Town Hall | Project Thunderbird | 10/22/26

The City of Enid held a Project Thunderbird town hall on October 22, 2026, to hear residents’ views on proposed rezoning for a large data center and related power-generation facilities. Commissioners emphasized that rezoning was an early step and that the project had not been approved; the town hall was a non-quorum meeting with no vote. A commission vote was expected at the October 27 meeting. Supporters cited potential jobs, tax revenue, and community investment, while residents raised concerns about water use, emissions, noise, health, construction traffic, housing costs, and the long-term effects of changing farmland to heavy-industrial zoning.

Residents urged the city to delay or reject the rezoning, consider a public vote or moratorium, and complete further environmental, water, traffic, and cumulative-impact studies. They also asked for protections such as road upgrades, mitigation for nearby homes, and zoning that could be revisited if the project did not proceed. City representatives discussed roughly $16 million in water and sewer infrastructure improvements, funded by a federal grant for the industrial park, and said the developer would be expected to fund project-related infrastructure; they also cited a proposed water demand of about 1.4 million gallons per day. No contract awards or purchasing decisions were identified.