UPPER MOUNT BETHEL TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Chair of a township board of supervisors in Northampton County wants to set the record straight about where he stands on a proposed data center.

After hearing from opponents of the planned project in Lower Mount Bethel Township on Monday, we had the chance to speak directly with Supervisor Chris Cook to learn how he feels about the potential of replacing farm land with a server farm.

“We’re just a small, sleepy town and this is just, it’s been overwhelming,” said Cook.

Earlier this year, Cook and his colleagues on the Township Board learned the J.G. Petrucci Company and Peron Development want to put a hyperscale data center on open farm land. Cook said the push back from the community has been intense.

“It’s been hard. I mean I’ve been getting a lot of harassing phone calls. I’ve been threatened,” said Cook.

Cook has been specifically targeted thanks to a newsletter sent out by the IBEW, the union he’s a member of. It states in part that Cook is “working diligently to get this across the finish line.”

“My union, we talked about it, they found out about it, the development coming in, and yeah, I was excited about it. I absolutely was,” said Cook.

“But that changed at some point,” said Reporter Rob Manch.

“It did,” said Cook.

Cook said it changed at a town hall meeting hosted by the developers.

“I was at the meeting, and I was sitting in the back of the room, and I was like you’ve got to be kidding me. It was a big red area, and I’m like no way,” said Cook.

We put the question to Cook directly.

“Do you think the jobs that the data center would bring is worth the loss of that farmland?” asked Manch.

“I don’t think there’s nothing worth the loss of that farmland,” said Cook.

And Cook said he wants to get that across to as many property owners in the Township as possible.

“Maybe I could do something where I could set up an office hours-type thing and speak to residents. Really hear their concerns,” said Cook.

And Cook said he plans to do more research about what he can do to actually address those concerns with action.

“Can a Township push back against a project like this?” asked Manch.

“We’re going to find out,” said Cook.