On the agenda: Lancaster View — DATA CENTER (Jul 13)

GARRARD COUNTY FISCAL COURT
REGULAR MEETING
HON. CHRISTOPHER T. ELLEMAN PRESIDING
JULY 13, 2026 @ 6:00 PM
15 PUBLIC SQUARE, LANCASTER, KY 40444
The meeting was called to order by Judge/Executive Chris Elleman.

Opening prayer by Damon Johnson.

Opening Pledge of Allegiance led by Willie Skeens.

MAGISTRATES PRESENT: Glendan Barker, Bobby Preston, Wayne Day, Chris Butner and Chris Davis

IN RE: 1ST READING OF DATA CENTER ORDINANCE
Judge/Executive Elleman went over some of the main points of the Data Center Ordinance. He
said at this time there have been no Data Centers who have reached out to Garrard County. They have
spoken to legal counsel at KACo. Garrard County does not have planning and zoning so they could not
institute a moratorium. He said the community will know about any proposals in advance.
Beth Carlin from District 4 was in attendance. She believes that the state should be looking at
Data Centers more deeply, as opposed to passing the burden to the county level. She quoted Proverbs
15:22 which says, “Plans succeed through many advisers”. She said we need more advisors on how
Data Centers will impact our long-term quality of life. There are devastating impacts to local animals,
nocturnal species and critical migration patterns. She expressed concern over the threat of big tech, or
hyperscale tech companies. She thinks the Ordinance should be strict and ironclad. She questioned
how changes can be made to the Ordinance and how those changes should be presented. She
proposed a Code of Ethics Ordinance amendment that states “No elected official, appointed official, or
employee of Garrard County, acting in an official capacity, shall execute or be bound by any
nondisclosure agreement, confidentiality agreement, or similar contract with a private developer
regarding Data Centers. No city or county official should ever sign an NDA that restricts the disclosure of
public business negotiations, public expenditures, or governmental decision making except where
confidentiality is expressly required by state or federal law.” She said transparency encourages better
decision making and accountability.
Judge/Executive Elleman said anyone could get a copy of the Ordinance tonight. The community
can reach out to him with any changes needed for the Ordinance. He said this administration and this
court have shown over the last four years that they don’t do backdoor politics. The court tries to be as
transparent as possible, with postings on Facebook and the county website. He said the biggest platform
that pushes AI for Data Centers is Facebook, and that is caused by us. Our Ordinance is based off of the
Kentucky Resource Council model Ordinance.
Angela Lee, from Boyle County, was in attendance. She suggested talking to residents who live
around Data Centers to see what they are doing to them. She said the noises disrupt horses and beef
cattle.

Ellen Hop was in attendance. She wanted to know the time frame of the second reading of the
Ordinance and the process. Judge/Executive Elleman told her the second reading would take place on
July 27, 2026. Her big concern was with the water quality. She is a former environmental consultant and
said it is frightening about what could happen. Dix River is threatened. She also suggested a robust
screening process in choosing a third-party consultant that will review applications for Data Centers
Kenneth Hurt was in attendance. He thinks we need a vote from the citizens within the city and
the county to get an overall picture of what they think about a Data Center. He’s concerned about what is
happening in Burgin, Boyle, Jessamine and Madison as we have a common water source. These Data
Centers use a tremendous amount of water to cool their systems. He doesn’t want to be told that he is
restricted on his personal water usage. He thinks we’ve opened the door for a Data Center to come in.
Judge/Executive Elleman said it’s crucial to get something done for our protection before the Data
Centers do try to come in. He thinks that is what the court is doing right now.
Magistrate Glendan Barker stated he had concerns over the setback limit. The Ordinance
currently says one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet and he would like to have that number changed to
two thousand (2,000) feet. He said the noise never stops and a bigger setback would help. Magistrate
Davis agreed.
Mary Jane McKenzie from Burgin was in attendance. She said the Data Center in Burgin has
sound that will travel for a mile and a half to two miles, which will go to Shakertown.
A motion was made to approve the First Reading of the Data Ordinance, with the setbacks
changed to two thousand (2,000) feet, by Magistrate Barker and seconded by Magistrate Davis. All in
favor.

IN RE: PUBLIC COMMENTS
Greg McNeill was in attendance. He just wanted to introduce himself as Senator Rand Paul’s
new field representative for the area and to make himself available.

IN RE: OLD BUSINESS
The fireworks show went well. There was one tragic accident at Herrington Lake over the
holiday. Ben Naylor Rd has been blacktopped. There will be a delay with the mow trim as the road
department is still working on flood damaged roadways to make them passable.

