A crowd estimated at about 200 people jammed into the Bricklyn Longhouse and into two large tents set up alongside the Longhouse and connected to it by video for the January 6th meeting of the Federal Council of the Realm of Bricklyn.
Various officials of the Realm of Bricklyn were also in attendance, including Federal Chancellor Malter Thurnbrick whose office would be charged with leading the data center study called for in the moratorium resolution.
Many of those supporting the proposed data center moratorium also decried the explosive growth in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) that has triggered the demand for large-scale dat centers. Data centers, in turn, were said to have significant adverse environmental and social impacts.
In contrast, those opposing the moratorium on new data centers feared that delay would severely damage the Realm’s economy, as businesses looked to move their operations to more “AI and data center friendly” locations. They also touted what they saw as many other benefits resulting from AI, especially in terms of health care and business efficiency, while downplaying the potentially negative environment impacts.
➤ Editor’s Note: so you can evaluate our own biases in reporting on AI and data centers, please see our statement “On the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence by The Bricklyn Eagle.”
Before taking up the data center moratorium resolution, the Federal Council addressed two other items: first, the Council heard a rare formal public apology; and second, Council President Plater-Zybrick read Chief Prognosticator’s response to the Council’s request for his comments on the moratorium resolution.
The Head of the Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce Offers Formal Public Apologies
Council President Hilma Plater-Zybrick gaveled the Council meeting to order, and called Chamber of Commerce head Tom Brickorti and Bricklyn Environmental Alliance leader Jenny Brickdeur to come to the front of the Longhouse and stand facing each other. so that Brickorti could make a public apology for the Chamber of Commerce’s unethical conduct towards the BEA.
Mr. Brickorti, draped in a long red scarf (symbolizing apologies), walked to the front of the Longhouse.
As called for by Bricklyn custom, Brickorti donned the red ceremonial scarf worn by those making public apologies.
He then bowed first to the Council, then turned and bowed to the public, and finally made a half turn and bowed to Ms. Brickdeur who faced him across the Longhouse’s ceremonial flame.
Brickorti then offered his apology:
“On behalf of the Chamber of Commerce I stand here to apologize to the members of the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance, to the Federal Council, and to all Bricklynites for the actions one of our staff took in tricking the Alliance into printing and displaying throughout the Realm a poster they would not otherwise have used in their efforts to support the moratorium resolution. Our staffer has been fired, and on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, I apologize for this act of chicanery. We will also compensate the Alliance for any additional costs they have borne as a result of what we have done.”
➤ For details on this incident, see the Bricklyn Eagle’s December 29, 2025 news story.
Ms. Brickdeur replied by accepting the red scarf tendered her by Mr. Brickorti and said: “On behalf of the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance, we accept your apology.”
Apparently, this was the first public apology session conducted at a Federal Council meeting since 2014 when two Councilors apologized for making threatening gestures and shouting at each other during a Federal Council meeting.
📍 For two other examples of public apologies, see these stories from Indianapolis and Los Angeles.
Council President Hilma Plater-Zybrick Reports on Correspondence from the Chief Prognosticator
Following a five minute recess, Council President Plater-Zybrick reclaimed her gavel. She then read into the record a brief statement from the Chief Prognosticator in response to the Council’s request for their advice on the moratorium resolution.
➤ See The Bricklyn Eagle’s Dec. 20, 2025 article for more on the Council’s request.
Statement of Chief Prognosticator David Bricks:
“In light of concerns some have raised about potential bias the Office of the Chief Prognosticator might have in commenting on a resolution that relates to the use of artificial intelligence, we have concluded that the Chief Prognosticator will not comment on the data center resolution before the Council. …
“We cannot indicate whether our Office uses, or does not use, any form of artificial intelligence in our work. …
“As provided in Section 3.7 of the Constitution of the Realm of Bricklyn: ‘The Office of the Chief Prognosticator’s data analysis and methodologies shall not be divulged to any members of the public, including members of the Federal Council or to any other officials in the Realm of Bricklyn. Only the Chief Prognosticator and his or her Deputies confirmed by the Federal Council shall have access to that Office’s data analysis and methodologies.’ “
Public Comments Offered on the Data Center Moratorium Resolution
Some two dozen individuals and groups briefly spoke during the two hour set aside for public comment on the data center moratorium resolution.
Speaking on behalf of its over 300 members, Bricklyn Environmental Alliance Director Jenny Brickdeur told the Councilors that it was “essential that we take the time to learn about the consequences a massive data center might have on our environment and how we use our limited undeveloped lands.”
Brickdeur added, “we are not anti-business, in fact many of our members are small business owners. But we cannot put our environment at risk, and we cannot saddle Bricklyn ratepayers — including business ratepayers — with what are now the largely unknown energy costs that might result from the demands a large data center would place on the realm’s energy supplies and supporting infrastructure.”
