HALLAM SAYS NO What you can do

Hallam, Nebraska

Phase 1 was approved. Phase 2 opens the door.

Monolith holds an option on 135 acres. Sagebrush holds options on about 1,500 more. Hallam's code limits none of it.

See what's waiting How we stop it
Coming up Oct 19 Special Village Board meeting, 6 p.m. Oct 20 County Data Center Task Force Oct 21 Hallam Planning Commission, 7 p.m. Nov 2 Village Board, 7 p.m.

Updated October 18, 2026

Map: Phase 1, Phase 2 and land under option around Hallam Hallam village limits and its one-mile zoning jurisdiction, the approved Phase 1 parcel, the 135-acre Phase 2 parcel, and parcels under recorded option to Sagebrush Infrastructure Partners, drawn from Lancaster County GIS. 112 acres. No. 2026006176, recorded Feb 23. 77 acres. No. 2026033735, recorded Sept 4. 231 acres. No. 2026004426, recorded Feb 9. 79 acres. No. 2026010039, recorded Mar 23. 76 acres. No. 2026010039, recorded Mar 23. 118 acres. No. 2026010040, recorded Mar 23. 38 acres. No. 2026010040, recorded Mar 23. 12 acres. No. 2026010040, recorded Mar 23. 114 acres. No. 2026004726, recorded Feb 11. 81 acres. No. 2026013211, recorded Apr 13. 71 acres. No. 2026010034, recorded Mar 23. Inside the one-mile line. 125 acres. No. 2026004526, recorded Feb 10. Inside the one-mile line. 79 acres. No. 2026007918, recorded Mar 9. 75 acres. No. 2026007917, recorded Mar 9. 79 acres. No. 2026010864, recorded Mar 27. 67 acres. No. 2026010864, recorded Mar 27. Phase 2. About 135 acres, zoned agricultural, under option to Monolith. Monolith's Olive Creek plant parcel, 27077 SW 42nd St. 71 acres. No. 2026004422, recorded Feb 9. Touches the village limits. Phase 1 data center site, about 10 acres, placed from Crusoe's September 2026 site plan. HALLAM Phase 1 Phase 2
Phase 1 site, about 10 acres (approved) Monolith plant parcel Phase 2, 135 acres Optioned to Sagebrush Hallam's one-mile zoning line

Drawn from Lancaster County GIS parcel and jurisdiction maps. The Phase 1 site is placed from Crusoe's September 2026 site plan. Sagebrush parcels are our match of recorded option memoranda to county parcels.

135acres under option to Monolith for Phase 2
~1,500acres under option to Sagebrush, recorded since February
~266of those acres inside Hallam's one-mile zoning line
0limits on data centers in Hallam's zoning code

Lancaster County Register of Deeds

What's waiting behind the door

Since February, fourteen option and agreement memoranda for Sagebrush Infrastructure Partners have been recorded around Hallam. In June, Stark Power announced it is buying Sagebrush. Reporters describe a 1.7-gigawatt data center.

Phase 1: 35 MW1.7 GW reported: nearly 50 times Phase 1

The first option was recorded on February 9, on ground that touches the village limits.

The most recent was recorded September 4. Options are still being signed.

Hallam's zoning code does not define a data center. It sets no limit on how many, or how large.

