Hancock County

Surge Development LLC — Buck Creek Township, 700+ acres near Tuttle Orchards. WITHDRAWN May 2025. Developer pulled rezoning application after massive public opposition: 70+ people signed up to speak at May 8 public hearing at Greenfield-Central High School. County Commissioners publicly stated they would not support the project. Developer subsequently moved to Henry County. Status: WITHDRAWN.

HB 1405 (2019), signed May 5, 2019 by Gov. Eric Holcomb as Public Law 256. Codified at IC 6-1.1-10-44 (property tax exemption for enterprise IT equipment) and IC 6-2.5-15 (sales tax exemption for data center equipment). Created Indiana's data center tax incentive framework: sales tax exemptions on equipment and electricity, plus business personal property tax exemptions for qualifying data centers. Note: IC 6-1.1-12.3 (originally cited in some analyses) has been repealed; the active property tax provision is IC 6-1.1-10-44, as amended by P.L.256-2019, SEC.1.

HB 1405/P.L. 256 exempts: (1) Sales tax on data center equipment purchases — servers, storage, networking, cooling, backup power (IC 6-2.5-15-11); (2) Sales tax on electricity consumed by qualifying data centers; (3) Business personal property tax on enterprise IT equipment (IC 6-1.1-10-44) — duration set by local agreement between designating body and eligible business; (4) Sales tax certificate duration: 25 years (or 50 years if investment >= $750M) per IC 6-2.5-15-14. Qualifying thresholds are population-tiered (IC 6-2.5-15-10): $150M in counties >100K population, $100M in counties 50K-100K, $25M in counties <=50K. Investment must be met by 5th anniversary of certificate.

Surge Development LLC — NO FORMAL VOTE. Developer withdrew May 2025.

Hancock County Commissioners who publicly stated opposition:
Jeannine Gray (D1, Vice President), Gary McDaniel (D2, President), Bill Spalding (D3).

Board statement: "After numerous presentations, public meetings, a site visit and overall due diligence, it is the view of this board that there are other areas of the county that are zoned for data centers, and we do not believe the proposed site is the right location for this project."

70+ people had signed up to speak at the May 8 public hearing at Greenfield-Central High School before the developer withdrew.

ALL STILL IN OFFICE. Contact via hancockin.gov (317-477-1105).

In Mar 2026, commissioners began forming a data center study committee to evaluate future proposals.

NO TAX ABATEMENT — project withdrawn before abatement stage.

Surge Development LLC withdrew its application to rezone 700+ acres in Buck Creek Township (May 2025) after massive public opposition. The "Hancock County MegaSite" was proposed for farmland east of Indianapolis Regional Airport on Mt. Comfort Road.

County commissioners formally rejected the proposal in July 2025.

IEDC had pre-approved "Project Redline" (Hancock County) as part of $168M in data center tax incentives for 4 projects statewide, but the local approval never came.

NOTE: The county later denied a $440M personal property tax abatement for a Walmart distribution center (July 2025), and as of March 2026, the county council is revising its abatement application process entirely — signaling broader skepticism toward large tax breaks.

NO — project withdrawn before community benefit negotiations.

Surge Development LLC withdrew its rezoning application in May 2025 after massive public opposition (400+ at hearing, 70+ speakers). Commissioners formally rejected in July 2025. No community enhancement agreement was ever negotiated.

IEDC had pre-approved state incentives for "Project Redline" in Hancock County, but the local approval never came.

N/A — project withdrawn. No enhancement payment was negotiated (see Q62).

N/A — project withdrawn. No payments were ever negotiated.

N/A — project withdrawn. No job commitments were formalized.
Surge Development LLC withdrew before employment terms were part of a formal agreement. IEDC had pre-approved incentives for "Project Redline" but no local deal was reached.

N/A — project withdrawn before tax terms were negotiated.

Primary authors: Rep. Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso, HD 4) — still in office as of 2026; Sen. Jim Buck (R-Kokomo, SD 21); Sen. Ed Charbonneau (R-Valparaiso, SD 5); Sen. Travis Holdman (R-Markle, SD 19); Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Salem, HD 47) — now U.S. Representative IN-9; Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper, SD 48); Sen. Lonnie Randolph (D-East Chicago, SD 2) — Lake County. Co-authors: Rep. Earl Harris Sr. (D-East Chicago, HD 2) — Lake County; Rep. Todd Huston (R-Fishers, HD 37); Rep. Carolyn Jackson (D-Hammond, HD 1) — Lake County; Rep. Matthew Lehman (R-Berne, HD 79); Rep. Jim Pressel (R-Rolling Prairie, HD 20) — LaPorte County. Note: 3 of 12 sponsors represent Lake County districts.

