ARCHBALD, PA — Legal counsel representing the recently rejected Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus has issued document preservation notices targeting Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan and two Valley View School District directors in their individual capacities, signaling potential litigation following the borough's denial of the project.
The legal notices formally demand that the three officials preserve all records, communications, notes, and electronic files related to data centers ahead of prospective legal action against Archbald Borough and its council. The demands were served roughly one week after the Archbald Borough Council voted unanimously (7-0) to reject Brooklyn-based Cornell Realty Management’s Dec. 15 conditional use application. The rejected proposal sought approval to construct 14 high-density data center buildings spanning 574.2 mountainside acres along Business Route 6 and Route 247 (Wildcat Road), overlooking Archbald’s Eynon and Sturges neighborhoods.
Gaughan, an outspoken opponent who testified multiple times during the nine-month conditional use hearing process, sharply condemned the preservation demand in a public statement Thursday afternoon. The commissioner characterized the move as an aggressive intimidation tactic aimed at chilling free speech and retaliating against community leaders who voiced environmental, health, and grid-reliability concerns on behalf of valley residents.
The notices to the school directors and commissioner suggest developers may be preparing an appeal in Lackawanna County Court or pursuing federal civil rights claims regarding the procedural handling of the conditional use proceedings. Borough officials have maintained that council’s unanimous rejection was rooted in the developer's failure to meet local zoning and environmental requirements during public testimony.
