MAYSVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — A mother and daughter in Mason County are rejecting multimillion-dollar offers for their land as a proposed data center project continues to move forward, and they say they're not budging.
Ida Huddleston has been offered $60,000 an acre for her 71-acre property to make way for the project; she has turned down the offer multiple times.
"What they've proposed and carried on it's not a business deal, it's a mind harassment," Huddleston said.
Her message to the developers remains the same.
"I said I don't want your money, I don't need your money, but I do feel sorry for everybody around us," she said. "They're gonna be affected by it."
Her daughter, Delsia Bare, has also declined to sell. Bare turned down a $48,000-an-acre offer for her 463-acre property.
Adding to their frustration is the fact that the Fortune 100 company behind the project has not been publicly identified.
"When they will not reveal who they are that's a major player in what you're going to do with the rest of your life if you are stuck here or even if you are leaving here," Bare said.
LEX 18 has been following this story since last spring. In December, LEX 18 reported on Andy Grosser and his father, Timothy, who rejected nearly $8 million for their farm at the same proposed data center site.
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The data center would be located at Big Pond Pike in Mason County. Tyler McHugh, economic development director for the Maysville-Mason County Industrial Development Authority, pointed out to LEX 18 in October that the project would create 400 full-time positions along with more than 1,500 construction jobs.
"As far as jobs would go, they would become if not our largest employer, definitely top three," McHugh said.
Bare is skeptical of those projections.
"My guess is you won't have over 50 and they won't even be here at this building when it's said and done," Bare said.
As for what comes next, Huddleston's position is clear.
"I'm staying put," she said.
Mason County Fiscal Court is still reviewing the project. A data center regulation ordinance recently passed changed the residential setback from 500 to 750 feet.