Map: Phase 1, Phase 2 and land under option around Hallam Hallam village limits and its one-mile zoning jurisdiction, the approved Phase 1 parcel, the 135-acre Phase 2 parcel, and parcels under recorded option to Sagebrush Infrastructure Partners, drawn from Lancaster County GIS. 112 acres. No. 2026006176, recorded Feb 23. 77 acres. No. 2026033735, recorded Sept 4. 231 acres. No. 2026004426, recorded Feb 9. 79 acres. No. 2026010039, recorded Mar 23. 76 acres. No. 2026010039, recorded Mar 23. 118 acres. No. 2026010040, recorded Mar 23. 38 acres. No. 2026010040, recorded Mar 23. 12 acres. No. 2026010040, recorded Mar 23. 114 acres. No. 2026004726, recorded Feb 11. 81 acres. No. 2026013211, recorded Apr 13. 71 acres. No. 2026010034, recorded Mar 23. Inside the one-mile line. 125 acres. No. 2026004526, recorded Feb 10. Inside the one-mile line. 79 acres. No. 2026007918, recorded Mar 9. 75 acres. No. 2026007917, recorded Mar 9. 79 acres. No. 2026010864, recorded Mar 27. 67 acres. No. 2026010864, recorded Mar 27. Phase 2. About 135 acres, zoned agricultural, under option to Monolith. Monolith's Olive Creek plant parcel, 27077 SW 42nd St. 71 acres. No. 2026004422, recorded Feb 9. Touches the village limits. Phase 1 data center site, about 10 acres, placed from Crusoe's September 2026 site plan. HALLAM Phase 1 Phase 2
Phase 1, 10 acres Phase 2 Optioned to Sagebrush One-mile line

Tap a card to find it on the map. Tap the map to find its card.

Every optioned parcel, nearest to the village first

Distance is from the edge of the parcel to Hallam's village limits. Inside the line, the Village Board decides what gets built.

Each approval becomes the argument for the next. If farm ground beside Hallam is rezoned for Phase 2, that is the precedent the next applicant will cite.

How we built this list, and what it does not say

We searched the Lancaster County Register of Deeds index for Sagebrush Infrastructure Partners LLC: thirteen memoranda of option to purchase and one memorandum of agreement, recorded February 9 to September 4, 2026. We matched each recorded legal description to its county parcel, then measured each parcel against the county's map of Hallam's village limits and one-mile jurisdiction. Sections are in Township 7: Sections 29 and 30 in Range 6, the rest in Range 5, west of town. Together they total about 1,500 acres, matching 10/11 NOW's reporting. [One more memorandum, 2026007919, recorded March 9 for Section 35, could not be matched to a parcel with confidence and is left out of the totals.] Anyone can check this with the instrument numbers above and the county's free public index.

A memorandum of option is not a sale and not a project. As far as we know, neither Sagebrush nor Stark Power has filed anything with the Village. We are not claiming any connection between Sagebrush and Monolith or Crusoe. The 1.7-gigawatt figure is reporting by 10/11 NOW and Nebraska Public Media; we have not checked it against a utility filing. We do not print landowners' names. They are our neighbors.

Sources: Orrick announcement, June 18; 10/11 NOW, Aug 27; Nebraska Public Media, Sept 10; Lancaster County Register of Deeds and GIS. Monolith's option on Phase 2: its written FAQ, July 31, 2026.

Three things you can do this week

The Board called a special meeting for Monday. Each of these takes a minute.

Mon, Oct 19

Be in the room

Special Village Board meeting, 6 p.m., Hallam Auditorium. The task force and the data center resolution are both on the agenda. A full room is the clearest message a village of 268 can send.

Add to calendar
2 questions

Ask for a date

"Will the task force include people who live in the one-mile area?" and "When will an ordinance limiting data centers go to the Planning Commission?"

1 neighbor

Pass it on

Most people near Hallam have not seen this map. Send it to one neighbor who should.

More ways to help, by who you are →

The 135 acres

Why Phase 2 is where we fight

Phase 1 sits on industrial ground. Phase 2 is about 135 acres of farm ground across SW 42nd Street, and a data center there needs the Board to rezone it first. Nothing has been filed yet.

1

It is the first test

Rezoning farm ground beside the village for a data center would set the bar. Whatever the Board accepts for Phase 2 is what the next applicant will ask for. [As far as we know, it would be the first such request in Hallam's jurisdiction.]

2

Nothing in the code stops the next one

Hallam's zoning code has no definition of a data center and no limit on how many or how large. Phase 1 came in under a catch-all for uses "similar" to heavy industry (§11-605(B)(33)).

3

The same Board decides on 266 more acres

About 266 acres under option to Sagebrush are inside Hallam's one-mile line. The same code and the same five trustees would decide what is built there.

"Necessary to support the long-term viability of the company."

