When asked about how the last few months have been, Cassville Town Chair Doug Schauff responded Monday with “rough.”
Schauff, like many people in his township, has been trying to swim on the hard current that has washed through after it was publicly made known a development firm was looking at placing a $1 billion data center in Grant County, and the Town of Cassville was one spot being looked at.
Because of the talk, rumors, and opinions, the Town of Cassville is planning a special meeting March 12 at 6 p.m. to determine whether they should take the first steps to become a zoned township.
The Town Board had considered an emergency meeting this past Monday, but because they would be looking at adopting ‘village powers’ which would allow them to look at zoning, they needed to follow proper posting procedures.
Initially, they wanted a meeting March 9, but to have proper posting in the newspaper, it is now March 12.
“We have to have the proper length for posting,” Schauff remarked.
Schauff has been part of the town board for “too long” he quipped - more than three decades. During that time, it has been a relatively peaceful time on the board, with the exception of the debate around the Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission line.
Now this is stirring up a lot of comment in and around the community.
The Town will hold this meeting, which is the first step they need to take to become a zoned township. Of the 33 townships in Grant County, 15, including Cassville are not zoned.
Without zoning, it limits public input for a project like this. It would mean only a review on the county zoning board level for certain items, like if the data center was close to the river shoreline.
By adopting village rules, “we have to do that step to possibly zone,” Schauff stated.
Earlier this month, more than 70 people showed up for the regular town board meeting - the most Schauff can recall ever coming to a meeting.
“It was a good meeting,” Schauff responded, noting that so many people spoke respectfully and the group had a good conversation.
Schauff said one of the biggest questions he gets is “tell me what’s going on,” to which he responds, “I wish I could.”
Not because he has been sworn to secrecy, but because he is in the dark as much as nearly everyone else.
Schaff was invited to a private meeting with developers about the project, and the meeting almost seemed like it was more about getting the reactions of those there than it was about any information released.
“Super vague,” Schaff shared, noting he has not been asked to sign, nor has agreed to any non-disclosure agreement. “They never gave out anything.”
He said from the maps shown they could roughly figure out where the data center would be proposed to go, but nothing came from them. “We don’t have anything,” Schauff said.
Schauff added that he has been working with Grant County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Ron Brisbois to lobby for more information to be released to the public, so they know what is being planned.
Schauff remarked that “we are a small town that hasn’t dealt with stuff like this before.” He and the board, and the residents are trying to get up to speed with information and what they should be looking to do.
Schauff, like many people in his township, has been trying to swim on the hard current that has washed through after it was publicly made known a development firm was looking at placing a $1 billion data center in Grant County, and the Town of Cassville was one spot being looked at.
Because of the talk, rumors, and opinions, the Town of Cassville is planning a special meeting March 12 at 6 p.m. to determine whether they should take the first steps to become a zoned township.
The Town Board had considered an emergency meeting this past Monday, but because they would be looking at adopting ‘village powers’ which would allow them to look at zoning, they needed to follow proper posting procedures.
Initially, they wanted a meeting March 9, but to have proper posting in the newspaper, it is now March 12.
“We have to have the proper length for posting,” Schauff remarked.
Schauff has been part of the town board for “too long” he quipped - more than three decades. During that time, it has been a relatively peaceful time on the board, with the exception of the debate around the Cardinal-Hickory Creek Transmission line.
Now this is stirring up a lot of comment in and around the community.
The Town will hold this meeting, which is the first step they need to take to become a zoned township. Of the 33 townships in Grant County, 15, including Cassville are not zoned.
Without zoning, it limits public input for a project like this. It would mean only a review on the county zoning board level for certain items, like if the data center was close to the river shoreline.
By adopting village rules, “we have to do that step to possibly zone,” Schauff stated.
Earlier this month, more than 70 people showed up for the regular town board meeting - the most Schauff can recall ever coming to a meeting.
“It was a good meeting,” Schauff responded, noting that so many people spoke respectfully and the group had a good conversation.
Schauff said one of the biggest questions he gets is “tell me what’s going on,” to which he responds, “I wish I could.”
Not because he has been sworn to secrecy, but because he is in the dark as much as nearly everyone else.
Schaff was invited to a private meeting with developers about the project, and the meeting almost seemed like it was more about getting the reactions of those there than it was about any information released.
“Super vague,” Schaff shared, noting he has not been asked to sign, nor has agreed to any non-disclosure agreement. “They never gave out anything.”
He said from the maps shown they could roughly figure out where the data center would be proposed to go, but nothing came from them. “We don’t have anything,” Schauff said.
Schauff added that he has been working with Grant County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Ron Brisbois to lobby for more information to be released to the public, so they know what is being planned.
Schauff remarked that “we are a small town that hasn’t dealt with stuff like this before.” He and the board, and the residents are trying to get up to speed with information and what they should be looking to do.
It is hard when they are largely in the dark. “I wish the company would come out with more……We don’t know what is going to happen.”
