THE LAUNCH DOCK

What Most Communities Never See

Most people don’t realize how often the future is decided in rooms they were never invited into.

Not through elections.
Not through public debate.
Not through informed consent.

But through planning meetings, zoning adjustments, non-disclosure agreements, development boards, and infrastructure projects labeled “economic opportunity.”

Doors close.
Decisions move forward.
Communities adjust later.

This week, something different happened in Warrenton, Missouri.

A Meeting of Minds, Not a Referendum

While so much of modern development happens behind closed doors, Anna Farrar chose to do the opposite.

She invited people in.

Local residents. Neighbors. Business owners. Families. Anyone willing to sit down and ask honest questions about what is being built around them.

Instead of limiting the conversation to private offices or technical briefings, she opened the floor to the community itself — creating space not for pressure or persuasion, but for understanding.

She opened the evening with a line that quietly reset the room:

She wasn’t there to campaign.
She wasn’t there to persuade.

She was there to explain.

To help people understand what is being built around them, how those decisions are made, and what it means to live inside systems that often grow faster than public awareness.

She returned to one simple truth again and again:

We deserve to know how the process is happening.
Information is power.

And power should never require an invitation-only meeting.

Who Anna Farrar Is — and Why She’s Paying Attention

Anna Farrar is a community researcher, podcast host, and current candidate for Alderman (Ward 2) in Warrenton, Missouri. She is the creator and host of The AI Factory Next Door, a civic education project and podcast focused on how artificial intelligence infrastructure, utilities, industrial development, and public policy reshape small towns (Farrar, n.d.).

Her work centers on translation — taking technical systems and policy language and making them understandable to the people who live alongside them.

She also publishes her research and reporting through The AI Factory Next Door on Substack, where she documents development proposals, infrastructure projects, and policy decisions shaping communities across Missouri and beyond (Farrar, n.d.). You can explore her work at:

https://annafarrar.substack.com

In her framing, data centers are not the beginning of the story.

Upstream is where the groundwork happens:

Land preparation.
Energy access.
Zoning changes.
Mineral extraction.
Public incentives.

The quiet architecture of the future.

The People’s Lobby of Missouri: A Check on Government

Robb Carter, representing The People’s Lobby of Missouri, described the organization as a nonprofit devoted to civic accountability and public transparency (People’s Lobby of Missouri, n.d.).

Their concerns centered on:

• public spending and tax structures tied to AI infrastructure,

• long-term energy demand and grid pressure,

• surveillance implications, and

• the unequal burden large infrastructure projects can place on vulnerable communities.

Carter also addressed election integrity, explaining the organization’s opposition to electronic voting systems due to cost, security vulnerabilities, error rates, and limited auditability. The group publicly advocates for hand-counted paper ballots as a way to preserve accountability and public trust (People’s Lobby of Missouri, n.d.).

Another issue he raised was enforcement:

Laws may exist.
But when officials do not follow them, meaningful consequences are often rare.

Democracy, he emphasized, requires participation and attention — not just statutes.

The Economics No One Advertises

Innovation makes headlines.

Infrastructure sends invoices.

AI expansion requires enormous physical systems: data centers, transmission lines, substations, cooling facilities, backup generators, rail access, and industrial zoning. Nationally, hundreds of billions of dollars are being mobilized and planned for AI-related infrastructure development (McKinsey & Company, n.d.; U.S. Department of Energy, n.d.).

Locally, the impacts are quieter:

• increased strain on electrical grids,

• rising energy demand,

• land rezoning,

• public incentives directed toward private development, and

• long-term shifts in utility costs and tax structures.

Energy providers increasingly acknowledge they cannot guarantee stable rates as demand escalates.

The question raised in the room was simple:

When innovation competes with households for electricity, who absorbs the cost?

What Gets Built Quietly Gets Built Fast

Much of the discussion focused not just on what is being built — but how.

