MORGAN COUNTY — Arguably the most important discussion that occurred during Monday night’s Morgan County Commissioners meeting was not on the agenda.
It was an update from a representative of AES Indiana to the commissioners concerning the new high-voltage electrical lines planned to run from the generating station on Blue Bluff Road to the new Google data center just outside Monrovia.
In anticipation of a potential crowd, the county had prepared the meeting room by setting up a large number of chairs for those who they thought would be attending the meeting to hear from the AES representative. While there were a few people in the audience, no one appeared to be on hand for the unadvertised discussion.
AES government affairs manager Jeff Cummins told the commissioners the company had settled on the route the new line would take. He said it will cost around $83 million and affect “roughly 86 landowners.” Cummins said letters are being sent out this week to those property owners who will be affected. He said work would begin in the fall of 2028 through 2029.
The line will require a 200-foot easement along the approximate 10-mile route, which translates to about 240 acres of land.
“Google represents a significant new demand that we have a legal obligation to serve,” Cummins said, adding that the new line would not be a “dedicated connection” for Google. “Once built, the new connection will serve our entire network of transmission.”
When asked by the commissioners why they did not try and run the line though Bradford Woods — which is government owned by way of Indiana University — Cummins said due to the “complicated landscape” of the property, there were too many costly hurdles to overcome trying to use it.
He said the line would not affect current costs for electricity for customers.
At present, state law requires that “large load customers” pay for at least 80 percent of associated construction costs, which is what Google is requesting according to its recent state filing.
Commissioner Bryan Collier said he remembers four or five years ago when AES approached the county “long before discussion of data centers or Google” about power needs in that area.
“It was stated all those years ago that it was coming,” he said. “So part of my decision-making on the data center was it’s much better to have Google pay for this than the residents.”
“We’re glad that these large-load users are going to cover the cost that will deliver additional service, reliability, resiliency in the system that we need,” Cummins said.
Farmland leasing?
County administrator Kyle Swalls asked the commissioners about the leasing of farmland the county owns, which was acquired after the 2008 flood.
Money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was used to purchase the flood-damaged homes.
Under terms from FEMA, the land cannot be used for anything other than farming or like use. No permanent structure can be built on the land.
Swalls asked if the commissioners still wanted to rent the land for farming.
Commissioner Don Adams wanted to know why the county had the land and if it could be used for anything else.
Swalls and the county attorney will look at the land and see if it can be used for anything else. The issue was tabled in the meantime.
In other business
- The commissioners approved applying for a grant for the highway department that will be used to pay for paving in 2027.
- They tabled a request from the county’s emergency management agency to dispose of the decontamination trailer. The trailer was purchased several years ago and except for training, has not been used otherwise.
The agency wants to give it to another county that will assist Morgan County if there is a hazmat incident, and the trailer is needed.
- A contract with the company that does aerial photography for the county assessor’s office was tabled to give the attorney time to review it.
- They held a first reading of an ordinance that sets up a “continuity of government operations plan” — an operational protocol to follow if disaster strikes and affects government operations.
The renewed effort to dial in and approve the ordinance was prompted by the recent nearly three-week closure of the judicial campus and administration building due to a suspected carbon monoxide leak.
- An ordinance that makes changes to the county’s policy handbook was given a first reading.
The changes include prohibiting animals in county buildings other than service animals permitted by law; restrictions on “scent” that can be used in offices, including “toxic” scented plug-ins; and fire prevention prohibitions, including candles.
- They approved the county employee safety manual and the county fleet policy.
- They approved the two contracts for about $100,000 with the Morgan County Humane Society for animal control emergency services and regular hour services throughout the county.
The county council previously approved funding for animal control “in good faith” before the contract could be ironed out, according to commissioner Bryan Collier.
Adams wondered if municipalities are paying for their own animal control, but according to the county attorney, the answer was no.
“There has been a discussion about overhauling the entirety of the way this is handled in the future,” said county attorney Anne Cowgur.
- Finally, they sent a tort claim to their insurance carrier to review.
The tort claim is from a former female employee of the Gregg Township Fire Dept. and alleges former township fire chief Charles Heflin violated her privacy when he allegedly set up cameras in the fire station and photographed several female employees.
Heflin was charged on related felony charges in June.
She alleged both the department and the county erred when Heflin was hired by the township. She alleges Heflin had a prior arrest in Illinois for child pornography that should have made him ineligible to be hired by the department. That alleged arrest occurred in 2002.
She is asking for $10 million in damages.
The next scheduled commissioner meeting is Oct. 5 at 9:30 a.m. at the administration building, 180 S. Main St. in Martinsville.