Monolith's written FAQ, July 31, 2026, on Phase 2. The same FAQ calls the parcel land "that Monolith has under option."

"We would like to do Phase 2 because it gives us more revenue to support our expansion."

Russ Webb, CEO, Monolith, at the August 19 Planning Commission hearing. Recording

The plan

How we can still stop Phase 2

Four tools, all already in the law.

Write the limit into the code

In September, residents asked the Board to limit Hallam and its one-mile jurisdiction to one data center, capped at 35 megawatts: the size the Board has now approved. With that in place, Phase 2 and the land optioned inside the mile could not be approved without first changing the law, in public.

On September 14 the Board tabled it 5-0. On October 5 it came back as an ordinance. A Board member said, "At this point we're not going to approve the ordinance or anything," called a task force "a good idea," and the Board asked for suggestions on who should serve. [Quotes from a recording of the meeting; minutes not yet posted.]

The ask: appoint the task force now, include residents of the one-mile area, and set a date for an ordinance to reach the Planning Commission.

Use the protections a rezoning can't skip

Rezoning farm ground needs a Planning Commission report on its effect on neighbors and on the comprehensive plan (§11-1302(D)), public notice, and a Board hearing. "The burden of proof for any zoning change shall be upon the applicant." (§11-1304(B))

If 20% or more of neighboring owners protest, it takes four of five trustees instead of three (§11-1303(B)).

Hold the Village to its own plan

Hallam's 2025 comprehensive plan maps one industrial growth area: the strip between the railroad and SW 42nd Street, north of town. The Phase 2 parcel is across SW 42nd and is not marked for industry. The plan supports "preserving the agricultural and natural resources associated with the Village" and never mentions data centers.

In fairness, it also says industry "is best suited to the northeast of the Community." Ask the Village Clerk for a copy; it is not online.

Outside the mile, the county decides

Lancaster County has no zoning provision for data centers. In September it dropped a proposed moratorium and formed a data center task force. A county zoning change filed by Bold Nebraska waits on that task force.

Task force agendas and minutes · KLIN, Sept 15

Phase 1 is decided, and we accept it. One data center at 35 megawatts on industrial ground is the deal this village made. We're asking the Board to write that deal down as the limit.

More ways to help

Oct 20
Lancaster County

County Data Center Task Force meeting. Its work shapes the rules for land outside Hallam's one-mile line.

Agendas and minutes
Oct 21
Wed · 7 p.m.

Planning Commission, Hallam Auditorium. The posted agenda has no data center item. It covers where the Commission stands, its future topics, letters of interest, and the September 16 minutes.

Nov 2
Mon · 7 p.m. · - days

Village Board, Hallam Auditorium, 315 Main St. The agenda for October 19 says task force and Commission decisions wait until this meeting.

Add to calendar
Nov 3
Election day

Both Board seats on the ballot: Gary Vocasek and Jason J. Burianek, unopposed.

Pick the one that fits you

  1. Start with the credit. The approved conditions include a 35 MW cap, a water cap and a removal bond. Residents asked for those. Say so.
  2. Ask two questions on October 19 or November 2: "Will the task force include people who live in the one-mile area?" and "When will an ordinance limiting data centers go to the Planning Commission?" Ask during public comment so the answer goes in the minutes. Speakers sign in and get up to five minutes.
  3. Suggest task force members before November 2. The Board asked for input, and the October 19 agenda lists the "Task Force for Industrial Development" with no final decision until November 2. Send the Clerk names of neighbors, including people in the one-mile area, or volunteer yourself.
  4. Ask both candidates, politely, whether they support a one-facility, 35-megawatt limit, and send us the answer.
Gary Vocasek, Chairman · 2026Jason Burianek · 2026Brad Niemeyer · 2028Sheila Taylor · 2028Bob Wink · 2028

What the Board approved on October 5

A special use permit for a data center of up to 35 megawatts on about ten acres of Monolith's Olive Creek campus, zoned heavy industrial. Crusoe is developing it. The vote was unanimous.

35 MW

"The maximum electrical demand of the Project at full buildout shall not exceed 35 MW."