Communities are often prepared long before residents realize anything is happening:

Land is graded.
Industrial parks are designed.
“Shovel-ready” sites are funded with federal infrastructure and recovery dollars.
Development authorities partner with private corporations.
Seats are sold on economic development boards.
Businesses are recruited.
Confidentiality agreements are signed.

By the time a proposal becomes public, the framework is already in motion.

These systems, Farrar noted, have been forming for decades.

Data Centers, Mega Centers, and Livability

Not all facilities carry the same footprint.

Large-scale data centers require:

• continuous high-capacity power,

• industrial cooling systems,

• diesel backup generators,

• freight coordination, and

• ongoing infrastructure expansion.

Noise standards became part of the conversation. Freight trains alone operate well above normal conversation levels, and generators and cooling systems add further impact (Federal Railroad Administration, n.d.).

Local ordinances exist to protect livability — and Farrar emphasized that those standards should be enforced, not treated as optional.

This is where conditional use permits matter.

If companies cannot meet community standards for noise, emissions, traffic, or infrastructure strain, those permits are not meant to be permanent.

They are conditional.

And conditions exist for a reason.

Mining, Batteries, and the Next Layer

Missouri is also preparing for mineral extraction tied to battery production — another upstream component of the AI ecosystem.

That means:

More freight.
More zoning pressure.
More energy demand.
More cumulative impact.

Each project becomes the foundation for the next.

A Note From Us

It was genuinely refreshing to see someone do all three of these things well:

Learn deeply.
Explain clearly.
Then step forward personally.

Anna Farrar is articulate, informed, and serious about the systems she studies. It is evident she has invested real time and energy into understanding these developments — not only for herself, but so she can explain them to others.

What stood out most was her presence.

She was grounded.
Patient with questions.
Calm under pressure.
Flexible when conversations became complex.

She did not posture.
She did not perform.

She listened.

And she did not stop at education.

By running for Alderman in Ward 2, she is placing herself directly inside the local governance structure where transparency and accountability must become policy — not just conversation.

Whether someone agrees with every position raised or not, that combination of preparation, composure, and commitment is rare in public life.

And it deserves to be honored.

Call to Action: How to Support Informed Communities

If you live in Missouri — or anywhere affected by large-scale infrastructure development — consider taking one small step:

• Listen to and follow The AI Factory Next Door by Anna Farrar:
  https://annafarrar.substack.com

• Attend a local planning or zoning meeting.

• Ask how major projects will affect utilities, taxes, land use, and long-term community health.

• Learn who represents your ward or district.

• Support organizations that prioritize transparency and public accountability, such as The People’s Lobby of Missouri.

Upcoming Community Meeting

Residents of Montgomery County and surrounding areas are invited to attend a public town hall regarding a proposed 5,000-acre mega-site and data center development:

Montgomery County Town Hall Meeting
Thursday, January 29 — 7:00 PM
Montgomery County R-2 High School Gym
Organized by Preserve Montgomery County, LLC

Community forums like this are one of the few places where questions can be asked publicly, concerns can be documented, and local voices can be placed on record before decisions become permanent.

And if you are in Warrenton, Missouri take time to learn about the candidates shaping your local government.

Informed communities are harder to bypass.
Engaged citizens create better systems.
And leadership rooted in clarity, patience, and service deserves to be seen.

Final Thought

This is not about being pro-technology or anti-innovation.

It is about stewardship.
It is about consent.
It is about building a future people can recognize themselves in — not one quietly assembled around them.

Information is power.

But shared information is protection.

And communities that understand what is happening to them are communities that can shape what comes next.

In solidarity,
Lyndsay LaBrier
Founder, Merchant Ship Collective

References

Federal Railroad Administration. (n.d.). Railroad noise and vibration. U.S. Department of Transportation.

Farrar, A. (n.d.). The AI Factory Next Door. Substack. https://annafarrar.substack.com

McKinsey & Company. (n.d.). The economic and infrastructure impact of artificial intelligence.

People’s Lobby of Missouri. (n.d.). About the People’s Lobby of Missouri.

U.S. Department of Energy. (n.d.). Energy implications of data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure.