Morristown City Council to vote on data centers on October 20th

     Morristown City Council is having a public hearing and 2nd vote on their weak proposal to regulate future data centers being built in the city.  The current proposal has only a 500-foot distance from residences, schools, or government buildings. There are no limitations on sound (decibel levels).  It has no restrictions on water usage such as requiring a closed-loop water cooling system. They also need to have decommissioning requirements if the data decides to leave. There are a lot of unknowns that need to be researched before we allow data centers in our industrial parks.

     The governor of Texas recently enacted a moratorium on data center permits statewide. The city of Knoxville passed a one-year moratorium until July 2027. McMinville enacted an 18-month permit pause. Anderson, Morgan, Hamblen, Loudon, Washington, and many other Tennessee counties have also passed moratoriums. They are doing this to have time to do some thorough research and come up with guidelines that protect their citizens. Morristown needs to do the same.

     Please come to the meeting on Tuesday, October 20th at 5:00 at the City Center (100 W 1st North). There will also be a workshop meeting at 4:00. Public comments are encouraged at both meetings. You can also contact the mayor and council members by email.     

                         ASK THEM TO ENACT A PAUSE ON DATA CENTER PERMITS                                                           

                                                                         Mayor

                                Gary Chesney                             gchesney@mymorristown.com

                                                                   Council Members

                           Al Ahearn                                      aahearn@mymorristown.com

                          Chris Bivens                                 cbivens@mymorristown.com

                          Bob Garrett                                   bgarrett@mymorristown.com

                          Tommy Pedigo                            tpedigo@mymorristown.com

                          Joe Senter                                      jsenter@mymorristown.com

                         Kay Senter                                     ksenter@mymorristown.com