Hagerstown’s Mayor, City Council, and city administrator are asking residents to comment on an annexation tied to data center development while operating under the City’s nondisclosure agreement with Diversified Capital, the company behind the project. As we previously reported, the City has refused to provide that agreement to us, despite our Maryland Public Information Act request.

Both Washington County and Hagerstown officials met privately with Diversified Capital CFO Moshe Rubin on December 9, 2025, in separate closed-door meetings. As we documented in our reporting, Hagerstown’s minutes place Diversified Capital CFO Moshe Rubin with the Mayor, City Council, and senior City staff. The County’s minutes identify Rubin and other project representatives at its confidential presentation, which officials said was covered by an NDA.

Now, at the Tuesday, October 27 hearing, residents are being asked to weigh in while the City continues withholding its agreement with the developer, and officials cannot get their story straight about who is responsible for keeping it from the public. That meeting also includes approximately $30.6 million in proposed wastewater contracts that sewer customers would help fund. Residents should be able to examine the City’s commitments and understand the potential costs before officials make further decisions. We reviewed the 567-page agenda packet and identified ten things residents should know. Page numbers below refer to that packet.

1. The agenda leaves the final annexation vote date undetermined

The proposal would bring 171.88 acres at 12440 Burkholder Lane and 12660 McDade Road into Hagerstown with Industrial Mixed-Use zoning. The annexation plan anticipates extending City water to the Burkholder parcel. Staff scheduled a November 10 follow-up discussion, but the proposed resolution leaves its passage and effective dates “To be determined.”

Why it matters: Annexation would put the properties under City land-use rules and advance plans to provide City water. Residents need a clear voting schedule and answers about the data center’s demands before that decision is made. November 10 is listed as a discussion, not a confirmed final vote.

2. Data center development drives this annexation, but only one of 567 pages mentions data centers

On page 97, the packet reproduces the hearing ad placed through a local news outlet with a paywalled website. It describes the acreage and proposed zoning without mentioning the data center development or its anticipated use of City water. The only page we found mentioning data centers is page 247, a Fidelity Power Systems sales sheet advertising “Data Center Cleaning.” Someone searching for an explanation of the development would find a contractor’s marketing material.

Why it matters: Residents should not have to follow our reporting to understand why these properties are being brought into Hagerstown. Leaving the development out of the notice and annexation explanation makes it harder for people to recognize what is at stake and prepare informed comments.

3. The sewer spending could matter as much as the annexation

The hearing shares an agenda with major wastewater spending. A five-year, $52.9 million improvement program lists $49.5 million in planned borrowing and $3.4 million from the wastewater fund. Sewer customers’ payments would help repay the borrowing. The plan also notes $3 million in loan forgiveness within the state financing, so that portion would not need to be repaid.

Why it matters: Borrowing lets the City pay for work now and repay it over time through the sewer system’s revenues, including customers’ bills. Residents need to know what these upgrades would cost them and whether any work would accommodate data center development. The funding page provides no household bill estimate.

4. The wastewater funding plan lists no developer contribution

The five-year wastewater program lists $0 under “Grant or Devel”, the category for grant or developer funding. Its listed sources are borrowing and the wastewater fund, with $3 million in loan forgiveness noted separately within the state financing. No direct developer contribution is budgeted in that table.

Why it matters: If any upgrades are needed to serve data centers, existing sewer customers need protection from paying costs those developments create. Officials should identify the projects these investments would serve and explain what developers would contribute. Any developer payments through connection fees or separate agreements should also be disclosed.

5. Major wastewater contracts could pass together without separate discussion

The Council could authorize approximately $30.6 million through one consent agenda vote, which groups purchases together unless a councilmember requests separate discussion. Page 101.

The proposed authorizations include Carl Belt: $27.73 million, including a $3 million reserve for unexpected costs, and Black & Veatch: $2.84 million for construction engineering and oversight through an amendment to its existing treatment plant contract. The City proposes adding that work without a new competition, citing the firm’s knowledge of the plant. Pages 311–315 and 351.

As we previously reported, Black & Veatch’s January 22, 2026 master-plan proposal included additional “Data Center Owner’s Advisor” services for Hagerstown and Washington County, addressing water demand, cooling wastewater, electricity and siting. The March 24 agenda presented the $2,790,365 master-plan project with that proposal attached. By July, City paperwork said the project had begun.