➤ Further comments from Ms. Brickdeur and others supporting the resolution can be found in recent Letters to the Editor we have previously published.
In contrast, those opposing the resolution, led by Bricklyn Chamber of Commerce Director Tom Brickorti and Dunk Them Donuts CEO David Plater Broffman, stressed the risks that passing a two-year moratorium would have for Bricklyn’s business community.
As Brickorti noted, “we will be placed at an extreme competitive disadvantage with other Inland realms, several of which are already proceeding with the development of data centers.”
Dunk Them’s CEO Broffman, looking back at the overflow crowd assembled in the Longhouse, stood at the microphone and said, “As I have already noted in public remarks, the future of Dunk Them Donuts’ expansion in the Realm of Bricklyn, and especially in our Bricklyn Junction home, will be put at risk if this two-year moratorium is put in place.
“As Mr. Brickorti just explained,” added Broffman, “we live in a highly competitive environment. I see many of our 800 employees here in the audience. They understand the stakes!
“I do not mean to be threatening, but simply want you on the Federal Council to understand the risks you are exposing our employees to by shutting off our company’s ability to expand our use of artificial intelligence and other technologies essential to business growth in the coming years.
➤ Further comments from those opposing the moratorium can be found in Letters to the Editor we have previously published.
Councilors Debate Resolution Calling for a Two-Year Moratorium on the Permitting of Large-Scale Data Centers
Following the conclusion of the public comment period, Council President Plater-Zybrick recognized Councilor Bob Senbrick to speak to the data center moratorium resolution he had introduced.
Nattily attired in his trademark bowtie, and vest with a pinned flower, Senbrick — the longest serving member of the Council — rose to speak.
“Why this resolution?” he began. “Because the simple truth is that Bricklyn is unprepared to deal with large-scale data center proposals that could have profound impacts on not just neighboring properties, but on the Realm as a whole.
“We need to ensure that our zoning and energy code regulations provide clear standards for data centers so that if they come, they will fit with our energy and land use policies, and be good neighbors.”
“I’m particularly concerned,” Senbrick continued, “with what we’ve heard today from the Bricklyn Environmental Alliance and others about the enormous demand data centers could place on the Realm’s energy infrastructure, and on our long-held policy of maximizing use of renewable energy sources including wind, solar, and hydro power.
“Whats more,” Senbrick concluded, “the energy demands being triggered by increasingly complex artificial intelligence programs and other technologies may well require construction of a nuclear reactor, something our Realm is quite unprepared to deal with. All the more reason we need the time that a moratorium will give us to plan more effectively.”
President Plater-Zybrick next recognized the youngest member of the Federal Council, South Burlington’s Jessica Tiler Jemison, who had seconded Senbrick’s resolution.
Jemison noted that while she supported Senbrick’s resolution, she remained “troubled” by the rapid expansion in the use of artificial intelligence, which, she said, “is driving the call for massive data centers.”
“I have been assured by Councilor Senbrick,” added Jemison, “that the intent of his resolution is that the study to be undertaken will also examine the possible regulation of AI, as its use is obviously closely tied to the need for data centers.”
Is the Proposed Moratorium Legal?
Bricklyn Junction Councilor Mario B. Marconi next spoke against the resolution, noting the key role that Dunk Them Donuts plays in Bricklyn Junction, and its importance to the city’s economy. “This resolution, with its very lengthy moratorium, is reckless,” said Marconi. “While I respect Councilor Senbrick, I ask him to weigh the impacts his resolution could have on thousands of hard working Bricklynites, and consider withdrawing the resolution.”
Councilor Marconi also asked the Realm’s Chief Attorney, William Brickstone, to verify that the proposed moratorium would be upheld if challenged in court.
Brickstone replied that though there is no direct Bricklyn law or judicial precedent involving land use moratoria, he was “confident the proposed moratorium would be upheld.”
Brickstone explained that “In the absence of Bricklyn law or relevant judicial rulings on a particular issue, Bricklyn’s Supreme Court has said it can take note of how the statutes and courts of the neighboring state of Vermont have addressed the same kind of issue.” See Henry Brickson v. Realm of Bricklyn, 27 Brick 322 (2013).
“For example,” said Brickstone, “while a two-year moratorium may be viewed by some as quite lengthy, or even reckless, it is clearly within the time frame Vermont law allows.” Citing [24 VT § 4415 ]. This form of “persuasive authority” would likely be cited by the Realm of Bricklyn Supreme Court.
Attorney Brickstone also cited a Vermont Supreme Court case [ In re Interim Bylaw, Waitsfield, VT, 170 Vt. 541 (1999) ] which upheld a moratorium that temporarily prohibited one and two-family dwellings in the Town of Waitsfield’s forest reserve zoning districts or on land above an elevation of 1,700 feet.
