Woodbury County officials plan to ask for a judicial review on whether the city of Salix followed the intent of Iowa law when annexing about 900 acres of rural land into the city.
That tract of land and the steps taken by the city has come under high scrutiny, amid the possibility that it could possibly become the location for a data center.
Woodbury County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Nelson, at the end of the Tuesday board meeting, said there was unanimity of the supervisors, after hearing a closed-door summary from the office of County Attorney James Loomis.
Nelson said a court review will determine if the Salix officials met the intent of Iowa annexation laws.
“The board has directed the county attorney’s office to ask for a judicial review in district court, and we will let a judge decide,” Nelson said.
The annexation vote by the Salix City Council came in April.
In the most recent Salix Council meeting on July 8, Mayor Kevin Nelson lengthily defended council actions about the annexation as lawful.
In a June 10 Salix council meeting, a MidAmerican Energy representative confirmed the company is involved with a proposed development of a data center.
A petition by Salix people urged Loomis to look into the overall process,
Also at the July 8 meeting, residents asked their city council to place a moratorium on any large-scale data centers being placed on city land, and the council voted 3-2 in support of a concept of such a one-year pause.
