OCALA, FL (352Today.com) – Data centers have taken the stage both nationally and locally in debates over water, power bills, noise, and who gets the tax money. Marion County commissioners spent Monday afternoon trying to decide what that fight should look like here before anyone files an application.
The workshop was held on September 21, 2026, at the McPherson Governmental Campus Auditorium. Growth Services Director for Marion County, Chuck Varadin, requested the workshop and put it on the agenda (File 2026-24368) as a presentation only. The purpose was to get broad direction on how to review a future data center, then go write rules. Chairman Carl Zalak, III opened with the limit.
“The purpose of today’s workshop is not to approve and/or reject a data center. We have no application in front of us today,” he said. “This is an opportunity to do the work before an application ever arrives in Marion County.”…