Lee County Commissioner Kirk Smith clarifies data center Q #10

Recently, Lee County Commissioner Kirk Smith posed ten questions challenging citizens who signed the June 15 data center petition.

On July 28, the petition supporters answered Smith’s questions.

Smith felt Question #10’s answer needed clarifications.

Question  #10 – Why should I take seriously the over 2,000 signatures (many outside the County) as Lee County’s population is pushing toward 68,000 residents?”

 Petition supporters answered” “Commissioner Smith, you should take those 2,524 signatures seriously because they represent the actively engaged heart of our community—and ignoring them because they aren’t the majority is the exact opposite of representative leadership. In local government, a petition of over 2,500 unified voices is an extraordinary, historic showing of public concern. Local elections in Lee County are regularly decided by just a few hundred votes, meaning 2,500 passionate, organized residents represent a massive, influential portion of the voting electorate. Counting the thousands of children, unregistered voters, and disengaged residents who have not yet heard about this backroom deal as a silent endorsement of a mega data center is deeply misleading.

Furthermore, these 2,500 signatures were gathered in just a matter of days following the June 15 petition filing. They are the frontline warning of a rapidly growing community movement. Dismissing thousands of your neighbors as statistically insignificant isn’t fiscal conservatism; it is political arrogance. True leadership does not wait for a full crisis or a 100% majority to act—it listens when thousands of citizens stand up, do their homework, and sound the alarm to protect their home.”

Lee County’s growth debate is ultimately about communication and mutual respect. At the recent, room-filled Board meeting, every resident who spoke shared careful, data-driven research on the harmful data center impacts. Yet, at the conclusion of the hearing, Mr. Kirk Smith was heard to say they were not telling the truth.

It is disheartening to hear a former chairman disregard his neighbors this way. The families backing the June 15 petition are not adversaries; we are taxpayers who care deeply about Lee County where we are raising our children and grandchildren.

We believe other commissioners now realize that this planning process was seriously flawed. Trust with the community was broken. Mr. Smith does not speak for them. The citizens don’t believe anything said about this data center project now.  We urge our leaders to look past Mr. Smith’s remarks, listen to the community, and grant a temporary moratorium simply to amend our UDO. A brief pause is a common-sense step that allows us to work together to protect Lee County’s future.

In addition, we hope our individual commissioners now will publicly speak out and say that this data center application, under these circumstances, is a mistake for these companies, and this county. Their spoken words can send a powerful message to our community and to the business leaders of PointOne Data Centers and CyrusOne that this project in Lee County, North Carolina is, and will continue to be, a bad long-term investment.

Today, July 31, Smith sent a clarification to the petition supporters’ answer to #10.

The following is my reply to a Constituent admonishing me over Question #10.  To which my constituent apologized in not fully understanding the duties and responsibilities of a Lee County Commissioner. 

“Thank you for reaching out and commenting on my questions put forth to the 15-page Petition writer opposing the proposed data center at the Helix Vector Industrial Site. As it is your First Amendment right to petition your government for a redress of grievances, it is my duty to reply.

Not surprising that the commentator you refer to failed to address the other questions put forth. As these questions regard those responsibilities of a Lee County Commissioner.

First the candidate that you endorsed will be a LEE COUNTY commissioner sitting on a board of SEVEN Commissioners responsible for LEE COUNTY.  The Board of Commissioners is responsible for the 68,000 citizens of LEE COUNTY overseeing a 2026-27 budget of $127,856,002. We as a BOARD must fund: Education, Human Services, Public Safety, General Government, Debt Service, Cultural and Recreational, Economic/Physical Development, and Transfers Out/Reserves. Of the 66 separate departments, we have a direct say on only 20% of the annual budget with the remaining 80% dictated by the Federal and State Government.

During my 12 years as a Lee County Commissioner, the one issue with constituents was the property tax rate. The Board of Commissioners, under a Republican majority since 2021, has successfully lowered the rate from .73 cent per hundred to .65 cents per hundred. We voted against the Manager’s requested .01 cent increase last year and this year we voted against the manager’s requested .05 cent increase. The three Democrats on the board voted to raise your taxes.

The second issue I consistently hear about is out-of-control development.  We have several apartment complexes and concentrated housing developments currently under construction. Did you know that the commissioners have no say in the matter? The developers in order to build concentrated housing and apartment buildings need access to city sewer service (now Tri-River Water) and they voluntarily annex to the City of Sanford. I believe you are aware of the massive development going in behind Turner’s Chapel between Post Office Road and the US421/NC87 bypass. The county had no say.

What comes from the concentration of housing is the pressures on our public schools. Did you know that a home needs to value at $350,000 just to cover the County’s cost of $2,187 for just one student? The property tax revenue from an apartment or a town house does not cover Lee County’s responsibility for each student attending our public/charter schools. The average single-family house for each $1.00 paid in property tax requires approximately $1.40 in county services.

The industrial facilities in our county provide a substantial return on their $1.00 paid in property taxes requiring on average .45 cents in county services. We need 35% of our revenue from industry to avoid increased taxes on our citizens, a number who are on a fixed income. 

Recently, I participated in hosting an unnamed foreign company considering a location in either Durham County or Lee County.  The company’s major requirement is a large quantity of water. Durham County is currently under a water restriction due to the drought, Lee County is not. With NO DATA SIGNS throughout the area this sent a clear message that future industrial developments are not welcome in Lee County, creating a potential loss of desperately needed tax revenue.

Last December, the Central Pines Council of Governments hosted the Loudon County Vice Chairman Michael R. Turner.   Loudoun County touts itself as the “Data Center Capital of the World.” Supervisor Turner revealed that for every $1.00 a data center pays in property tax, they require no more than .04 cents in County services.

Noting the significance of Loudon County, the question I asked the lawyer from the Southern Environmental Law Center last March: “Has the Potomac River dried up? Has Northern Virginia suffered from rolling brown outs or black outs?” Of course, she did not answer as it did not support the fearmongering of massive water and power usage.

Currently, Lee County is waiting for the school board to present the costs for the new bus garage and the purchase of property they are seeking to build a new elementary and school. Yes, the county must pay the market rate for the property. Both East and West Lee Middle Schools desperately in need of improvements. Southern Lee County High School needs additional classrooms, an auditorium and the chillers replaced for Southern Lee County High and San Lee Middle School.

The current jail is overcrowded and costly to maintain as it was poorly designed and built. We need a new Law Enforcement Center combining the Sheriff Department and jail needing at least 12 acres of land. This is a substantial expense for the Lee County Commissioners to plan in the next four years. How to fund and finance will be a burden on Lee County taxpayers.

Total Capital Improvement projects for the next four years are projected to exceed $453,672,204.00, yes over $453 million in costs to Lee County taxpayers is on the horizon. Apartment complexes, townhomes and concentrated housing developments will not meet the revenue needs of Lee County.

As for your endorsed candidate for the Second District, Jonathan and Amanda are featured on U-Tube, podcasts, email, and other platforms, all requiring data centers. 

Please take care and be safe.

Kirk D. Smith

District 2 Lee County Commissioner

July 31, 2026

Provided.

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