MONCLOVA TOWNSHIP – Two data center opponents want Monclova Township Trustee Barbara Lang to resign, citing a lack of trust and what Waterside resident Risa Sindel calls Lang’s “evasive, dishonest, dismissive tone throughout meetings the last seven months.”

During the April 20 and May 4 meetings, both Lyn Cox and Sindel addressed the board during the public comments section. During the May 4 meeting, Sindel accused Lang and Fiscal Officer Gavin Pike of not being truthful about participating in data center meetings.

“I don’t plan to resign. My thoughtful reaction is that I’m doing a great job protecting the residents of Monclova. My 20 years of service speaks to that,” Lang said.

It was early 2025 when Monclova Township trustees began holding public hearings about plans to amend their zoning text to make data centers a permissible use in agriculturally-zoned areas, with issuance of a conditional use permit – a process that requires multiple levels of review and public hearings. 

Trustee Chuck Hoecherl explained during a March 31 meeting that the township didn’t have any data center requests pending, but that trustees had heard that site selectors were looking at the township. No one provided testimony against the text amendment, so trustees agreed to move forward with the change, noting that it would give them more control over aspects of data centers such as setbacks, lighting, sound and other factors written in as conditions.

In August, when Cox first learned that Monclova and other communities were being eyed for potential data center sites, she obtained marketing materials from Regional Growth Partnership (RGP) and the county. She created the Facebook page AW-CRAP (Anthony Wayne Area Community Response Awareness Group) and posted those materials. Soon, residents began coming to Monclova Township trustees meetings to ask questions – including Sindel, who said she was alarmed by what she learned.

“I have a strong research background. The public health impact aspect is what gets me concerned,” Sindel said.

So when Sindel heard that Lang, Pike and Lucas County Engineer Mike Pniewski were on the agenda for the monthly Hot Topics program in her Waterside community, Sindel urged the meeting organizer to add data centers as a last-minute topic. Nearly 100 residents were in attendance.

“When asked if there were any conversations or considerations of a data center deal for Monclova, and/or specifically adjacent to Waterside, both Pike and Lang denied they knew anything, denied any meetings, and claimed to ‘not even know much about data centers,'” Sindel said. “It was clear at the time that Monclova residents were not being given the whole story, but were being manipulatively silenced.”

During the May 4 meeting, Sindel asked about maps showing a potential data center. Pike said the renderings she referred to are just marketing materials created by the landowner, not a map. He confirmed after the trustees’ meeting that he did attend two meetings where the topic came up, but not in the way that Sindel and Cox assume.

As fiscal officer, Pike is not a voting member of the board, but attends meetings with outside entities to gather information, as he has relevant experience in business, real estate and finance.

“Did I have two meetings? Yes. One was administrative and the other was marketing,” he said.

In Spring 2025, Pike and Hoecherl met with Maumee’s now-retired administrator, Patrick Burtch, and former mayor Jim MacDonald, to look at how the two communities could work together, including the possibility of forming a joint economic development zone along Black Road, the dividing line between the township and the city.

“It wasn’t, ‘This data center is coming in and how do we work with them.’ It was, ‘If something comes in, what do we do?’ It was the first time I remember working with Maumee on a common goal,” Pike said, adding that he felt it was productive to open up a discussion with Maumee since the township is working to avoid further annexation by the city.

In fall 2025, Pike was asked to attend another meeting with an Isaac Land Investments representative, RGP and the city, but said he was handed a marketing piece – a mockup of what a data center might look like on mall-area land owned by Isaac. Once he saw what the meeting was about, Pike said he left after about seven minutes.

“We never met with a developer. A meeting with a land owner is a huge difference from a meeting with a developer – that’s when things start to get real,” he said.

He likens the meeting to the time, several years ago, that an Isaac rep approached him and his partners in Urban Air to propose locating their entertainment business near the mall. He was shown a professional rendering as a sales pitch. Urban Air later located in south Toledo.

Pike said he doesn’t believe a data center would come to the township, and definitely not on mall-area land that is bisected by Black Road and a railroad line. Conversations around potential developments are common, but 90 percent of the time, never come to fruition, he added.

