A 57-acre data center project could be coming to Maysville, and the city just canceled a special called meeting regarding the project.

The special called "Q&A" meeting was scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m., but was canceled last week.

Their reasoning? Because the information was already presented on May 18 and May 28, and public hearings were conducted months ago according to the city.

The city still plans to hold their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday.

"Public hearings on this matter were conducted several months ago," a notice by the city read. "The Maysville Land Use Management Code does not authorize additional public hearings for zoning matters that have already been approved."

Previous informational meetings

Videos of the May informational sessions, posted by citizen Carissa Dawn Martin, showed a contentious back and forth between citizens and city officials.

"I'm not sitting down, f--- that. You want to arrest me? Here," a Maysville resident said at the May 18 informational meeting. "I want my water fixed, I want to be able to drink water in this city."

At the May 28 meeting, the pressure remained high.

"Our franchise tax from the city ... is in the neighborhood of ... $350,000," Mayor Richard Presley said at the meeting.

"Is that worth our kids' potential health?" a citizen asked.

"Yes it is," Presley replied.

The project

The project is on nearly 60-acres of land on the Jackson County side of the city, off of Maysville Road at 121 Industrial Drive and behind it on Meeks Road.

The developer is Germany-based Northern Data Group. A Developments of Regional Impact (DRI) form could not readily be located, but tax assessor records show they bought the property in two purchases in 2018 and 2021.

In 2018, they bought the four-acre property off of Industrial Drive for $67,170. It is now assessed at $2.2-million. In 2021, they bought the 53-acre tract on Meeks Road for $1.54-million. Its current assessment is $390,200.

Northern Data in hot water

An article from tom's Hardware and Data Center Dynamics in 2025 showed that European authorities were investigating Northern Data AG for tax incentive fraud.

The issue revolved around the 2023 purchase of Nvidia processors that the company said was for AI computing, but prosecutors suspect they were used for crypto mining instead.

After that news broke, Reuters reported that conservative streaming platform Rumble would purchase the German AI firm with a hard deadline set for Monday, June 1.

2024 press release

A 2024 press release from the German company has a quote from former city councilor Kim Wilmoth.

“We are excited to have Northern Data expand in the Maysville area," Wilmoth said. "This project is illustrative of the broader business growth in Jackson County positively affecting our city, and the company’s franchise fees for power will be used to support city expenditures. We can’t wait to partner with Northern Data as it advances construction on its data center.”

At the time, they pegged the data center at 120 megawatts with a capacity to expand to 180 megawatts with an expectation to be fully operational in early 2027.

A managing director for the company, Gary Tinkler, called it an "important piece" of their portfolio expansion in 2024.

“Its strategic location offers unique advantages, allowing us to implement best-in-class solutions," Tinkler said. "These innovative systems are at the heart of our long-term vision to revolutionize data center efficiency, and we look forward to a productive working relationship with Maysville to ensure that the local community can share in our success.”

Monday's meeting

The zoning had already been approved in January of 2025 according to the City of Maysville. The city still plans to host a meeting on Monday at 6 p.m.