Columbus Council meeting moved ahead of controversial curfew, data center votes

The Columbus Council meeting Tuesday will be conducted in the Muscogee County Public Education Center Board Room at 9 a.m. — across the Citizens Way parking lot from its normal location at the C. E. “Red” McDaniel City Services Center, according to the council’s agenda.

Clerk of Council Lindsey Mclemore told the Ledger-Enquirer the city moved the meeting’s location because of the runoff elections being the same day. Each time there is an election, the council meeting moves to the school district building, Mclemore said.

The meeting still will be livestreamed on CCG-TV’s YouTube channel.

Muscogee County elections director Nancy Boren told the L-E her staff uses the council chamber on election days to count and tabulate the absentee ballots.

Councilors are scheduled to vote on two controversial issues during Tuesday’s meeting: a proposed curfew in the Uptown District and proposed rules to allow any hyperscale data center to be built in Muscogee County. At last week’s nine hour-long council meeting, residents spoke against both proposed ordinances.

The proposed youth curfew would prohibit minors from being in public spaces from Eighth Street to 14th Street and from Second Avenue to Bay Avenue between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. each day, with certain exceptions.

Proposed curfew for Uptown Columbus

Uptown Columbus Inc., the nonprofit organization that promotes downtown business, proposed the curfew ordinance last month after more than 400 reported incidents occurred in the district last year, according to numbers provided by the Columbus Police Department.

CPD Assistant Chief Lance Deaton said a little less than half of the cases involve juveniles, but the number does not include the number of police contacts made with juveniles during that period.

Residents have voiced concerns at council meetings about the curfew being racially biased. Councilors have also spoken critically about the effectiveness of implementing a curfew in only one neighborhood of Columbus without providing additional recreational resources for minors.

Proposed ordinance to allow hyperscale data centers in Muscogee County

Following the curfew ordinance vote, councilors will then vote on a proposed ordinance for a technology overlay district that would allow data centers to be built in Muscogee County. If passed, the ordinance would enable the construction of Project Ruby, a proposed hyperscale data center targeted for 865 acres of wildland in northeastern Muscogee County.

Supporters of the project cite economic benefits of constructing a data center in the county, but its opponents, who have voiced their concerns at city council meetings, are worried about possible utility rate increases and environmental risks.

Columbus residents called for a one-year moratorium last week to slow the decision-making process. No councilor motioned for a moratorium.

This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 2:34 PM.