Our reporting also documented Washington County consultant Greg Murray billing for a meeting with a Hagerstown representative and reviews of Black & Veatch materials. His invoice does not identify the documents or discussions. Black & Veatch also advertises private data center work, including two 300-megawatt substations, and campus services covering water and power.

Why it matters: The City moved forward with a master-plan project whose proposal explicitly included data center advice. It should identify which services it purchased, release the approved scope and explain whether the October plant work reflects data center demand. Those answers deserve public discussion before another multimillion-dollar commitment passes with a list of purchases.

6. The City claims enough water is available without showing the development’s demand

The proposed annexation covers 171.88 acres overall, but the annexation plan identifies the Burkholder parcel at issue for water service as 148.77 acres. For the 148.77 acre Burkholder parcel, the annexation plan states: “Sufficient capacity exists to serve the property.” But the annexation materials do not provide a project-specific estimate of water use, cooling assumptions, or calculations showing how the anticipated development fits within available capacity.

Why it matters: That assurance is hard to evaluate without knowing how many gallons per day the City assumed or how much water is already committed elsewhere. The City should publish the study behind its conclusion and explain whether it accounts for the scale and cooling design of the proposed data center.

Read the other six reasons to demand answers at tonight's Hagerstown’s data center annexation hearing here: https://blog.hagerstownrapidresponse.com/p/12-reasons-to-demand-answers-at-hagerstowns-data-center-annexation-hearing-on-tuesday-october-27

I’m in Hagerstown for today and was wondering what the best food I could get today is. I was thinking Schmankerl Stube but that’s closed today so maybe Rik’s? These are just what I found looking online, but if y’all have any other places in mind I’m looking for suggestions. I’m not picky and usually like to get something I can’t get back at home (Atl).

That's the post.

https://elections.maryland.gov/voting/early_voting.html

Nobody should have to worry about being assaulted simply because of who they are. The people responsible deserve to be held accountable, including any security personnel who allegedly helped the attackers instead of protecting someone who was being threatened.

Come to Hub city Brewery tonight for a drag show/halloween event presented by Hagerstown Hopes. Hub City will be having theme drinks for the event. $10 cover at the door. 18+ to attend.

The ponderosa location that was like between super 8 and eastern blvd....there was a different chain restaurant there before it was ponderosa, what was it?

Hi folks! r/WashCoGaming is looking for new blood to join our community! Based out of Washington County, MD we encourage discussion about games, news, gaming trends and community involvement. We welcome everyone from western Maryland, and our neighbors in the panhandle of West Virginia, and south central Pennsylvania.

Join our weekly discussion post or make your own, hop on our Discord and find your next gaming buddy, participate in the monthly photo contest or hop online during the weekends for our LFG Friday’s event!

We hope to see you there!

Hagerstown and Washington County Governments signed NDAs with data center developer, Diversified Capital. October 27 is our chance to demand public answers before this project advances.

On Tuesday, October 27, at 6:45 PM, Hagerstown will hold a public hearing on the Burkholder-McDade annexation tied to Diversified Capital’s data center development. Annexation would move approximately 172 acres into Hagerstown, where Washington County’s sham data center moratorium conveniently does not apply. Everyone who can attend needs to be there, whether you live inside city limits or elsewhere in Washington County.

-Data centers can bring consequences that residents live with long after construction ends:

-Higher electricity bills. Enormous power demand can increase electricity prices and require expensive generation and transmission projects. Maryland’s consumer advocate has warned that households could be left paying data center costs.

-Higher water and sewage bills. If new pipes, pumps or treatment capacity are needed and developers do not cover the full costs, existing customers could pay through higher rates. Residents deserve to see the infrastructure plans and financing assumptions before commitments are made.

-Additional pressure on water supplies. Cooling systems can consume water through evaporation, including during hot weather. Recycling water does not eliminate that consumption. The cooling design determines how much water a facility needs.

-Loud equipment and a constant industrial hum. Cooling equipment can operate around the clock. Virginia’s legislative review documented residents’ complaints about persistent low-frequency noise, which conventional noise ordinances can struggle to address.

-Air pollution and climate impacts. Fuel-burning generators produce exhaust, while supplying additional electricity can increase emissions when fossil-fuel generation serves that demand. EPA identifies data center power equipment as a source requiring air-pollution oversight.

-Land clearing, polluted runoff and neighborhood disruption. Large industrial development can replace farmland and vegetation, disturb habitat, and bring construction traffic, dust and noise. EPA explains how construction runoff and additional paved surfaces can threaten water quality. Residents also deserve answers about lighting, buffers and changes to surrounding neighborhoods.

-Public costs that outlast developers’ promises. Tax exemptions reduce potential public revenue, and infrastructure built for speculative projects can leave customers exposed if anticipated demand never materializes. Maryland’s consumer advocate has explicitly warned about that risk.

-Relatively few permanent jobs for the footprint. Construction jobs are temporary. Virginia’s legislative review reported that industry representatives described approximately 50 full-time workers at a typical 250,000-square-foot data center, roughly half contractors. That is a comparison, not a verified employment estimate for this project. Residents deserve verified permanent-job numbers before officials use employment promises to justify public commitments.

Both Washington County and Hagerstown have been deceptive about their dealings with Diversified Capital. We see a pattern of both governments going out of their way to keep residents out of the process while giving the developer private access to elected officials and senior staff. On December 9, 2025, Diversified Capital CFO Moshe Rubin and members of his development team met privately with both governments on the same day.

Officials involved included:

-John Barr, President of the Washington County Commissioners

-Jeff Cline, Washington County Commissioner

-Randal Leatherman, Washington County Commissioner

-Randy Wagner, Washington County Commissioner

-Michelle Gordon, Washington County Administrator

-Jonathan Horowitz, Washington County Director of Business Development and member of the Data Center Alliance of Maryland Steering Committee

-Bill McIntire, Mayor of Hagerstown

-Kristin Aleshire, Hagerstown City Council

-Caroline Anderson, Hagerstown City Council

-Erika Bell, Hagerstown City Council

-Tiara Burnett, Hagerstown City Council

-Sean Flaherty, Hagerstown City Council

-Scott Nicewarner, Hagerstown City Administrator

-Jill Thompson, Hagerstown Director of Planning and Economic Development

County officials signed confidentiality agreements. Hagerstown refuses to release its NDA or identify who signed it. The city’s approved meeting summary remained missing from its online archive for nearly nine months until we obtained it through an October records request. Then the October 20 annexation agenda omitted both Diversified Capital and the data center, identifying the matter simply as “Burkholder-McDade.” Residents had to know the story already to recognize what officials were discussing.

Meanwhile, commissioners point to a data center moratorium that does not apply inside Hagerstown, the very jurisdiction this developer is seeking to enter. Residents trying to follow their own government have had to uncover the meetings, obtain the missing records and decode the agenda themselves. The developer gets direct access to decision-makers. The public gets confidentiality agreements, incomplete information and a bill for obtaining its own government’s records.

This record gives us no reason to trust either government to negotiate these projects without meaningful, enforceable public participation. Residents should know what developers are requesting, what officials are considering and who could pay before commitments are made. Our opportunity to participate should not depend on whether we discover what is happening in time to object.

Washington County invited residents to help shape its 2040 Comprehensive Plan because decisions about land use, infrastructure, natural resources and public services affect all of us. That principle should apply before consequential commitments involving data centers or the proposed ICE detention center, too. A private developer’s demand for secrecy should never take priority over officials’ responsibility to the public.

Sign the petition at StopTheNDAs.org to demand meaningful public participation before major development decisions are made. Then show up Tuesday, October 27, at 6:45 PM at Hagerstown City Hall, 1 East Franklin Street.

The hearing begins at 7 PM. Bring your neighbors and your questions, and come even if you do not plan to speak. Our utility bills, water supply and neighborhoods deserve a room full of residents demanding answers.

If anyone in the area is in need of promotional or graphic design services u/sparksafirepromo is the guy to go to!

My local gaming group and subreddit need a promotional flyer made with no budget and the hope someone would just help us. Sparks A Fire Promotions answered the call and helped us out for free! If that doesn’t speak to the character of this guy I don’t know what else will. The quality of work was just the cherry on top.

If you need promotional work done definitely get in touch with him. I’m sure I was a special case so don’t expect pro bono work all the time but if you have a local business, community group like me, or event to advertise this guy will hook it up! Thanks again Sparks A Fire! The entire r/WashCoGaming community thanks you!

in your personal opinion who has the best pizza and why

​

The developers who want to put a data center right outside Hagerstown (near Garland Groh) by making the land a part of the City via annexation will be making a presentation at this meeting.

We need to show up and make it VERY clear that we do not want these data centers in the middle of our beautiful county, sucking up our water and causing light pollution, noise pollution, harming the ecosystems in the area, etc. Please show up if you can, and sign up to speak if you wish. The more of us, the better. This thing is further along than you think.

For anyone who wants to know what locations have what Boo Buckets for McDonalds, I figured a list would be helpful.

Massey Blvd: Maleficent

Sharpsburg Pike: Cruella

Dual Highway (by Martins): Maleficent and Ursula

If anyone else confirms any of the other ones, I’ll gladly update this list. Happy Halloween!

Edit:
Halfway Blvd: Cruella
Massey is now Scar

Anyone on here good with art or basic graphic design? I need a flyer template made pro bono for a local community subreddit and group. You would be able to advertise yourself of course on said flyer

If that’s you hit me up!

The mayor, five councilmembers, and senior city officials met with Moshe Rubin behind closed doors. The city admits its online meeting minutes archive stopped at December 2024.

Hagerstown’s mayor and City Council met privately with data center developer Diversified Capital CFO Moshe Rubin on December 9, 2025, according to approved meeting minutes obtained through a Maryland Public Information Act request. The city’s utilities director, chief financial officer, and planning and economic development officials were there, too. Residents looking through the city’s online minutes archive would have had a difficult time finding any of this. The city has now acknowledged that the last minutes posted there were from December 2024.

That is a remarkable arrangement for a government whose decisions affect public infrastructure, development, and residents’ bills. The developer gets a meeting with elected officials and the people responsible for utilities and finances. The public gets an archive that is nearly two years behind, a vague agenda item called “Business Proposal,” and the opportunity to file a records request to learn who showed up. And when Hagerstown Rapid Response separately asked for the city’s nondisclosure agreement with this developer, the city refused to provide it or identify who signed it.

Approved in January. Obtained in October.

We filed a records request on October 5, 2026, after discovering that the December 9 meeting minutes had come before the council for approval on January 20, 2026, yet were nowhere to be found in the city’s public agenda or minutes archive. This actually led to a much larger gap: the online minutes archive contained nothing after December 17, 2024.

In an October 12 response, Decker supplied the approved minutes and confirmed the archive problem. He attributed it to the city clerk’s transition between archiving products, which had taken longer than expected, and said the minutes were anticipated to be current within two weeks. It has currently been eight days since Decker’s response, so we hope to see this corrected by next week.

The December 9 minutes had been approved for nearly nine months when we filed our request. Whatever the explanation for the backlog, residents should not have to discover that a record exists, trace its approval through another meeting, and submit an MPIA request to obtain the city’s approved account of its own proceedings. The explanation does not change the practical result: information documenting a private meeting with a developer was missing from the online minutes archive where residents would reasonably look for it.

Decker also stated that the underlying executive session minutes were exempt from public production, citing Maryland General Provisions §3-306(c)(3)(ii). The released document therefore gives us the city’s summary of the closed session, while the more detailed account remains withheld.

The same developer. The same “Project Team.” The same day.

On December 9, 2025, Diversified Capital’s CFO and three members of its development team met behind closed doors with both Washington County’s commissioners and Hagerstown’s mayor and City Council. The county meeting was the confidential presentation involving the “Project Team” that we previously documented, along with the NDAs signed by commissioners and senior officials. The newly obtained city minutes establish that the same four representatives also met privately with Hagerstown’s elected leadership and senior staff that day.

Hagerstown’s executive session ran from 2:03 p.m. to 3:37 p.m. The minutes list Mayor McIntire and all five councilmembers, Aleshire, Anderson, Bell, Burnett and Flaherty, as participating. Joining them were City Administrator Scott Nicewarner, Utilities Director Nancy Hausrath, Chief Financial Officer Michelle Hepburn, Planning and Economic Development Director Jill Thompson, and Economic Development Manager Doug Reaser. The developer had access to the entire elected city government and the officials responsible for the utilities, finances and development approvals a major project would depend on.

