Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Picture... I just... Okay.

Okay. Let's just say all six definitions. If you want to look at that

we have a word document that explains all six definitions.

Don't you? Yeah, all the source documents.

(Recited in unison.) I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right. As usual, we start with public comment. Obviously, we have a nice crowd here tonight. And I'm gonna make my own comments first before the public has a chance to comment. I know at last week's meeting, I made an apology on the behalf of the township and the board of supervisors if residents had felt disrespected. I just wanna remind everyone that respect is a two-way street, and that we expect the residents and those in attendance who are non-residents tonight just to respect the people that are giving the presentation, respect the staff, respect the people up here on the dais, and respect each other.

Sometimes it's very hard for people to hear when there's a lot of chatter and noise in the crowd. So if you please just, again, keep that in mind, that respect is a two-way street. The other thing that I just wanted to say, it's a little disheartening to me that I've heard a number of times over the last few meetings that people have come up and made public comments, and they said, "Well, it doesn't matter because it's falling on deaf ears." It is. And...

Yeah.

Yeah. And it's frustrating, it's disappointing because there's a lot of us that spend an awful lot of time reviewing these plans, talking to engineers, talking to the developer, communicating with residents, whether it's in email, you know, whether it's in personal conversations. And I just wanted everyone to know that for me personally, it's a very frustrating and disappointing thing. But we'll start with public comment. Again, public comment is for only township residents or taxpayers of Middlesex Township. It's obviously a big crowd. You're limited to three minutes. And you get one chance to speak during public comment.

Again, this is for items that are not on the agenda. So anything that has to do with the data center and PAX-1, we'll have those after we get the presentation from the developer. So...

My name is Vazquez, Oak High Lane, Country Manor West. Today I wanna say something about the decommissioning.

This information is a technical reference model and not a mandatory law in Middlesex Township. But the email I found under the Right-to-Know is key evidence of intent and knowledge in Middlesex Township. If the zoning officer says that the local ordinance does not require a decommissioning plan, it technically mirrors the current text of the Middlesex rule. However, the contradiction with internal mailings opens up an important avenue of action. How to interpret the 2026 Data Center Ordinance Guide. The Data Center Ordinance Guide, co-created by Montgomery and Chester County Planning Commissions, serves as the best practice standard for the entire state of Pennsylvania. What does it say about decommissioning?

The guide specifically states, pages twenty-three through twenty-four, that a data center should not be approved unless the developer submits a formal decommissioning plan. Requirements suggested by the guide. Requires the removal of all surface structures, mitigations, and removal of hazardous materials, such as backup batteries and cooling system chemicals, and the restoration of the soil with native vegetation once the data center ceases operations.

Financial guarantee. Do you recommend requiring a performance bond? If the company goes bankrupt, the municipality will have money to clean up the site, and it will not be abandoned.

How do you provide it? Since Middlesex is an independent township, Cumberland County, Montgomery's guidelines do not legally bind it. However, internal emails change the situation.

Well, here I have a lot of email exchanged with Phil Neiderer, Barbara Blain, Andrew Giorgione, Mark Carpenter, talking about the decommissioning plan.

If city officials internally discuss the need for decommissioning of the data center, but publicly the zoning officer says it is not necessary, it shows that the township is aware of the technical risk, but decide to omit the lack of inclusion of these protections. Why? In Pennsylvania, the Sunshine Act prohibits land and utility deliberations from being handled without residents' knowledge. If the mailings show that they conceal discussions about the long-term safety of decommissioning, it may be an argument in public hearings. What if the municipality didn't require it, and how to proceed? If the zoning officers didn't require it, the Paxson project risks becoming a huge abandoned industrial skeleton in the future of AI technology changes.

Official and accurate sources of this information. The Montgomery County Planning Commission, through Pennsylvania Data Center Ordinance Guide, will utilize DEP's repository, as well as the Sunshine Act, regulated under 65 Pa.C.S. sections 701 to 716.

Similar case. Challenge in Fall Township, twenty twenty-six, declared part of its own zoning ordinance as substantially invalid as a preemptive legal strategy to buy time and curb the uncontrolled proliferation of the new data centers.

Okay. Excuse me, that's gonna have to be it. You've well exceeded your time. If there's additional things you wanna submit to us, certainly you can do that. And along the way, we'll discuss, you know, potential of decommissioning the project.

My name is Andrew Dymski, and I live at Bernheisel Bridge Road. I just wanna take a moment to pray at the beginning here. If anyone wants to join me, you can bow your heads. Our Father, God, we give you thanks and we give you praise for the glorious weather, this beautiful day. Thank you, God, that we can all gather together here to participate in our civic rights as Americans. Lord, we thank you for the freedoms that we enjoy. I pray that your presence might be felt here tonight. I pray for our leaders. I pray for Chairman Geistwhite, for Vice Chairman Neiderer, that you might bless them, Lord, as they make decisions here tonight.

Lead them and guide them. You've placed them in positions of authority. We ask that you might give them just wisdom beyond themselves, by your power, and I pray for all the residents gathered here today, Lord. This is just an anxious time. It's a contentious time. I pray your peace might reign, that we might see and treat and communicate with each other as image-bearers of you, that we might be honoring unto you, that we might be stewards of the freedoms that we have, of this world that we've been given. And so we ask all this in the mighty name of Jesus.

Amen.

Hi, I'm Stan Shivell, Teaberry Drive. I'm a resident in Middlesex Township and a taxpayer.

I wanted to go over something that I brought up before, but we didn't get quite all the way through it. It's the Middlesex Township Comprehensive Plan that was used at the time of the discussions about the data center. The land use provision in this plan states their goals are to provide for reasonable amounts and distribution of residential and non-residential land uses in attractive and well-located settings, and also to protect sensitive natural, scenic, and cultural resources. It also goes on to say, it encourages priority considerations to be given to agricultural, recreational, commercial, office, and residential land use. It says encourage open spaces development that provides and protects open areas.

It says to focus on the protection of Conodoguinet Creek, the Letort Spring Run. Create a development theme for the township that honors the township's historical rural character. It also says encourage new industrial and light industrial uses to occur as infill development adjacent to similar existing uses. Coordinate land use with adjacent municipalities and other regional planning projects. It also states, under agricultural preservation, to consider the primary function of rural areas is to maintain open space, protect native habitats. See, you guys didn't follow your own rules. Inform adjacent municipalities about land use matters involving parcels that abut neighboring municipalities, and to amend where necessary. Yet, when concerned citizens from Carlisle and Monroe Township came here and wanted to express their concerns, you said, "Nope, not a resident, you can't speak." Under the Environmental Resources Action Plan, it says sustain and enhance the township's sensitive natural environmental resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

When people want to speak, this kind of goes right into it. Encourage protecting within reason the township's sensitive natural resources, including floodplains, wetlands, woodlands, slopes, so on, Appalachian Trail. Yeah. Letort Creek and Conodoguinet Creek and other stream corridors. And I'll get to it. We have a population in twenty twenty-five of seven thousand six hundred and thirty-six people in this township. You only relied on people in the township who didn't have the expertise to give you the knowledge. Okay? So people wanted to come in, they wanted to tell you, "Hey, we have a problem with this, and this is why." "Do you live here?"

(A voice from the audience: "No." "Get out.")

You know you did that. And the other thing, Mr. Solicitor, did you tell the board that once you approved these overlays, that was it? You could get sued? Or were you so incompetent that you didn't mention it? Well, that's the answer we get. That is the answer.

Well... Dr. Castrina, welcome. I'm just gonna ask you to hold your comments until after the PAX-1 presentation, because I think your comments tie into the construction project. Thank you.

Good evening. Earl Beam, here at Country Club Road. Thank you for my three minutes. My question has nothing to do with PAX-1. My question is about the township. I don't figure out how you can do, like, a zoning board or whatever, planning commission. I've never seen anything ever advertised in the paper myself. So let's just say, for example, there's three people submit resumes, or however, and so I submit one, very highly qualified, but somebody on the board doesn't like me, so I'd be discriminated against, and I would never have a chance to be elected. So if we're more than two people, why is it that we can't have an election like the elections we have for everything else?

I mean, isn't that fair? Isn't the rest of the people be discriminated against? Let's just say three people. Dozens of residents have any say, do they want on one of these boards? I've never seen anything advertised. I run for something, but how do I know what's going on? I have no idea what the terms are. I see tonight, thanks to the ladies for being voted in tonight. I appreciate that, don't get me wrong. But I think there needs to be some changes be made where the citizens actually know, where the residents know, you know, we can have a say in it. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Jason Bullock. I live at Golden Drive, Carlisle Township, and also a Middlesex resident. Mr. Commissioner, you did bring up respect earlier. So I have some questions along those lines about respect. So I'd like to read an email exchange between the solicitor, Mr. Brenneman. From Keith Brenneman to Charles Courtney.

"Charlie, Bud spoke to me about this yesterday. I do agree with him that blasting implicates the SWMO, and that activity would need to be addressed as part of the plan approval. I don't know if your client would ask for a waiver of that requirement, but my advice to Bud and the board would be not to grant it. Allowing a waiver that will turn into a public fecal vortex."

So is that the kind of language that we support here? And then we had a laugh after it. I mean, it's all public. You can read the whole exchange. I'm not gonna belabor the point. I'm not gonna waste everybody's time. I was the one that made the comment that my comments were falling on deaf ears after I felt that we were basically being advertised to by a commission that's supposed to be checking these decisions, not promoting them. So forgive me if you feel that I was being disrespectful, but again, it is a two-way street.

I have some general PAX-1 comments. Is that okay for now? Or should I...

No, you'll have to wait. Thank you.

John Manta, Wolf Ridge Road. I discussed at our last Board of Supervisors workshop a couple of studies that were conducted by Cambridge and by University of Arizona and a number of other folks. And I have those studies here for you, Bill, that I'm gonna give to you here in just a second. You talk a lot about Virginia and how great Virginia is and how much they love data centers, and I'm reading an article here that says, "Living Hell: Data Center Neighbors Grapple with Noise and Air Pollution." And that came out of a family right from the area of what they're calling now, I guess, as the Data Center Alley in the northern part of Virginia.

So there's that one that you can take. I'd like you to take a look at it and at least think about it. Okay? Another one is a study that's done again by another university. "Data Centers' Infrasound Pollution Linked to Nausea, Insomnia in Nearby Residents." It's also been linked to a number of different things like reproduction in animals, deer, cows, and whatever. But the clearest of the two is the data heat island effect, which we are about to encounter. And someone mentioned that it was only one degree. And I'll give you these papers to read.

I'm not gonna read them. I only have three minutes, and we can take three days to go over this. And so I just wish you take a look at them. I'll pass them to the secretary, and thank you for your time today.

Is there any other public comment not on PAX-1?

It's just a question. It's not a comment, it's just a question.

We don't answer questions during this moment. This is just comment only.

Okay. There is no comment. Oh, well. It's okay. It's okay.

All right, if there's no other public comment, we'll move on with the agenda.

I do...

MS4 stormwater.

I do have a comment.

Okay.

(Voices in the room: "Could you speak louder, please? Use the mic." "State your name. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." "Lynn, you said?")

Okay. I live on Middlesex Road. I've lived here a long time. Lynn, and the last name's Ryan, yes. Mm-hmm. Thank you. You're welcome. I've lived here a long time. I lived here so long, there weren't even red lights on the Carlisle Pike.

I would sit outside in my back and there'd be deer, and there'd be birds. It was beautiful. I'd sit on my front porch. I can't sit on my front porch anymore. I really feel that everything is driven from money, just from all the warehouses and some of the things that are going on up at the Pike. It's kind of like when you drive up there, it's horrific. I don't even wanna say I live that close to some of the things happening up on the Pike. I don't think we have the infrastructure in place to handle what's gonna happen, or even the additional people that are coming into the township.