Condition 18

770,000

gallons a year, the cap on average operational water use over a rolling five years (Condition 22). About 2,100 gallons a day.

110%

of net removal cost, held as a bond, parent guarantee or letter of credit (Condition 30).

8 to 5

Generator testing on weekdays only (Condition 5), plus limits on exterior lighting (Condition 26).

"The Project shall not use evaporative cooling practices to cool its data center operations."

Condition 24

None of that was in the July application. It is there because people in this village asked for it, in the room, for three months. Credit to Monolith and Crusoe for putting it in writing.

What to watch from here

  • Sound. An operating sound study is due within six months after the data center starts running (Condition 14). Crusoe's September 9 model predicted levels below the limits it evaluated. Those are predictions, not measurements. Read the study (PDF)
  • Removal money is due within a year after operations begin, approved by the Zoning Administrator rather than the Board (Condition 30).
  • The permit can change hands "upon written notice to the Zoning Administrator" (Condition 1), without a Board vote.
  • The benefit agreement posted October 2 had blank signature lines. [We have not seen a signed copy.]
  • The written resolution, Resolution 26-5, is on the October 19 agenda. The copy we have is dated October 5 and unsigned. Its 37 conditions follow Monolith's September 4 filing, number for number.

The community benefit agreement

Required by Nebraska law (§70-1506). Paid by the operator, CES Acquisitions LLC, into a Hallam fund at the Nebraska Community Foundation.

$160kwithin three months of construction starting: $150,000 to Hallam Volunteer Fire and Rescue, $10,000 for the Village's permit costs
$1Mwithin three months of the data center being fully energized
$150kevery year for ten years after that

A five-member committee recommends grants: one trustee, one operator representative, and three residents chosen by those two.

Sources: Nebraska Public Media, Oct 6; KLKN, Oct 6; 10/11 NOW, Oct 5; benefit agreement (PDF). Condition numbers match Resolution 26-5 as it appears on the October 19 agenda. [The October 5 minutes and the signed resolution are not posted yet.]

The record since September

From the Village's posted minutes and agendas, and a recording of the October 5 meeting.

  1. Sept 14

    Residents propose a limit. The Board tables it.

    A proposal to limit Hallam and its zoning jurisdiction to one data center of up to 35 megawatts. The village attorney said it might need to be an ordinance and that it had "a lot of good points in it." Tabled 5-0 until October.

    Board minutes, Sept 14 (PDF), item 3A

  2. Sept 16

    Planning Commission recommends approval, 4-0

    Crusoe walked through the revised conditions. Public comment was not reopened. The four commissioners present voted to recommend the permit.

    Commission minutes (PDF). Audio is a 6-minute excerpt of the discussion, not the vote.

  3. Oct 2

    The benefit agreement is posted

    $160,000 at construction, $1 million at energization, then $150,000 a year for ten years. Signature lines blank on the posted copy.

    Community Benefit Agreement (PDF)

  4. Oct 5

    The Board approves Phase 1, and sets aside the limit

    After about an hour of discussion with residents and Crusoe, the Board voted unanimously to approve the permit. Monolith's attorney said on the record her understanding was that it was approved with the benefit agreement as presented as a condition. Later, on the residents' ordinance, a Board member said "At this point we're not going to approve the ordinance or anything" and called a task force "a good idea."

    News reports linked above; October agenda (PDF); a resident's recording reviewed by the campaign. [Minutes not yet posted.]

Every source we rely on

Village of Hallam Board and Planning Commission minutes and agendas (Village Board page; earlier months from the Clerk). The October 2 community benefit agreement. Monolith's September 4, 2026 update to its application (36 conditions, site plan, draft resolution) and its July 31 FAQ, from the Village Clerk. The September 9 noise model study. The Hallam Comprehensive Plan 2035 (September 2025). Hallam Village Code Chapter 11 (Codes & Ordinances). Lancaster County Assessor, Register of Deeds and GIS records. Reporting by Nebraska Public Media, 10/11 NOW, KLKN and KLIN, linked where cited.

Anything in [square brackets] is not yet confirmed and we say so. We do not name private individuals.