MONROE, Wis. — Green County residents will get two chances Oct. 7 to learn about data centers, ask questions and weigh in on what the county should consider as it studies possible zoning rules during a one-year moratorium on data center development.

The sessions, scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Albany Lions Club and from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Green County Justice Center in Monroe, are being organized by UW-Madison Division of Extension Green County in collaboration with Green County and the City of Monroe. Both sessions will feature the same presentation and question-and-answer format.

While the program will begin with an overview of data centers, the primary thrust will be more specific: what county and local governments can and cannot do when regulating them.

“The focus of the educational sessions is providing an overview of data centers and then focusing on what local government entities can do regarding regulation regarding data centers,” said Victoria Solomon, associate professor and Community Development educator with Extension Green County.

Solomon will serve as lead facilitator. The presentation itself will be given by Karl Green, a Community Planning Specialist with UW-Madison Division of Extension’s Community Development Institute. Solomon said Green developed the educational materials with her assistance, including work on how to present a large and potentially difficult subject in an understandable way.