Macon, Ga. (WGXA) — Jones County residents gathered at a massive Stewart Farm Road house on Wednesday night for an oppositional gathering ahead of Planning and Zoning's first public hearing on the Crooked Creek Technology Park.

"I can't make any promises, but I'm pretty darn sure we're going to get this thing stopped," activist Alex Lefholz said to the crowd, to a loud roar of applause.

WGXA previously reported on Lefholz's efforts to enact Georgia's "Home Rule" act to move the data center vote to citizens.

At this time, it's unclear how many signatures she has received.

As the sun set over Jones County, people had the chance to hear from speakers like Fletcher Sams, the executive director of the Altamaha Riverkeepers Group.

He criticized Georgia's newly loosened policies for Developments of Regional Impact (DRI)studies as new data centers make their way into the state.

"Counties that are desperate for a tax base increase because they don't want to deal with millage rate increases are jumping on these," Sams said. "All they see is the dollar signs, and they don't see any downsides."

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WGXA also reported a data center in neighboring Twiggs County was approved by commissioners without a DRI study. Residents are now filing an appealagainst the county and demanding transparency.

There's also no filing for the Crooked Creek on the DRI's website as of Wednesday night.

Many shared their concerns about the environmental impact, too.

Local land surveyor Evan Pope lives in Haddock, the northern part of Jones County.

He says worries about how much water the tech park could drain from the area.

"It's not going to affect me, I'm not going to see it, I'm not going to smell it, I'm not going to hear it, it's not going to affect my water," Pope said. "But it's going to affect the water of the people I care about, because this is my community now."

Brenda Irwin lives on highway 49, also miles away from the Bethlehem Church Road site - but says she's no stranger to loud stuff.

"I live between two rock quarries, so there's a lot of noise, you can hear the trucks rumbling," Irwin said. "The blasts shake the house, but I've been there, like I said, 35 years, I've kind of gotten used to it."

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When asked if she would get used to a data center in Jones County, Irwin replied with a simple 'no' and she may move out of the county entirely.

For now, folks that are a part of the"No Data Centers in Jones County" movement are holding on to the land, the water, and the quiet they’ve always known — hoping it’ll still be here tomorrow.

WGXA did not receive a direct reply from county manager Jason Rizner for comment Wednesday, but he welcomed us for an interview at a later time.