroad, meaning the land is still legally considered contiguous to the city.
The city annexed the property the data center developer is considering in 2023, while a property south of the parcel was annexed in 2016, according to Walters.
During the meeting Tuesday Dr. Pamela Moehl asked the council why there weren’t a lot of answers regarding the proposed project, especially regarding how the proposed data center might impact the water table in the area.
Schleuter again responded to the request that no formal plans have been submitted to the city. He told Moehl there was no “smoke and mirrors” in the answers the city gave; city officials just don’t know yet the entire scope of the project.
He assured Moehl and those present at the meeting that there will be open meetings throughout the process where residents can voice their concerns on the project.
In fact, in response to questions about the environmental impact, possibility of increased electricity costs, noise-related factors and a host of other issues, the response from city officials during the meeting was consistently that no plans had been submitted yet and therefore no specifics could be given with respect to those issues. Schleuter told those in attendance he was taking notes and would present those questions to Evolve Energy Partners. During the meeting, Schleuter also mentioned that he had some brief conversations with Evolve, but only for about five minutes or so.
Alderman Brandon Lang mentioned during the meeting he would like to sit down and talk with Evolve about questions presented by those in attendance at the Sept. 2 meeting, but had not had the opportunity to do so presently.
Following the meeting, during the interview Friday, Schleuter added some additional observations.
He first reiterated that he personally takes pride in being transparent.
He noted that the data center was not the only project that had shown interest in the property located north of the Warrenton West interchange. Other businesses included a company that dismantles vehicles, a scientific research company and a major food production company.
He said the city’s goal for the property has always been to bring additional businesses to the area.
“We want to bring jobs here,” he said. “If I can get someone who is driving to St. Louis the same job here, I want to do it.”
He said that Warrenton has always been a family-oriented town and that he wants residents to be able to find jobs locally so that they can be around to participate in activities such as attending kids’ games and be closer to home.
Schleuter also commented on several residents asking during the meeting that the city effectively reject the proposed development.
“I don’t know that we can say no,” he said. “We can ask or put restrictions on certain things to ensure safety.”
Schleuter brought up the city’s recent legal battle with Dollar General, where the city initially rejected a preliminary plat for a second Dollar General store in July of 2024 at the intersection of Highway 47 and Isabella Drive, only to be sued by the company and effectively forced to approve the store on April 15.
He said rejecting a data center outright could get the city into legal trouble and that before anything happens one way or another they would have to consult with their legal representation.
With respect to increased cost of electricity to consumers, Schleuter again reiterated something he said during Tuesday’s meeting, that those concerned about energy costs have more of an argument with the Missouri Public Service Commission, who sets the rates, as opposed to the city of Warrenton.
During Tuesday’s meeting and again Friday the mayor reiterated that if work begins on any project at the site without approval from the city, a stop work order would be issued. He said work on wires and towers to run lines to the site is all in the county so if work begins on those, the city has no ability to stop that work.
Something that wasn’t discussed during the meeting Tuesday, but brought up by Schleuter Friday, is the tax revenues from the proposed project could be significant in the form of millions of additional dollars to the city for upgrades and infrastructure improvements. Other taxing entities would also benefit, such as the Warren County R-III School District, which could possibly see its current budget double from the windfall in additional tax revenue.
He reiterated that he wasn’t sold one way or another on the project, but promised that the city would do its due diligence before approving or rejecting any proposed project on the site.
