Yukon mayor says former city manager signed NDA with data center developer before public disclosure

YUKON, Okla. (KFOR) — Yukon’s mayor confirmed to News 4 that the city entered into a non-disclosure agreement with the developer of a controversial proposed data center project weeks before the deal became public.

The city council voted in August to sell a large piece of land near Highway 66 and Frisco Road to Beltline Holdings, LLC, a company based in Georgia.

The company plans to build data centers on the site.

“This is not okay. You don’t keep secrets,” Yukon resident Julia Seay said during public comment at the Sept. 9, 2025, city council meeting.

Several residents spoke at the meeting, raising concerns and asking questions.

“How will our individual citizens and families benefit from this coming in?” another resident asked.

Some criticized the city’s handling of the deal, calling it a backroom agreement with an out-of-state developer.

“This has been going on for a long time, and there’s been lots of people kept in the dark,” Seay said.

The property has been the focus of several proposals over the years.

At various times, the land was slated for a soccer park, an indoor water park, and most recently, a large amphitheater.

In August, the city council ultimately approved an agreement to sell the land to Beltline Holdings, which plans to develop data centers on the site.

That decision came as a surprise to some in the community.

“There was no public hearing, as far as I’m concerned,” Seay said.

Seay obtained emails between Beltline and city staff through an open records request and read from them during the meeting.

She pointed to a March email from the company to a city staff member as evidence that the deal had been in motion for some time.

“‘We are developing a project in Yukon on parcel number 09-000. Can you please provide us with aerial maps and water sewer infrastructure in the area?’” Seay said, quoting from the March 11 message.

On Wednesday, Mayor Brian Pillmore told News 4 the city’s discussions with Beltline began in February.

“The city was approached in February, and I became knowledgeable about it in March,” Pillmore said.

He pushed back on claims that the city withheld the information, saying the city council and planning commission held several meetings with public comment opportunities.

“The first time that the word data center was mentioned in the city of Yukon in the course of city business was in late March,” Pillmore said. “In March, when we actually added a data center to the land use table that did receive any comment.”

However, that March meeting did not include a discussion of Beltline’s full plans, which call for as many as 10 data centers over the next ten years, according to an email Seay obtained.

“None of this information was given before they voted to rezone,” Seay said at the September meeting.

On Wednesday, Pillmore also confirmed Yukon’s now-former city manager signed a non-disclosure agreement with Beltline in February—weeks before any mention of the project in public meetings.

“So one reason that a company like Beltline or other real estate developers may want to enter into a non-disclosure agreement is they don’t want their name getting out there that they’re looking to do a data center when there are other companies,” Pillmore said.

Asked whether he would have made the same decision, Pillmore said NDAs are not uncommon in private business.

“On the municipal space, I can’t say that I’m the absolute expert on nondisclosure agreements. I’ll tell you in my business career, we signed non-disclosure agreements all the time,” he said.

Despite the controversy, Pillmore said city leaders have done their best to keep the public informed.

“We’re listening. We care about our neighbors. These are people that we go to church with. These are folks that we see at the grocery store that we interact with in our own schools,” Pillmore said.

He also defended the project, saying it would bring major financial benefits to Yukon.

“That will result in between eight and $12 million of revenue to the city each year. That’s a give or take a 30% increase for our own municipality and revenue and everything that our city needs to do to reinvest in infrastructure and quality of life,” he said.

Some residents have also raised concerns about environmental impacts, as well as the potential strain the development could place on the area’s water supply and electric grid.

News 4 asked the mayor about those concerns as well.

News 4 will bring another report with his responses on Thursday night.