Citizen recounts July Board meeting
Everyone heard the Disgruntled Californian (DC) Buchanan District supervisor refer to a “gigantic middle finger” at the Board of Supervisors (BoS) meeting last week. Doesn’t it seem as if she is the one making that gesture to Botetourt County?
Did she leave California because she couldn’t get her way? Just because she is seldom, if ever, able to convince the other four supervisors to see it her way, she criticizes them so that her puppets in the audience can applaud her as she has trained them to do. Ever notice the hand signals she gives to her disciples during the meetings?
What is her obsession with the Planning Commission (PC) that makes her feel that they are the only ones who can conduct an “unbiased” water study? Does she have financial concerns or contractual obligations that drive her to go on non-stop rants about it during the meetings?
The DC read the plan during the meeting, probably for the first time. Anyone can quickly see that there is a drastic difference between the efforts to get an unbiased report from the plan as opposed to letting the PC handle this.
Speaking of the PC, another disgruntled Californian who is from the Buchanan District is the main attraction. The disastrous performance witnessed at the PC’s 5 p.m. planning session on July 13 was not just an isolated look at his conduct. During the first recess at the meeting last Tuesday, he was shouting out profane expletives at a county official. Thankfully, his wife was able to get him to sit down and shut up!
But, that was not his only performance of the day. When (Supevisor) Snyder said he did not think the PC was unbiased, he jumped up from his seat and started to say something, but he was seen and halted by the chair before he could give everyone another look at his despicable behavior. You can actually see this on the YouTube recording. He quickly sat down before we got an encore performance.
Does the DC really think we need this “loose cannon” involved with the water study? Of course, she covers for him by calling his shameful behavior “great fervor,” all the while cackling about it as usual.
The DC proudly announced that she is the only member of the BoS or the PC who does not have a conflict of interest regarding anything to do with Google! She may want all of her disciples to think that she did not sign an NDA (the PC member she appointed screams and yells anytime anyone says they have signed an NDA, like he did regarding the proposed eye care facility in the Daleville Town Center), but she did sign one on January 13, 2026. Yet, she publicly declares that she does not have a conflict of interest regarding Google. Imagine that?
When she thinks something, she lets us know that she really, really, really, really thinks it. Does she think that makes it more important to others? As everyone has noticed, she interrupts or attempts to interrupt everyone. After she gave her lengthy speech opposing the plan and (Supervisor) Michael was making some very pertinent observations regarding it, she just had to interrupt him to ask a question. She does this frequently. Is it because she can’t remember it if she doesn’t get it in immediately? Why not make a note of it and let the one speaking be able to do so without interruption? Or is it possibly because she feels as if her viewpoint and questions are more important?
She called Snyder’s excellent presentation regarding the independent panel doing the water study “generic pabulum.” If anyone’s presentations lack intellectual depth, it most certainly would be hers! This must have been in the script for this meeting as other members of the Chronic Complainers Club (CCC) used the same terminology in their repetitious drivel.
After the county attorney answered her inquiry about what the law allows a PC to do, she stated, “That makes me dizzy.” It appears as if that is not all that makes her dizzy. And yet she loves to brag about allegedly being an attorney. When they were discussing procedure and “depositions” were mentioned, she let us know that she has deposed maybe a “bazillion” experts! That really makes me feel sorry for those experts!
She makes statements like she is “sorry if she is not really tracking 100% on this matter.” Is she tracking 100% on anything she does? She referred to the county’s source of water as coming from “Carson’s” Cove karst. She referred to the “West” Virginia Water Authority. She complains that she is routinely (almost always) out-voted by the other members of the BoS. After the motion was made and followed by a lengthy discussion and when there was a call for the question, she inquired about what motion upon which they were voting and then read it aloud. Is all of that maybe because she “isn’t really tracking 100%”?
Thanks to the three common sense members of the BoS who voted in favor of us getting a true and unbiased report about water. And we all know that, if it does not fit into the narrative of the CCC, they will want another one, another one, another one and another one, hoping to get the conclusions they really, really, really, really want.
Bob Patterson
Fincastle
Buchanan District
So, what have we learned…?
Writing a singular, cohesive letter about all the ridiculous things going on in our region is a task that is far more than daunting.
This is purposeful – a tactic often called “flooding the zone” – originally used in sports, sometimes in the military, and now on the battlefields of state and small town public hearings.
Within the last few weeks, Botetourt County, the Western Virginia Water Authority, our local and state politicians, and Google have thrown so much bluster and bagwash at us that it is difficult to wade through.
We learned at the Western Virginia Water Authority meeting on July 16 that supposedly the need for a Dal-Nita Hills pipe expansion resulted from PFAS found in their water? Strange, as the resolution listed in April’s agenda packet said, “to improve quality and pressure,” but nothing as serious as PFAS was mentioned. Minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings might have been helpful, if they had been updated since March. Residents have been asking for help with water pressure for years, but when Google came knocking those improvements began “for the good of the community.” Strange that the pipe will end in a T-intersection and allow an alarmingly high flow of water. Strange that PFAS are mentioned now, given that discussions regarding Dal-Nita Hills have been active for months. Shouldn’t there have been notices and/or water filters distributed? Strange.
We also learned that the vast majority of our elected and appointed officials have deserted their constitutional duties in favor of corporate interests – from the Boards of Supervisors in Botetourt and Franklin Counties blatantly ignoring the will of the people, to Ben Cline’s past campaign contributions from Google, to both he and Terry Austin ignoring constituents while welcoming contributions from and ties to Big Energy and Tech. Since Delegate Austin had time for a three-plus hour nightcap with Cathie Vick from Google after they both attended the annual Chamber of Commerce dinner, we hope he will allocate more time for constituent emails and listening sessions in the future.
At that dinner, we learned that Vick, Google’s Strategic Negotiator for Market Development & Policy and Global Infrastructure & Energy, is one of the many corporate pundits who continues to recycle the same old, tired propaganda. In her speech, she conflated hyperscale data centers with the much smaller and far less thirsty data centers that run our photo storage, GPS, and regular computing.
To be clear, the rapid expansion of hyperscale data centers draining our natural resources and destroying our health are a direct result of Enterprise-Level Generative AI, Crypto-Currency, and Flock and Palantir-level surveillance. In layman’s terms, that’s rich people getting richer on the backs of the working class – telling you your carbon footprint is to blame, not their private jets, and definitely not the air-cooling systems Google recently announced.
County supervisors and representatives from the Water Authority and AEP would do well to remember that they are far closer to the average American and to homelessness than they are to the corporate interests that seek to exploit our community. As one speaker at the Board of Supervisors meeting stated, “they do not care about you.”
Just ask Michael Rolband from Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality. In an article published in Politico’s E&E News on July 24t, Ariel Wittenberg exposed that “emails show how Virginia regulators downplayed data center health concerns.” Rolband has learned his cozy relationship with Big Tech has done nothing for him and has instead destroyed his professional reputation. The same day, Sarah Rankin from the Associated Press revealed the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality had long-delayed the release of a study that examined the groundwater supply. This study found sharp declines in Virginia’s critical eastern aquifer due in large part to the exponential growth of data centers. Botetourt and Franklin Counties as well as all others in our region should learn from these horrible and completely avoidable mistakes.
Speaking of Virginia, our state holds the onerous title of Number One IN THE WORLD… for data centers. By most recent counts Virginia has OVER 650 data centers either built, under construction, or approved. When you add the proposed numbers, we climb over 700. Our closest second is the entirety of the United Kingdom with 565. China has 376 and has slowed its production. Claiming the need to stay competitive is also corporate propaganda.
It is ridiculous that economic development associations and overlay zones further decrease protections for communities. It is outrageous that county supervisors and administrators would ignore the will of the people and instead try to circumvent it by appointing their allies to “independent” boards and their developer friends to the Planning Commission.
