The November 5th, 2025 City of Hobart Lake County Indiana Common Council Meeting was called to order by Mayor Huddlestun at 6pm.
The Correspondence was then announced after the Minutes were approved. Chief of Staff and Department reports were submitted by City Engineer, Alex Metz, Public Works Director Kent Moore, and Board of Works submitted a demolition order. New Business was discussed whereby an ordinance authorized temporary loans to the General fund from the emergency fund. Another ordinance was submitted for the use of a Rainy Day fund, and an ordinance for the fee changes to the charges for municipal services be added for building permits
At the end of the Meeting it was time for public comment.
Jessica Gadberry (Hobart) stated her regret for not paying attention to what has been happening and is disappoint in the Mayor and the Council for what they have been doing to push the data center. She believes there is better use for this land and asked Mr. Kopil if he is aware of the number of people in the area that are on well water and how dewatering will jeopardizes people’s water availability.
Marie Fryar, (Gary) stated she is part of the No Data Center Group and provided information earlier to the Council regarding Data Centers. She noted they are not against progress . . . She expressed concerns about losing investment in homes and businesses and feels that no one is listening and no one cares. She noted that her report was noted in the minutes and asked that the Council review this report closely before any additional considerations or approvals are given. She then introduced Dr. Nick Brasovan who had provided the report.
Dr. Nicholas Brasovan, (Crown Point) stated he grew up in Hobart. Presently he is here as a private community member and reviewed his report that was submitted to the City Council. He noted there are 3 sections he will address from the report. As to Defining a Data Center, he referred to the City’s definition of a data center (HMC-154.007) which specifically provides for an off-site location for a business enterprise, institutions. He noted his past experience with working with data centers could be located all around the world and most of the higher paid employees of data centers are employed off-site.
He also noted the Lake County Ordinance 2590, adopted June 15, 2023, is more robust and includes artificial intelligence training or processing, image processing and cloud computing. He noted these data centers require high intensity computers with energy intensive components.
Moving on to the Data Center hardware and Power, he noted that data centers consume 10 to 50 times the energy per floor space of a typical office building. As AI and technology grows, data center energy use is expected to grow as well.
He noted his report includes an estimate of what the energy usage may look like and reviews the computer architecture as contained in his report. . . each AI Chip Performs trillions of mathematical calculations per second and to do this they consumer more power than other types of chips and produce more heat any other computer chip.
Purdue University has researched data center underneath the mathematics building on campus which is eye-opening and ear-deafening. He stated that a single prompt processed by an AI Application uses more than 10 times as much energy as a traditional search.
As to Data Center Cooling Systems, Air-Cooled syatems, “Dry Cooler” hybrid systems which are a closed-loop liquid coolant system, or Open Towers that must draw fresh water to replace water lost to evaporation and waste-water discharge. The dry cooler systems us little water but energy costs are high, whereas the open cooling towers use much more water but energy costs are lower. All of the cooling systems will need to periodically flushed and discharged.
The Data Center Footprint and the local pollution (including noise) that the Council has set limitations to 65 decibels at the property barrier but the City needs to be sure those requirements are met and that they are appropriate. Lake County Ordinances require unincorporated areas to be less than 55 decibels. The Potential risks of 55-65 decibel ranges may not cause hearing loss but could increase blood pressures, sleeplessness, and possible other cognitive function impacts.
In a Harvard Law article, published within the past 2 weeks speaks to the negotiation with utility companies and concluded with skepticism that utilites can provide the necessary services needed for a data center.
In conclusion, Dr. Bravsovan asked the Council to consider a 2-qay or a 1-way door. He noted that once you enter a 1-way door, it is hard to get back through if there were issues to be resolved. He asked the Council to choose the right thing. Mayor Huddlestun questioned the data center at Purdue. Dr. Brasovan state it is a super-computer system that has been in effect since the 1950’s.
Angelita Soriano (Hobart) requested a town hall meeting that included the Mayor, all city council members, the Plan Commission Members, the HSD Board Members, Data Center Developers and attorney, Nipsco, Indiana American Water Company, Gary Sanitary District and IDEM, and wants it recorded lived with space for over 1,000 public participatns. She requested the the Plan Commission continue their consideration of any requests related to a data center until after the town hall meeting takes place and feels it would be negligent to approve a fill permit without all the information being requested. Mayor Huddlestun state he would work work with her to coordinate a meeting with all the people she wants included but it will take some time coordinated the meeting. Ms. Soriano state that the fill permit should not be considered until the developer shows up to talk about their plans and provides answers.
Several other residents spoke up at the meeting including: Suzanna Enslen, Beth Blomilev, Linda Berendsen, Ted Smukler, James Rydlweski, Ada Young, Mike Myers, Cathy Csatari, Albina Venegas, Patricia Corey, Helen Engstrom, Jennifer Williams, Christine Pierce, Molly Arroyo, Barbara Koteles, Rod Cesar, and Justine from Portage.
Jennifer Wiliams stated she has heard that the police and fire personnel have been promised a 30% raise once the data center goes in. She noted that water is currently off in Amber Creek due to a water main break and this is before the data center goes in. The current infrastructure cannot withstand the current build-out and won’t be able to handle any additional use. Ms. Williams also mentioned that when she worked for NIPSO the company was offering a credit if people didn’t use their air conditioners because of excessive demand on the grid. if more demand is place on the grid, brown-outs will happen.
