Coweta Police have launched an investigation into the city council and the city manager over its handling of a controversial data center.
But there’s a twist. The probe was asked for by the Coweta City Council. What prompted the request? It came in response to public allegations involving the council and City manager Julie Casteen and their handling of the Project Atlas data center.
Police Chief Michael Bell had been requested to start the investigation and do so in “a fair, impartial and unbiased manner,” reported the Broken Arrow Sentinel.
Fox23 News in Tulsa reported the investigation will look into possible real estate violations, misuse of non-disclosure agreements, and allegations of bribery tied to the scuttled Project Atlas data center.
Bell will also review claims of harassment involving children and whether any public funds were misused, the news station reported.
Project Atlas resulted in heated city council meetings where officials faced angry residents who opposed the use of a non-disclosure agreement used by the city in advance of finally revealing the project. Some residents called for the resignation of City Manager Casteen.
In March, Casteen was caught making an embarrassing comment in which she said some protesters at city council meetings “were not very smart.” It added fuel to the fires of the opponents.
Some residents also filed an Open Records criminal complaint after they faced struggles in obtaining public records from the city.
Developer Beale Infrastructure announced in April it had scrapped plans to build the data center in Coweta.