Diversified Capital CFO Moshe Rubin was joined by Connor McManus of Dynamic Engineering, Zack Fritz of Sage Policy Group and Boyd Rutherford of Davis, Agnor, Rapaport and Skalny. All four also appear in the county’s record of its confidential development presentation. The same developer and the same representatives were meeting privately with both governments months before county commissioners adopted their dog-and-pony-show data center moratorium.

We also now know that Hagerstown is under an NDA with Diversified Capital. Both governments held private meetings with the developer’s representatives, and both entered confidentiality arrangements involving the company. Washington County provided a redacted copy of its NDA through an MPIA request. Hagerstown has refused to release its agreement or identify who signed it. Residents are left trying to piece together dealings that their own governments agreed to keep confidential.

Six weeks later, the city received a proposal to help plan for data centers

The December 9 meeting adds to questions raised in our October 16 investigation into city and county infrastructure planning. On January 22, 2026, roughly six weeks after Rubin and his team met privately with both governments, engineering firm Black & Veatch submitted a water and wastewater master plan proposal to Hagerstown. Among its proposed additional services was a task called “Data Center Owner’s Advisor,” covering assistance with developer negotiations, drinking water demand, cooling system wastewater and electrical requirements. The proposal explicitly described a role helping both Hagerstown and Washington County evaluate data center placement and long-term water and wastewater needs.

The timing gives officials another question to answer: did anything presented by Diversified Capital influence the work the city asked its engineering consultant to consider? Hagerstown’s utilities director, chief financial officer and senior development officials were all listed as attending the private meeting. Six weeks later, the city received an engineering proposal offering advice on the infrastructure demands of precisely this industry.

The county’s infrastructure work deserves scrutiny for the same reason. A September invoice from Greg Murray, whom commissioners hired through a no-bid contract in May, includes reviews of Black & Veatch engineering materials and a meeting with a Hagerstown representative. The invoice establishes that county taxpayers were paying a consultant to review the firm’s materials and meet with someone from the city while Diversified Capital pursued annexation of land tied to its data center development.

October 27: Millions for the Same Firm That Proposed Helping Hagerstown Plan for Data Centers

Black & Veatch, the same engineering firm that proposed helping Hagerstown and Washington County plan for data centers in January, is now listed for a $2,841,509 wastewater engineering contract on the city’s October 27 consent agenda. That is the same meeting scheduled for the Burkholder-McDade annexation hearing. 

Hagerstown Purchase / Contract Form - Wastewater- WWTP Improvement Project Construction Phase Engineering with Black & Veatch pg 1

County consultant Greg Murray’s September invoice also shows taxpayers paying him to review Black & Veatch engineering materials and meet with a Hagerstown representative. The company’s work is already part of the county’s infrastructure review, and now the city is considering another multimillion-dollar contract with it while residents are still chasing records of private meetings with Diversified Capital. Before approving that spending, officials should release the development assumptions and demand projections behind the improvements and Murray’s work, including any projected data center demand and who would pay to accommodate it.

Be at City Hall on Tuesday, October 27 at 6:45 PM

The public hearing on the Burkholder-McDade annexation is Tuesday, October 27, at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at Hagerstown City Hall, 1 East Franklin Street. This is the hearing everyone needs to show up for. Annexation would move land tied to Diversified Capital’s data center development into a city where the county’s moratorium does not apply, and residents are still fighting to obtain basic records about the city’s dealings with the developer. Bring your neighbors, bring your questions and make sure the people making these decisions have to face the people who will live with them. If you want to speak at the public hearing, arrive early and sign in at City Hall before it begins.

why are they opening two of these at the same time?? It seems like their opening up one near dual highway and one near the Panera

Unsure how true it is but heard the outlets could be getting new owners. Anyone hear anything?

Come and see us giving away candy, flyers and free tickets to a local wrestling event! Thursday October 22nd Drive Thru Trick or Treat!

Does anyone know of any other local video game/table top game shop in the area? My group would be interested to know of them.

As the title states, where do you go to look up the ballot questions, who is on the ballot and what they stand for? How do you keep informed with what is going on in the politics of the local area?

I was actually first behind this in Martinsburg, but here it is in Hagerstown too, Pennsylvania Ave.