Albina Venegas, (Hobart) asked whether this was a “done deal?” Ms. Benegas noted there are 4-5 homes for sale now in Eagle Creek and people paid over $350K on their homes in this area and this proposal would destroy a lot of families in the area and affect the wildlife in the area. She stated the City is not acting in the best interest of its residents and wondered in the city would pay out on these resident’s home or help relocate them. She asked the Council to think about it and do the right thing.
Mike Myers (Hobart) expressed concerns about St. Mary’s Hospital being less than 2 miles away. He stated the noise from the data center will be deafening. He noted the OSHA standard is 85 and noise can cause psychologically and physically illness. Autistic Children will be affected and pets and wildlife will be affected. He also noted the radioactive rays will affect people, people who are tax payers. He wondered who will cleean up the Haz-Mat spills. He also wondered if the Fire Dept. will include training, equipemtn and man-power shortages.
T.J. stated that this is a region-wide issue, specifically with folling black outs. Preliminary site plans should be published on the City’s website and possibly a separate date center page on the website. He noted that SEA1 will be taking $& million plus out of the City’s budget and wondered how the city will deal with this. He continued that folling black-outs with hotter summer days will become more prevalent and the utility grids will go down.
Rod Caesar stated his mom’s house is directly across from the data center, and that houses around the data center are up for sale and they are not selling. He stated it is wrong that property values are being devalued and people’s livelihood and investment is being affected.
Patricia Corey said her doctor told here that if a data center goes in, she should not go outside.
A resident who identified himself as a lifelong resident who is a chemical engineer by trade stated he has the the chemical and seen the environment issues that carcinogens and noise decibels and is concerned about Robinson lake, Lake George, Izaak Walton’s Spring Lake and the residents well-being. He questioned the longevity of data centers and what happens when they become obsolete. he also questioned where the contaminate by-products will be disposed of and where the evacuation areas will be.
Cathy Csatari (Hobart) stated that she drives 61st Ave daily and questioned whether this road can handle the additional traffic flow safely with additional infrastructure and construction taking place along this busy road.
Beth Blomiley (Hobart) questioned whether the proposal for Hobart was for 6 buildings or 25 buildings and stated she believes it is a 4.67 Million square foot for the buildings plus another on million square foot for poser space and another one million square foot for asphalt which would equal a 7 SL Mall areas for the buildings alone. She also asked about the chemicals which may be corrosive and dangerous if leaks and spills occur and noted the environmental damage would be extreme and highly tosic. She also Mentioned SMR’s Small Modular Reactors which she state are basically nuclear power plants and asked the City Council to watch the State SB423 and 424 regarding SMR incentives. She stated she doesn’t want SMR’s, or nuclear power plants on 61st Ave.
Mayor Huddlestun asked if anyone else would like to address the Council and there was not further response.
Adjournment: Mortion by Mr. Claussen, seconded by Mr. Kopil, to adjourn the meeting. All aye, motion carried. The meeting was Adjourned at 9;25 pm.
Read Other News Reports About this Meeting . . .
See the NBC Chicago Report on this meeting here.
Five Things to Know about the Hobart Data Centers from INdiana Digest
Raucous crowd doesn’t prevent Hobart Planners from approving Data Center permit
HERE’S MORE RESEARCH LINKS:
NEW 2/25/16 The Hill:
Data Centers associated with Lung Disease
The report was compiled by Community & Environmental Defense Services (CEDS) founder and president Richard Klein, who has been working in development-related concerns for 40 years. Klein found that a single Data Center could pose negative health risks for people living at least 0.6 miles away, sometimes further.
Klein said air pollution risks come from data centers emitting nitrogen dioxide and tiny, inhalable particles that can harm peopleโs lungs. According to the National Institute of Health, the particles cause between 100,000 and 200,000 premature deaths each year.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE:
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5755114-data-centers-air-pollution-lung-issues-report/
5/27/25 National Library of Medicine
Data Centers Generate Significant
Noise, Air, Water, and Light Pollution
Data centers generate significant noise pollution, air pollution, water pollution, and light pollution primarily from diesel generators and Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. A recent model indicates that the U.S. data centers in 2030 could contribute to nearly 1300 deaths annually, resulting in a public health burden of more than $20 billion. To protect communities, policymakers and industry must proactively mitigate these health risks. Key strategies include: (i) Power data centers with renewable sources and replace diesel generators with battery storage or fuel cells to eliminate exhaust emissions. (ii) Use advanced cooling technologies to reduce water use and recycle waste heat, alleviating local water scarcity and enhancing energy efficiency. (iii) Mandate public reporting of data center pollution.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12273412/
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Susie Young Baxter, CEO, has published PanoramaNOW Magazine for 31 years. Her hobbies are Camping, Boating, Hiking, Nature, Gardening and Outdoor Activities. She is an Artist, Graphic Designer, an Avid Seamstress, Dabbles in Homemade Crafts and Landscaping. Since her Father was a Health Teacher, she also likes homeopathic Health Solutions. Since blogging started over 10 years ago, PanoramaNow has been added to Newsbreak – a national news affiliate.