House initial passage: 95-1 (Feb 19, 2019). Senate passage: 46-0 (Mar 25, 2019). Conference committee report adopted: House 82-8 (Apr 18, 2019), Senate 44-0 (Apr 18, 2019). Signed by Governor: May 5, 2019. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in all votes.

Surge Development LLC: No formal vote occurred. Developer withdrew rezoning application in May 2025 before a vote. Hancock County Commissioners publicly stated they would not support the project. 70+ people signed up to speak at May 8, 2025 public hearing at Greenfield-Central High School.

Surge Development LLC — NO FORMAL VOTE. Developer withdrew May 2025.

Hancock County Commissioners who publicly stated opposition:
Jeannine Gray (D1, Vice President), Gary McDaniel (D2, President), Bill Spalding (D3).

Board statement: "After numerous presentations, public meetings, a site visit and overall due diligence, it is the view of this board that there are other areas of the county that are zoned for data centers, and we do not believe the proposed site is the right location for this project."

70+ people had signed up to speak at the May 8 public hearing at Greenfield-Central High School before the developer withdrew.

ALL STILL IN OFFICE. Contact via hancockin.gov (317-477-1105).

In Mar 2026, commissioners began forming a data center study committee to evaluate future proposals.

Surge Development (withdrew before vote) — Hancock County, May 2025:
YES, extensive public testimony. 400+ people packed the auditorium at Greenfield-Central High School on May 8, 2025. 70+ people signed up to speak.

Mike Roney (Tuttle Orchards family) read a statement — "visibly emotional" — saying even though his family appreciated Surge's modifications, they could not support the development. He stressed that the orchard was "a unique and valuable asset to the Hancock County community."

Surge withdrew their application on May 13, citing that "additional specificity and clear direction were needed" based on public feedback.

Sentiment: OVERWHELMINGLY AGAINST — the developer withdrew specifically because of the public hearing response. The commissioners had already issued a public statement opposing the project before the hearing.

This is a case where public testimony achieved its intended purpose — the developer pulled out before a formal vote could occur.

PARTIAL — no formal vote occurred (developer withdrew May 13, 2025).
Hancock County does not appear to have a centralized online meeting archive.
The May 8, 2025 public hearing at Greenfield-Central High School (400+ attended) was covered extensively by:
- Greenfield Daily Reporter (greenfieldreporter.com) — multiple articles
- WTHR — video news coverage
- Farmer's Advance — coverage of Tuttle Orchards testimony

Commissioner statement (May 6, 2025) published by Greenfield Daily Reporter.
Hancock County website: hancockin.gov — limited meeting archive.

NOTE: Since the developer withdrew before a formal vote, there are no official approval hearing minutes to publish.

DEFENDED THE REJECTION.

Hancock County commissioners formally rejected the proposal in July 2025 after developer withdrew. County council subsequently denied a $440M Walmart abatement and began revising its entire abatement application process (March 2026).

This signals the county is TIGHTENING its approach to large corporate tax breaks, not reconsidering the data center rejection.

PROJECT WITHDRAWN — no formal approval vote occurred.

CURRENT COMMISSIONERS:
- Jeannine Gray (District 1)
- Gary McDaniel (District 2)
- Bill Spalding (District 3)

Brad Armstrong (previous commissioner) chose not to run for 4th term; Spalding replaced him.

The county council subsequently denied a $440M Walmart abatement and began reforming the entire abatement application process (Mar 2026), signaling a tighter approach to corporate tax breaks.

HANCOCK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS:
- Location: Courthouse, 9 E Main St, Greenfield, IN 46140
- Project was WITHDRAWN. No further data center meetings expected.
- County council began reforming abatement application process (Mar 2026) — those reform discussions are at county council meetings.

ABATEMENT REFORM: The council's new abatement application process is an opportunity for residents to advocate for stronger standards before the next large corporate project.

== ALL LEVELS ==
Hancock County data center was WITHDRAWN. The county is now TIGHTENING its abatement process — this is a model for other counties.

== LOCAL (Hancock County Council / Commissioners) ==
1. COMPLETE ABATEMENT REFORM: County council began revising its entire abatement application process (Mar 2026). Ensure new standards include:
- Minimum CEA requirements
- Water/energy disclosure mandates
- Community benefit proportionality
FACT: Council denied $440M Walmart abatement AND reformed process (Q69).

2. SHARE STANDARDS WITH OTHER COUNTIES: Hancock's reform process could serve as a template for Henry, Shelby, and other small/mid counties.

== STATE LEGISLATURE ==
1. PROTECT LOCAL CONTROL: Ensure state law does not override county-level abatement reform efforts.

== UTILITY COMMISSION (IURC) ==
1. No active utility issue since project was withdrawn.