IN RE: PLATS
Simpson Rd – four lots behind the house that was sold on Burdette’s Knob. Tract A is 8 acres,
Tract B is 7 acres, Tract C is 10 acres, Tract D is 17 acres, and Tract E is 4.3 acres. They all have road
frontage and access. He does need approval since it’s over three tracts. A motion was made to approve
by Magistrate Preston and seconded by Magistrate Day. All in favor.
Maupin Rd – four tracts. Tract A is 5.8 acres, Tract B is 4 acres, Tract C is 4.1 acres, and Tract D
is 4.3 acres. A motion was made to approve by Magistrate Davis and seconded by Magistrate Butner.
All in favor.
Tanyard Branch – front tract with 15 lots. All lots have been approved by the Environmentalist.
Mike Powers and Freddie Green were in attendance. Mr. Powers said they were told several times along

the way that no approval would be given if the pending issues regarding Mr. Green’s easement weren’t
resolved. Judge/Executive Elleman replied that he said they would not approve any lots with Mr. Green’s
easement running through it, which this plat does not have. Mr. Powers spoke specifically about the
easement being impacted. Judge/Executive Elleman stated that the Fiscal Court does not have any
involvement since it is a civil issue. Mr. Powers also thinks that Tanyard Branch needs to be widened
due to the increase in potential residents. Mr. Green would like the vote on the plat to be held off until the
easement is surveyed to know exactly where it is at. Doug Gooch, with AGE Engineering, was in
attendance on behalf of the developer, and said they’ve mapped the easement and they’ve reserved a
30-foot non-buildable, non-saleable lot, to help protect Mr. Green. Mr. Green has an issue with the water
flowing through messing up his easement and Brian Smith also mentioned the increase in water. Mr.
Gooch said they have done nothing yet to increase the volume of water. Continued discussion occurred
unrelated to the plat. Mr. Green again asked to hold off the vote on the plat until they get something
settled or get the survey done. Judge/Executive Elleman reiterated that the Fiscal Court has nothing to
do with his easement or the property. Magistrate Barker would like to table the approval of this plat until
the next meeting and a second was made by Magistrate Day. All in favor.

IN RE: APPROVE COURT MINUTES
June 29, 2026, minutes were presented. A motion was made to approve by Magistrate Davis and
seconded by Magistrate Day. All in favor.

IN RE: APPROVE TRANSFERS
From:

To:

General Fund
01-5101-314-0
Contracts W/ Other Counties

$1,096.62

General Fund
01-5101-521-0
Jailers Insurance

Road Fund
02-9200-999-0
Reserve for Transfer

$7,821.73

Road Fund
02-6105-471-0
Road Salt

Road Fund
02-9200-9990
Reserve for Transfer

$665.72

Road Fund
02-6105-521-0
Road Insurance

A motion was made to approve the transfers by Magistrate Preston and seconded by Magistrate
Butner. All in favor.

IN RE: APPROVE BILLS TO BE PAID
01 – GENERAL FUND
911 Billing Services
Airgas USA, LLC

$6,222.90
$1,581.54

Amazon Capital Services
Amerigas
Animal Care Center
Kentucky State Treasurer
Bluegrass Emergency Response Team
Bluegrass Area Development District
Boundtree
CASA of Lexington
Central Record
Central Kentucky Sheet Metal, Inc.
Danville Office Equipment
Danville Office Equipment
Danville Office Equipment
Enterprise FM Trust
Environmental Waste Systems
Epperson
Foamfrat LLC
Garrard Quick Lube
Garrard Hardware
Good Neighbor Pharmacy
Greenscapes
Harp Enterprises, Inc.
Highbridge Springs Water Co, Inc.
Jennifer Seagraves
Kentucky Association of Counties
KACO Workers Compensation Fund
Kentucky Uniform
Ky Dept Rev ACH
Nuesynergy
Pitney Bowes Bank Inc Purchase Power
United States Treasury
Wex Bank General
Wilson Construction

$157.31
$1,528.37
$55.00
$4,415.00
$2,750.00
$2.480.26
$3,485.17
$5,000.00
$571.53
$5,120.00
$1,264.47
$501.26
$456.58
$6,813.21
$89.00
$1,103.99
$4,549.65
$774.75
$171.46
$291.75
$1,590.00
$1,683.70
$10.00
$103.50
$254,488.41
$67,745.70
$902.75
$53.05
$150.00
$65.92
$241.92
$6,260.26
$4,275.00
02 – ROAD FUND

The Allen Company
Cammle Ford
Crawford Asphalt
DMB Contracting, LLC
Enterprise FM Trust
Garrard Hardware
Highbridge Springs Water Co, Inc
Hornback Construction Company
Kentucky Association of Counties
KACO Workers Comp Fund
Mago Construction Company LLC
Mason Brothers
Moore’s Mobile Service
Morton Salt
Performance Feeds LLC
Power Plan
Weldquip
Wex Bank Road

