CAVE CITY, Ky. (WBKO) – Cave City leaders voted four-to-one Monday night, approving the first of two required readings of a moratorium that would block data center permit applications for one year.<\/p>\n
Residents packed into Cave City\u2019s council chambers once again Monday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the fact that we have people from Simpson County, Franklin, and their huge debate and battle that they\u2019re up against, Owensboro, Bowling Green, because it\u2019s an issue everywhere,\u201d said Councilmember Leticia Cline. \u201cIt\u2019s in all of our backyards. And it matters to all of us. And I think if we all stand together and we go to their meetings, they come to ours, we support each other, and maybe we can get a statewide moratorium and eventually get ahead of all this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cline made it clear where she stands on data centers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do not feel that this is appropriate for our area,\u201d Cline said.<\/p>\n
The four-to-one vote marked the first of two required readings. Councilmembers Leticia Cline, Clifton Parsley, Andrew Bagshaw and Ronald Coffey voted yes.<\/p>\n
Councilman Denny Doyle cast the lone dissenting vote.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy vote means that I do not agree with the majority,\u201d Doyle said. \u201cI obviously believe that these data centers are two-thirds good and one-third bad, and they believe obviously the opposite of this. We just disagree. Because I have read studies from the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky. These things are not all bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked about Doyle\u2019s vote, Cline said she was disappointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really disappointed by the one vote that\u2019s no, especially after not really asking any questions about it,\u201d Cline said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how you vote on something without having an informative discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Several community members wore shirts reading \u201cMammoth Cave is not for Sale. No Data Centers,\u201d including local high school student Trace Brooking.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was out tonight advocating for my generation and the people after me, and even the people right now,\u201d Brooking said. \u201cThis is an issue that affects all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brooking said, an AP seminar class sparked his interest \u2014 he chose to research artificial intelligence and its growing role in society.<\/p>\n
\u201cData center communities, on average, pay 10% more in utilities,\u201d Brooking said. \u201cAnd Cave City, Kentucky lives at around a 30% poverty rate. So, this is something our citizens simply can\u2019t bear.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked what he\u2019d say to peers who don\u2019t share his knowledge, Brooking said, people are never too young to bring change.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say you\u2019re never too young to bring change,\u201d Brooking said. \u201cYour voice is never too young or too silent. Every single one of us has a voice and we have to use it. We have to use it to stand up against things like these that affect our communities and the people around us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second and final reading is Wednesday, May 20 at 5 p.m. If it passes, the moratorium takes effect for one year.<\/p>\n
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