Hart: Not Every Councilor Got Invite to Tour Ohio Data Center

IAA - Google exhibition stand — Source: picture alliance / Getty

INDIANAPOLIS — Questions surround how Google is lobbying for a $1 billion data center in Marion County’s Franklin Township.

I-Team 8 has confirmed Google invited multiple members of the Indianapolis City-County Council to tour one of its data centers in Ohio.

But, several councilors told I-Team 8 they never received an invite. They include Michael-Paul Hart, a Republican who represents the district containing the proposed data center site.

“It’s despicable. That’s the word I would use,” Hart said.

Hart has been vocally opposed to the data center project. He took the rare step of calling down the vote so the council could control approval.

Seventeen councilors have publicly stated their intention to vote against rezoning the 468-acre data center site, with the final vote scheduled for Monday.

Google’s purchase of the property is contingent on rezoning being approved.

Hart said, “I’m going to be making a lot of phone calls between now and Monday to see if anything does happen to change.”

But Hart doesn’t know what could happen behind closed doors to change those votes.

Four councilors have told I-Team 8 that Google invited them to tour a data center this week. An email shared by Democratic Councilor Jesse Brown shows Google requesting RSVPs for a guided tour on Wednesday of the Google data center campus in New Albany, Ohio, to take a “firsthand look at (Google’s) operations.”

The Ohio city of 11,600 residents is a suburb of Columbus.

Brown said the RSVP sent out on Monday was the first time he heard of the Ohio tour.

Republican Councilor Joshua Bain, who plans to vote against rezoning, said initially believed he was not invited to the tour, but, well after the planned tour, found the same email Brown had received. “I know a couple other councilors who have been somewhat more outspoken were not included in that invite,” Bain said. “I would hope that would just be chalked up to an administrative error.”

Hart said he never received an invite to the Ohio data center campus. He said, “What other secrets are not even being brought to light now? Then they want to come here and be this great community partner, yet they’ve acted in secrecy the whole time.”

Indiana’s Open Door Law requires any meeting with a majority of the council to be public.

Indy Economic Development Inc., a private economic development nonprofit for the Indy Chamber, said it did not organize the tour. The organization told I-Team 8 that, to its understanding, Google invited all councilors but none accepted the offer.

On Wednesday, the same day the tour was scheduled, Hart and representatives for the opposition to the data center met with a Google attorney and an engineer for a required meeting ahead of Monday’s vote to see if a compromise could be reached.

Hard said Google didn’t offer any major changes to the data center proposal, and both sides “didn’t get anywhere” on a compromise.

Democratic Councilor Brienne Delaney said she was not invited to the data center tour.

Democratic councilors Nick Roberts and Jared Evans, along with Republican Councilor Derek Cahill, said they were invited but didn’t attend.

At the Monday council meeting starting at 7 p.m. in the City-County Building, Google and representatives for the group opposing the data center will have 20 minutes each to offer presentations to the public ahead of the final rezoning vote.

While Hart hasn’t heard of any councilors publicly against the data center changing their stance, Democrat Councilor Ron Gibson, who supports the development, believes some votes could be flipped.

“I’m very confident. I’m asking them to hold the line.”

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