By Staff Reporter
The Marion County Council Chambers were packed far beyond capacity on Tuesday morning. By the 9:00 a.m. start time, every seat was taken, with people standing shoulder to shoulder along the walls and spilling into the hallway. The crowd’s energy was unmistakably tense. Many held homemade signs reading “NO AI”, a visible show of public opposition to rumored developments involving artificial intelligence or related data center projects. The council, clearly unprepared for this turnout, seemed unsettled by the unexpected intensity of citizen presence.
The meeting began in routine fashion call to order, prayer, and the required Freedom of Information announcement and then moved through approval of previous minutes without disruption. But the room grew restless as the agenda reached the third readings of Ordinances A through F, covering matters such as amendments to the business license schedule, flood prevention updates, easements for Santee Cooper, a historic property tax incentive, and the sale of county property.
At that point, citizens began calling out questions from their seats, asking whether any of the ordinances were connected to the proposed data center project rumored in the county. Senator Kent Williams, acting as Interim County Administrator, stood and stated firmly that “nothing on the agenda has anything to do with the data center.” That answer did little to ease suspicion. The crowd’s frustration continued to mount, but the council pressed on. Each ordinance was read and passed without objection, leaving many in attendance visibly angered by the lack of open discussion or transparency.
https://samueleburns.substack.com/p/marion-county-council-meeting-february
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