SUNBURY — The city of Sunbury released dozens of public records this week tied to the proposed Amazon data center project, including non-disclosure agreements, water infrastructure studies and tax incentive analyses.
City Manager Daryl Hennessy said the city released 53 documents related to the proposed data center project along with roughly 1,000 additional public files.
The data center files include the non-disclosure agreement that the city entered into with Amazon, a hydrologic capacity report, tax benefit analyses and more.
City Manager Daryl Hennessy said the city withheld approximately 11 documents from the public record under a newly-enacted Ohio law governing economic development records.
The Ohio General Assembly passed House Bill 184 in 2025, which includes an amendment to public reference law. It officially went into effect in March 2026.
The amendment makes it illegal for officials to release certain economic development assistance documents into the public record, carrying a first-degree misdemeanor charge.
Under that provision, Hennessy said the city was legally prohibited from releasing the withheld records.
Zoning, water, taxes and NDAs
The released records show Sunbury officials spent more than a year building the zoning, tax, utility and infrastructure framework for large-scale technology development before Amazon Web Services publicly announced plans for a proposed $2 billion data center campus.
Among the files is a July 2023 non-disclosure agreement between the city and Amazon Data Services outlining how the city and Amazon would handle confidential business information and public records requests connected to the project discussions.
Earlier that same month, city council approved a framework allowing the city to enter similar confidentiality agreements for economic development purposes.
The documents also show the city began discussions in 2023 surrounding its Limited Industrial (LI) zoning district, which council later approved in November 2023. The zoning code explicitly lists “data center” as a permitted use within the district.
The released documents also include agreements between the city, Big Walnut Local Schools and the Delaware Area Career Center related to tax abatements and compensation payments tied to future development within the industrial district.
One financial analysis modeled a four-building data center campus and estimated approximately 100 direct jobs tied to the development.
The city also released engineering and utility-planning documents related to water use and wastewater reuse infrastructure, including a hydrologic capacity report evaluating a 2.5 million gallon-per-day withdrawal scenario.
According to the released records, a final site plan has not yet been submitted and portions of the utility infrastructure planning process remain ongoing.
All records are available for the public to read on the city’s website.
Public open houses for data center project
Hennessy announced a special council meeting to discuss data center concerns for June 25, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at Big Walnut High School’s auditorium.
Hennessy said the city wants to convene specialists to engage the community at the public open house. Topics at the June 25 meeting would be: water quality, energy, noise, economic development and planning.
“I am looking for specialists who can speak to where these issues are and how data centers are impacting these [topics],” Hennessy said.
“I don’t anticipate that we will have a specialist for all these areas, so stay tuned for the details of who will be there.”
Additionally, Hennessy plans to do a second community meeting sometime in September or October 2026 to focus more on the health impacts of data centers.
Councilman Tim Gose asked Hennessy how he plans to select the specialists; the public clapped after some public comments criticized Hennessy’s transparency.
Hennessy said he is reaching out to companies that have a contract with the city of Sunbury to see if they have a specialist on their staff.
“We are interviewing other individuals as well, trying to make sure that the individuals don’t come with baggage in terms of representing data centers,” he added.
“What we want to hear is an honest assessment from them about these issues.”
Hennessy said he would “absolutely be willing to entertain” any specialist suggestions the public sends the city.