I feel really bad for the development that was just built across from the data center, and the man that lives over there, directly across from it. It's mind-blowing. It really, really is. I think we need to think about the people. We're the ones that pay you. We're the ones that vote. Yeah, it's a different place now. Real, real different. Actually, two years ago, I had a realtor come to my home and she said, "Don't put another cent in your house. You won't get it back." Why? Because of where you live. That's all I have to say.

Just a quick question. Jocelyn Collier, Bernheisel Bridge Road. Are we making sure that we're not over the maximum load here of people? And there's people outside that can't get in. So is there just a solution to that, or

yeah

...is this a violation of the Sunshine Act? Like, we need... Are we... Is anybody looking at that?

It's not a Sunshine Act issue. It really is maybe an occupancy concern for things.

It's not a Zoom situation.

And if you, you know, it's the size of the building we have. We can have it in a bigger forum, I guess, if...

Cancel.

We're not gonna cancel. We're gonna keep moving. All right. Of course. MS4 stormwater. Gary, update.

The only thing we have is we're gonna have a regulatory audit on Monday by DEP for our grant that we have.

Okay, good. They are finished with the one over here off... They are just about finished. Okay.

All right. Next, we need the approval of minutes of July first and July thirty-first, twenty twenty-six. These have been provided in advance by Eileen. I'll make a motion to approve the minutes of July first and July thirty-first, twenty twenty-six. Do I have a second? Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Motion carries. I'll make a motion to authorize the payment of bills for August twenty twenty-six. Do I have a second? Second. All those in favor? Aye. Report, solicitor? No report tonight. Engineer? No report tonight.

Police?

(A reply: "We don't have jurisdiction, so I'll take the record")

I just wanna thank the police for what they did last night at the National Night Out. It was a wonderful event, great turnout, good support by the community. It was a great event and hopefully something you guys do on a yearly basis. It was very impressive. Fire, please. Mine has been entered. It's a record? Okay. Zoning, Mark? I have my report. You can take it for the record. Codes enforcement, Gary? You can take mine for the record.

Municipal authority?

You can take mine for the record. Those entries will be recorded along with the next rep. Okay. Roadmasters, maintenance?

So you have my report there. The crew has been working on doing a lot of roadside mowing over the month of July. They also did some replacement of some storm sewer pipe at inlets down at Cloverleaf Acres out on Oak Ridge Road. Those were the large projects. We had a mishap with the spack pad.

We had a thing develop... Are we using the microphones?

I'm sorry.

It's hard to... (voices: "Can't hear you." "...to hear you.")...had an internal go bad in the spack pad, so we got that replaced and back... Secretary-Treasurer, anything?

Yes. You have in your packet the bank reports that I give you each month, the one being from the Cumberland County Tax Bureau. It's a comparison of month to month and from last year to this year. Middlesex is faring well in what they're receiving. Great. You also have in there the treasurer's report with all the fund totals.

Yeah.

The investment that we made with the PLGIT, for the capital reserve account, that was opened in June, and you can see we've already gained some interest with that amount. Unless you have any questions on those reports?

No, thank you. Other questions? No, I'm okay. Recreation and parks?

You can take that to record. Denise submitted that, with all the events happening, upcoming: the Fall Festival in September, Holiday Tree Lighting in December, Santa Breakfast in December, and then all the programs that we have here in the township.

Thank you. Unfinished business, discussion of possible motion, preliminary plan land development plans for Apple Delahaye Solar Development. Is there a presentation? No, they asked to be tabled. So it's gonna be tabled? Yes. Okay. Action deadline 9/2/2026. All right, under new business, discussion of possible motion of Meadowbrook Farms Phase 10, approving resolution for dedication of streets. I don't know, Zach, if you wanna... I've got it. Oh, you've got it. I've

got it. Thank you. You have a memorandum from me dated August the third. I'm not gonna read the whole thing. Bottom line is everything looks good in all the paperwork. Legal description of the plats and everything else are okay. I would assume Keith is okay with all his stuff, so we're ready for dedication should you so decide to accept that road. Do we have a date for this to be... It'll be here tomorrow. It's being overnighted. And we approve resolution to accept

dedication, to be subject to the receipt of the maintenance security.