$1,859.97
$5,625.00
$5,780.00
$1,429.24
$7,116.47
$57.97
$22.00
$143,637.32
$55,665.72
$12,047.31
$2,433.75
$84.99
$100.00
$57,821.73
$161.73
$214.67
$14.79
$5,840.38

13 – SOLID WASTE FUND
Enterprise FM Trust
Kentucky Association of Counties
Kaco Workers Compensation Fund
Wex SW

$5.00
$990.00
$328.68
$259.83

A motion was made to approve the bills by Magistrate Preston and seconded by Magistrate
Davis. All in favor.

IN RE: APPROVE LAST MONTH’S FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Judge/Executive Elleman stated that we had a goal of starting the year off at $9M and we started
at $9.4M. A motion was made to approve the June 2026 financial statement by Magistrate Day and
seconded by Magistrate Butner. All in favor.

IN RE: OLD RAILROAD GRADE ROAD BRIDGE UPDATE
Cammle Ford was in attendance. He said progress is moving on exceptionally well. Right now,
they are close to 40% finished. They will be backfilling tomorrow. They will set the box beams next
Tuesday. He said the bridge rails are six to eight weeks out.

IN RE: STORM REPAIR UPDATE
EMA Director, Wanda Shelton, was in attendance. She has been doing a lot of damage
assessments, mainly public assistance. Any time she does an assessment on a road, each stop signifies
an entry. The following list of roads for public assistance were entered into Survey 123:
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Jack Black Rd – 11 entries
Jess Ray Rd – 1 entry mudslide
Long Branch – 5 entries
Teatersville Rd – 7 entries
Bradshaw – 3 entries
Bethel Church – 3 entries
Hall Rd – 1 entry
Tommy Murphy – 4 entries
Sad Lane – 2 entries
Old Railroad Grade Rd – 1 entry
Hershel/Isaacs – 2 entries
Broaddus Branch – 3 entries
Three Forks N – every entry into and out of the creek
Locust – 1 entry
Boones Creek – 1 entry
Bill Layton – 2 entries
Tanyard Branch – 1 entry
Ben Naylor – 1 entry

She also had debris removal from Long Branch, Teatersville, Bradshaw & Jack Black.

Last week they called and requested FEMA go with them to do the assessments. Today they did
fifteen total individual assessment inspections and of the fifteen, nine were affected, five were minor, and
one was major. Now they have to wait for the President to declare as an emergency or not. Wanda
commended the county road department for doing a fantastic job in getting the county roads passable.
IN RE: BOONES CREEK ROAD
An estimate was presented from Crawford Asphalt in the amount of $9,984.00 to repair the
washed-out road on Boones Creek Rd. Judge/Executive Elleman said next year from KY-52 to the bridge
will have to be blacktopped. A motion was made to approve the Boones Creek Rd repair by Magistrate
Davis and seconded by Magistrate Barker. All in favor.

IN RE: EMS NEW AMBULANCE BIDS
Judge/Executive Elleman needed a motion to allow the court to start accepting bids for a new
ambulance purchase. A motion was made to allow by Magistrate Butner and seconded by Magistrate
Day. All in favor.

IN RE: COUNTY SURPLUS LIST
A list of furniture/equipment items was presented that are currently being stored in the basement
of the County Attorney/PVA office. This inventory consists of numerous chairs and dishes, as well as
other office equipment and small items. Judge/Executive Elleman needs approval to be able to surplus
these items. A motion was made to surplus the inventory by Magistrate Davis and seconded by
Magistrate Preston. All in favor.

IN RE: OPIOID ABATEMENT UPDATE
Judge/Executive Elleman presented the KYOAAC Annual Report regarding Opioid funding that
was recently filed. The fund ended the year with $405,429.62. The account is restricted on what the
funding can be spent on. Gunner Heise with the Jessamine County Jail said they’ve hired a re-entry
coordinator for the jail to help people who are addicted. He suggested this may be something that
Garrard County can look into for use in some of the funds.

IN RE: EXECUTIVE SESSION
Judge/Executive Elleman needed a motion to enter Executive Session to discuss litigation. A
motion was made by Magistrate Barker and seconded by Magistrate Butner.
A motion was made to exit Executive Session by Magistrate Preston and seconded by Magistrate
Day. No action was taken.

IN RE: ADJOURN MEETING
A motion was made to adjourn by Magistrate Butner and seconded by Magistrate Davis.

Hon ________________________________
Garrard County Judge/Executive