Conway, Arkansas: Release Full Public Information on the Lollie Road AI Data Center Deal

To: Mayor Bart Castleberry, Conway City Council, and Conway Corporation

In April 2025, the City of Conway rezoned 160+ acres of Arkansas River bottomland along Lollie Road from agricultural land to Heavy Industrial (I-3) — quietly, without public announcement, and without a single environmental review on file.

A Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA-2026-76) has now confirmed what many suspected: the city negotiated a $1 billion deal with Forgelight Ventures, LLC to build a massive AI data center on this land. The deal includes a 65% property tax abatement for 30 years — money that will not fund Conway schools, Conway roads, or Conway services.

Here's what we know from the released documents:

— The Memorandum of Understanding with Forgelight Ventures was stamped "CONFIDENTIAL, TRADE SECRET INFORMATION, NOT SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE REQUESTS" on every page — yet it was released under FOIA. When asked separately about NDAs and confidentiality agreements, the city said it had "no records responsive."

— Portions of the rezoned property lie within the 100-year floodplain. The city has zero environmental review documents on file — no ADEE assessment, no Army Corps of Engineers coordination, no EPA correspondence. Nothing.

— The project promises approximately 50 jobs. At $1 billion in investment, that is $20 million per job — subsidized by a 65% tax break that lasts three decades.

— Conway Corporation's cooling water is central to the deal. Residents have already raised water supply concerns in writing to their aldermen. One alderman replied acknowledging the concern. No water impact study exists.

— The rezoning applicant was not the developer — it was the Conway Development Corporation, filed on behalf of a private landowner. Forgelight Ventures is not named anywhere in the rezoning application.

This is not an argument against economic development. Conway deserves good jobs and investment. But $1 billion deals that reshape our river, our water, and our tax base for 30 years do not belong behind confidentiality stamps. They belong in front of the public.

We are asking Mayor Castleberry, the Conway City Council, and Conway Corporation to:

1. Release all water usage agreements, rate structures, and utility impact assessments related to the Forgelight Ventures project.

2. Commission and publicly release an independent environmental review of the Lollie Road site, including floodplain impact and Arkansas River corridor effects.

3. Hold a public town hall — not a planning commission meeting, a real public forum — where Conway residents can ask questions and receive direct answers about this project.

4. Clarify the contradiction between the city's claim of having no NDAs and the confidentiality markings on the released MOU.

5. Disclose the full terms of any utility rate deal with Forgelight Ventures, and how those terms compare to what Conway residents and small businesses currently pay.

Conway has celebrated the Arkansas River at Toad Suck Daze for over 40 years. Hundreds of thousands of people come to this city every spring because of what this community is — a place that takes care of its own.

That river, that bottomland, and that water belong to this community. We deserve to know what's being built on it, who's building it, and what it will cost us.

All petition signatures are real and verified. We do not inflate counts.

Documentation and all released FOIA records available at: toadsdontsuck.org