“Those are the two meetings they were talking about. None of them have any significance because there wasn’t any end user,” Pike said, adding that Lang was not in attendance at either of those meetings.

But Cox and Sindel believe the two haven’t been forthright with their knowledge on data center proposals. Sindel said Pike and Lang have used semantics when answering questions during public meetings, such as saying, “We did not talk to a data center developer” instead of answering the more broad question of whether the township has had any discussions with any officials, economic development professionals or property owners about a potential deal with a data center.

“My overarching problem with the trustees, and Barb in particular, is that when considering a project which has the potential to fundamentally change the very character of the township, and is contrary to the land use comprehensive plan, residents should be brought into the discussion earlier,” Cox said. “We know of several meetings where data centers were discussed and we were provided maps by other attendees of those meetings. This, after being told by Barb that there were no discussions going on, that there were no maps. They revealed the existence of the meetings only after we pushed the issue. We feel like we are fighting a potential developer and our own trustees.”

Pike has his own frustrations, stating that he feels that Cox and Sindel are purposefully misrepresenting what he said. The AW-CRAP Facebook page is full of mistruths, he asserts, yet those are not corrected even when Cox is presented with facts.

“How do you prove to the public that you’re not doing something they believe you’re doing?” he asked, noting that trustees even went so far as to have their law director, Dawn Sanderson, draw up legislation – passed by all three trustees –  stating that no one in the township has signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with anyone about a data center development.

During the meetings, Lang said the trustees have made improvements to accommodate and answer questions from the audience. The microphones were improved so residents can hear better, seating was added for the larger crowds, and the agendas are more detailed.

“Everything they’ve suggested, we’ve implemented to make the meeting more effective, transparent and efficient,” she said. “We’re hearing them and taking action.”

While they appreciate those efforts, Cox and Sindel say Lang’s behavior during meetings continues to be unprofessional, citing instances where she has to put herself in a “time out” after getting frustrated and addressing the audience in what they see as rude manner.

“She has publicly disparaged members of the community for having shown concern over the data center issue. Her clearly visible disdain for concerned citizens is clear,” Sindel said.

“I feel she is a loose cannon, without the emotional maturity and the intellectual curiosity to perform the job as trustee. Her words, body language with the eye rolls, heavy sighs, looks of exasperation, head shaking and demonstration of annoyance is disgusting,” Cox added. 

Both women said they trust Hoecherl and new Trustee Debbie Stevens-Laux to respectfully listen to constituents. Lang said she believes she’s targeted because she won’t openly state her opposition to data centers because she’s trying to remain neutral.

“Did I sigh? I apologized. I will try hard to have a neutral face. Do I pull it off every time? I’m not a practiced and polished politician. I am your neighbor. So if I don’t say it completely correctly, it doesn’t mean I’m lying. It means I’m not following a script,” Lang said of the times she’s been visibly rattled. 

While the township is currently three months into a 12-month moratorium on data centers – and a housing development is now being eyed for land on Black Road initially thought to be considered for a data center – Sindel said she remains concerned that the trustees might be seduced into deal with another developer.

“I do not see – given seven months of consistent, negative behavior – that Lang would protect or preserve our township while welcoming responsible economic development,” Sindel said, noting that she’s not only fighting for Monclova Township, but all of Ohio. “I do not want to see Ohio further become big tech billionaires’ dirty, toxic broom closet. There must be responsible tech development. That is not happening at this time.”

So is there a way forward to mend differences between the anti-data center representatives, Lang and Pike?

Both Lang and Pike said they’re not comfortable speaking with Cox or Sindel, who they believe misconstrue their words. Sindel said a path forward can only happen if there is “a respectful and open approach of transparency and honesty.”

“Barb has shown us who she is. I go by the adage: when a person shows you who they are, believe them. There is no way forward with her,” Cox said.

Both Cox and Sindel said they will likely continue to ask for Lang’s resignation during the meetings.

“You can come to every meeting and make my life miserable, but I’m still doing my job. I would be really worried about this if I had done something wrong, but I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. I haven’t had any secret meetings or taken a payout. None of that happened,” Lang said. “Monclova Township is great because we as leaders care so much about the job we are doing.”