It is horrifying that rumors are circulating of drilling in Roanoke Cement’s old quarries and revisiting the Hipes Dam project. It is absurd that the county attorney has been set on a narrow interpretation of Virginia Code to keep the Planning Commission “in its place” rather than figuring out how to break overreaching NDAs. It is laughable that we must show up to every meeting to avoid missing any Freudian slips – such as the county attorney saying that the Board of Supervisors could tell their “independent” and “expert panel” what the board wanted the panel’s results to be.
It is unconscionable that citizens would need to scrutinize every move that our elected and appointed officials and utility monopolies make. Unfortunately, we have learned… that we have to.
Members of the Southwest Virginia Data Center Transparency Alliance
Is this what we want for future generations?
I am writing out of genuine concern for the future of my children. Not a small subject, but one I’m confronted with daily. I grew up in Botetourt. I couldn’t have imagined the changes that could shape this community, especially when the end goal is all about revenue. I am deeply frustrated with our county officials’ performance, especially around the development and growth deals that constituents weren’t privy to until the dotted line had been signed.
We can cut to the chase, the proposed data center feels like the last straw. One resident described it as a “knife in the heart” of Botetourt County. I fear this is true if you look at the detrimental effects these sites have had on other rural areas.
Some may claim, “You can’t stop progress!” – I love that one. Except when you break down the “progress” presented to Botetourt, the benefit isn’t going to be reaped by the future generations. In fact, these deals are but a blazing meteor and our kids will be left with the massive crater in its wake. We deserve honest answers around the dangers of putting a multi-phase data center near an elementary school. Noise at the constant level of a hyperscale data center hurts our children. A NIH publication, “Assessment of Noise Exposure to Children: Considerations for the National Children’s Study,” by Susan Marie Viet, et al. cites the alarming effects, including reduced cognitive function, inability to concentrate, and high blood pressure in children. This science isn’t new – Google and companies like it know better, and they are doing it anyway.
Furthermore, when Botetourt officials have been presented with a chance to prove their loyalties to the voters and taxpayers of this county, they have turned to pledge allegiance to large corporations, leaving us to wonder if money is really what drives democracy, and not the people like we’ve been promised.
Will this “independent board of experts” chosen by the county administrator and the Board of Supervisors really live up to their mission, or will they only represent Google’s interests too?
Amanda Taylor
Troutville
Data center not the only issue that officials face
I grew up in a strong Democratic home. Although I became a Republican and committed conservative long before the Obama years, I have never forgotten one important lesson my parents taught me: never support or oppose a candidate based on a single issue. Instead, look at the whole person, their judgment, and the full range of issues they will face once elected.
Unfortunately, that wisdom seems to be getting lost in Botetourt County.
The proposed Google data center has become the defining issue for many residents. Let me be clear– I am not in favor of the project as currently proposed, largely because of its proximity to so many homes and the impact it could have on nearby residents.
What concerns me just as much, however, is watching this become a one-issue county.
I’ve seen social media pages that once championed conservative values now openly embracing Democratic candidates simply because of their position on the data center. I’ve also watched Delegate Terry Austin be publicly criticized and harassed at community events because he did not respond in the way some people demanded. Healthy debate is part of our democracy, but intimidation is not.
Botetourt County and the Commonwealth of Virginia face many important challenges. Public safety, responsible spending, taxes, and protecting our constitutional freedoms all deserve our attention. The officials we elect and support will make decisions on all of these issues– not just one.
I hope everyone will take a step back and consider the bigger picture. Disagreement over a single proposal should not cause us to abandon the principles that have guided us for years or overlook the many other responsibilities our elected leaders must shoulder.
The data center debate will eventually pass. The leaders we choose to support– and the principles we choose to uphold– will have a lasting impact on Botetourt County for years to come.
Sally McGuffin
Blue Ridge