I do move.

All right

I'll make a motion approving resolution for dedication of streets, Meadowbrook Farms Phase 10, on condition of receiving the maintenance security. Do I have a second? Second. All those in favor? Aye. Motion carries. Discussion of possible motion to approve subcontract for planning assistance under the Cumberland Plans Grant Program. So we applied

for this program to help with our comprehensive plan review costs, and we were awarded twenty thousand dollars from Cumberland County, and this contract would be approval to provide and execute in that process.

Okay, I'll make a motion to approve the subcontract for planning assistance under the Cumberland Plans Grant Program. Do I have a second? Second. All those in favor? Aye. All right. Discussion of possible motion to appoint Kelley Brickey to the Middlesex Township Planning Commission. Let me move that we appoint Kelley Brickey to the Middlesex Township Planning Commission. I'll second that. All in favor? Aye. I appreciate your service, Mrs. Brickey. You know, again, there are positions that are available. I think, Zach, we try to post those as they come available on the township website.

Yes. So we actually have two positions open for LeTort Regional Authority, and then we have a position and an alternate position with the zoning hearing board. Is that correct, Mike?

Yeah, two alternates.

Yes.

Okay. So obviously, you know, if those positions interest you, we have talked about these in public forums on a regular basis. So, you know, people submit their resumes, and we talk about it internally, and we make the decision. It's a vote of the board of supervisors. This is not a public election. All right. If we can now move on to PAX-1, you can tell the people to come in.

I think we're at our maximum of one fifty. We need...

How can you do this if we're over capacity?

I think we're over capacity.

Yeah, I think we are.

(Several voices at once: "Fire marshal. We have over one hundred and fifty people.)

What are you guys gonna do?

Fire marshal, start counting.

We're over capacity. We should reschedule for a bigger venue.

We should have this many people here. It shows it's something important, but what's the sunshine?

Sunshine Act says you have to have access. If you don't have the stream, you have to have access.

The plan at this point is to postpone this meeting until August nineteenth at six PM. We're gonna try to schedule it hopefully for the Middlesex Elementary School, where they have a lot of space, and we can accommodate everyone in a safe manner. And we'll deal with the issues of PAX-1 Phase 3, the discussion, possible motion on PAX-1, PA Department of Environmental Protection sewage facilities planning module for sewage collection and treatment facilities. Then discussion of possible motion on final land development plan for PAX-1 Phase 1B. So that's... This will be advertised, and it'll be posted on the township website.

Those will be the items on the agenda for that night, and anything else that comes up for business prior. So, because of the situation that you folks have already pointed out, we're not gonna take questions. We're gonna exit the facility. Can I have a motion for...

Excuse me. Question.

Will

the... Will the August fifth deadline, which is today, will that be extended? The...

Well, the August fifth is not actually the deadline. We have the...

I guess the actual question would be, do the people have the ability to speak and possibly stop this if this meeting is postponed, because it does say the decision will be made.

I'm trying to read everything to you. The plan was submitted on May fifteenth, twenty twenty-six. The ninety-day review period began on May twenty-sixth, twenty twenty-six, the first regular meeting of the planning commission following the plan submittal. The ninety-day period for action on the plan ends 8/23/26. We were gonna take motion tonight for approval or denial of the plan, because this was the last regularly scheduled meeting of the board of supervisors prior to 8/23/26. Nobody's hiding anything. So we are reconvening this meeting 8/19/2026 at six PM, hopefully at the elementary school. We can't confirm that.

We will let people know. I apologize, particularly Dr. Castrina. I appreciate your presence here. Hopefully you can come back, speaking on behalf of the Clean Air Board, because I certainly wanna hear what you have to say. I appreciate your letters and correspondence in regards to the air quality issues in construction and post-construction. So I appreciate you coming tonight. I'm sorry you didn't have a chance to speak, but I think you understand the circumstance. So the meeting has been adjourned. Everyone needs to exit, please.