As data centers and rising gas prices are at the forefront of people’s minds, Hopkinsville Mayor J.R. Knight spoke on both topics with WHOP Radio Friday morning.
Governor Andy Beshear recently extended his executive order to reduce the state’s gas tax by ten cents, but only for the 33 cities and counties that requested that extension. By law, once the originally order passed the 30-day mark, county judge executives and city mayors are required to request the extension. Locally, only Oak Grove in Christian County and Earlington and Drakesboro in Hopkins County made that request, so their reduction will continue.
This comes as prices at the pump remain high in light of the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran, and Mayor Knight says he chose not to ask for an extension due to wanting to maintain their Municipal Road Aid funds in the future.
Money raised by the gas tax goes back into funding infrastructure and the MRA funds in Kentucky, and Knight says he and Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam ultimately decided the community would be better served by good roads rather than ten cent less at the pump.
As AI usage continues to creep its way into every day life and it begins to demand more and more resources, data centers have been cropping up across the U.S., including Tennessee. Now, that industry is turning its eyes towards Kentucky, and Mayor Knight revealed that representatives from two data centers have shown an interest in the Hopkinsville area.
Work with zoning and guidelines for data centers is happening with Community Development Services, so that way the City has regulations in place in the event a data center went to settle here. However, the mayor expressed no interest in bringing a data center here, saying he doesn’t see much return on investment, as centers are resource intensive and bringing little jobs, if any, with them.
He says it’ll be up to the next mayor and Hopkinsville City Council on how to move forward when it comes to data centers and the technology they play host to, but he himself doesn’t believe it’s a good fit for Hopkinsville or Christian County.