Five weeks ago, the commissioners were deadlocked with a 3-3 vote on whether to impose a temporary moratorium on data centers. At Monday’s meeting, Commissioner Tripp Kester’s motion to add an agenda item revisiting the issue was met with applause from some in attendance.
"We need time to thoroughly investigate this situation, to let the citizens have input, to not just shove something down their throat before they've got time, like us, to fully investigate the pluses and minuses of this thing," he said.
The Board ultimately voted 4-2 in favor of including a four-month moratorium as an agenda item scheduled for October 26.
Commission Chair Karen Watford voted against the measure, saying the move would send a bad signal to businesses who would simply relocate their data centers, and the money they generate, to other nearby counties.