![\"\"](\"https:\/\/morgancountyusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/data-center.webp\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThat would be in addition to $200,000 from Morgan County and $800,000 from the State of West Virginia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Total value of the deal \u2013 $1.2 million. Which is the sale price for 147 acres on Sir John\u2019s Run Road. With a large pond in the middle of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is that it? And for what purpose?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was all too secretive at the Town meeting last night. The members of the council raised more questions than they answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Mayor of the Town, Greg Schene, told the meeting that \u201cthis is a pretty significant amount of funding to find and secure a generational water source.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAre you talking about a well?\u201d one citizen asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“No not a well,” the Mayor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhere is the water coming from?\u201d the citizen asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, when we decide a location, we will share that information,\u201d the Mayor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy do we need another source of water?\u201d another citizen asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur current customer base is just under 1,500 customers,\u201d said Town Council member and chair of the Water Committee Mary Lynn Hickey. \u201cOur water availability inventory is pretty much maxed out. And the county has all of these plans for development \u2013 Dan Ryan \u2013 we gave them water availability for 200 homes. (That’s the Dan Ryan development planned for more than 100 acress across from the Sheetz on Route 13. Why exactly did they approve that water availability if the town was \u201cmaxed out\u201d as Hickey put it?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe secondary water source will largely service the county and all of their development goals,\u201d Hickey said. \u201cOur current customers would remain on the town\u2019s water supply. The secondary source would not be mixed with the Town\u2019s water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen why should the town own the new parcel with the secondary water source if the water is for the county?\u201d another aggravated citizen asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d responded Town Council member Susan Webster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s for the county, why should the town own it?\u201d the citizen asked. \u201cIf the secondary water source is for the county, why should the town own the parcel?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe secondary water source over time could become the primary water source,\u201d Mayor Schene said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe waited for the county for six years,\u201d an exasperated Hickey said. \u201cBut we found it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s if the water is for the county and not for the town, why is the town involved at all?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No good answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The whole conversation was wrapped in secrecy. Can\u2019t say where the parcel is. Can\u2019t say what the yield of water is. Can\u2019t say what it\u2019s for. Can\u2019t explain why the town owns it when the water is for the county.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Which raises the question: Is the town doing the dirty work for the corporate powers that be at the state level \u2013 the powers who are trying to place massive data centers around the state? Is a data center coming to Morgan County? And is the secondary water source for the data center, not for the citizens of Morgan County, but for some far away big tech monolith?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just asking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After all, it was Governor Patrick Morrisey who rammed through HB 2014 in 2025 which shielded developers from having to share their data center plans with local communities and stripped those communities of any say over whether those data centers get placed in their communities. And the developers enter into non-disclosure agreements with local elected offcials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The secrecy of data centers has become a hot political issue in West Virginia, including right here in Morgan County, where Elizabeth Ferris has made it a centerpiece of her campaign for State Senator. She\u2019s running against Senator Darren Thorne, who voted for the Morrisey bill that fast-tracked data center development in the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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In Berkeley Springs last night, the Town of Bath Council passed a resolution to spend up to $200,000 on a parcel of land that contains \u201ca secondary water source.\u201d That would be in addition to $200,000 from Morgan County and … Continue reading