A proposal to locate a facility that supports cryptocurrency mining near a rural school is expected to bring out opponents to Monday’s Pitt County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Compute North, a Minnosota-based firm, is seeking a special use permit to operate a data processing facility on approximately 50 acres bordered near Belvoir Elementary School. The facility will consist of 89 containers that house banks of computers and 14 air conditioning units. The processors run constantly in the mining process.
Many residents living near the school and the parents whose children attend the school are concerned about noise generated by cooling fans. Opponents at a Wednesday meeting with Compute North officials also expressed concerns about the facility’s effect on Greenville Utilities Commission’s electric system. GUC officials its electric grid can support the facility and it should not negatively affect electric rates.
Monday’s public hearing, which is part of the board’s regular 6 p.m. meeting, is a quasi-judicial process where statements given are treated as evidence. The board’s decision can also be reviewed and overturned by a superior court judge.
There is a two-step process for approving the special use permit. The board must pass a motion that states “the application is complete and complies with all of the applicable requirements of the zoning ordinance.” Then it must pass a motion approving the permit with any conditions recommended by staff.
County planning staff is recommending five conditions:
- No more than 36 percent of the surface area can be impervious in order to protect the watershed.
- Roads within the development have to meet standards that allow fire apparatus to access the site.
- The company must provide an analysis of the projected noise levels and mitigation efforts to ensure it complies with the county noise ordinance.
The 20-foot buffer along the property’s northern boundary shall be landscaped in accordance to county’s highway overlay district.
- There also has to be screening along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Other actions scheduled for the meeting:
- A second public hearing on the proposed redrawing of the Pitt County Board of Commissioners’ voter districts.
- A discussion about reimbursing the Pitt County American Legion Agricultural Fair for security expenses paid to the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office. Commissioner Tom Coulson recommended the reimbursement after fair officials complained about a price increase.
According to the board of commissioners’ agenda materials, the sheriff’s office budgets $250,000 a year to provide security for the fair and many other events. The expense is offset by revenue paid by groups seeking the extra security.
County Manager Scott Elliott said there is a concern that defraying the fair’s security costs may set a precedence for other organizations.
- A discussion on next steps for American Rescue Plan Act funding. The commissioners voted to pause almost all projects it previously approved to discuss if there are better ways to utilize the money.
- A second vote on an amendment that will prohibit permitted concealed weapons onto county property. Rules currently prevent people from openly carrying weapons in county buildings and from bringing in concealed weapons without a permit. The amendment was approved with a 5-3 vote in September but a second vote is required.
- Consideration of a lease arrangement that will allow a private company to operate a composting site at the county’s transfer station off Allen Road. The proposal stems out of a project the department of solid waste and recycling was going to pursue with East Carolina University prior to the pandemic shutdown.