As Brickstone noted, “The Vermont Supreme Court found that the town’s moratorium reflected a legitimate municipal interest in resource protection, while also noting that the plaintiffs had not shown that the moratorium denied them all ‘economically beneficial’ use of their property, as other possible uses remained. The reasoning of this Vermont Supreme Court decision, “said Brickstone, “would very likely be given considerable weight by our own Court.”
Speaking next, South Bricklyn Councilor Bill B. Butler noted that “even though Councilor Senbrick’s proposed data center moratorium is likely legal, I nevertheless have “very mixed feelings about the moratorium proposal.”
As Butler explained, “I share many of the concerns expressed on both sides, and am looking to see if there’s some room for compromise.”
“Having said that,” Butler added, “I’d like to ask, Madame President, for a 15 minute recess.”
Council President Plater-Zybrick polled the Council, which unanimously agreed to Butler’s request.
A Compromise Takes Shape
During the break, the seven Councilors could be seen huddling in several small groups joined by Federal Chancellor Thurnbrick, Bricklyn Planning Director Tim Brickedy, Bricklyn Energy Department Director Joanna Brightbrick, along with the Environmental Alliance’s Jenny Brickdeur and the Chamber’s Tom Brickorti.
On returning to their seats after what had turned into an hour long recess, President Plater-Zybrick recognized Councilor Butler. The South Bricklyn Councilor turned to Bricklyn Councilor Senbrick and asked if Senbrick would agree to amend his resolution by shortening the duration of the moratorium from two years to six months, with a provision that by future vote of the Council this six month period could be extended by up to an additional three months.
Councilor Senbrick taking off his reading glasses, looked back at Butler and said that he would agree to this shortened time frame “out of a desire that the Federal Council speak with a unified voice on this important issue,” and “having received assurances from Chancellor Thurnbrick that his Office, with help from the Planning and Energy Departments, could complete the study called for in my resolution within the shortened six to nine month time frame.
After Councilor Jemison seconded the amended resolution, the Federal Council approved it by unanimous vote and adjourned the meeting.
Conversations Continue after Adjournment
In a sign of good will, Tom Brickorti and Jenny Brickdeur could be seen chatting amiably, while Council members and others milled in the Longhouse, though it was past eleven in the evening.
We were able to speak briefly with several of the Councilors. We spotted Councilors Senbrick and Butler standing arm in arm.
Councilor Senbrick told us he was “completely satisfied” with Butler’s proposal to shorten the moratorium. Senbrick also acknowledged that Chancellor Thurnbrick and his staff “will have a lot of work to do in putting together their report and recommendation in less than six months,” adding that “I’m keeping my fingers crossed no other major issues demand their attention in the months ahead.”
Councilor Butler nodded in agreement and said: “I was very glad that Bob was willing to agree to our shortening the moratorium’s duration. We were headed for a very divisive outcome, with not just a split vote on the Council, but with a deep split between two key constituencies, the business community and environmental advocates.
“I had been thinking,” Butler continued, “about offering an amendment to Bob’s resolution before the meeting, and briefly sounded out Bob and Hilma about it, but it was in hearing Tom Brickorti’s apology at the start of the meeting that drove home for me that we Bricklynites really need to keep each other’s best interests at heart, and I thought that shortening the length of the moratorium was one way of doing that, of course if Chancellor Thurnbrick also felt it could work.”
Council President Plater-Zybrick looked at Councilor Butler and added: “We Bricklynites know that it’s up to all of us to really listen to what those we may disagree with have to say. Like Bill, I came into the meeting with some mixed feelings.
“As the one at-large member of the Council,” she continued, “I especially want to respect the voices of all Bricklynite, wherever they live. I could hear the concern from those who live or work in Bricklyn Junction, including the many Dunk Them Donuts employees who came to the Council meeting.
“I was glad that Bob and all the members of the Council could come around to supporting Bill’s amendment to the resolution. It was a very important signal to send to all segments of the Bricklyn community.” ✥
Previously posted in The Bricklyn Eagle:
➤ 12.27.25: Data Center Moratorium Supporters & Opponents Mobilize Amidst Evidence of Poster Chicanery
➤ 12.20.25: Does the Office of the Chief Prognosticator Use ChatGPT or Other AI Programs?
➤ 12.16.25: Data Center Moratorium Resolution Introduced. Hearing Scheduled
➤ 12.01.25: Does a Moratorium on Data Centers Make Sense for Bricklyn?
➤ 11.28.25: Federal Council Member Calls for Two-Year Moratorium on New Data Centers
We welcome Letters to the Editor. Please email to: bricklynvt@gmail.com
To the Editor: Why is it that none of those wise men and women who sit on the Federal Council asked how much this in-depth study will cost? You’d think that would be one of the most important things to know. But not a word mentioned by our Councilors. Of course, we know who will be picking up the tab: we the Bricklyn taxpayers! — Ruth B. Raucous, Bricklyn, VT.
To the Editor: As one of your Vermont readers, I was intrigued by your practice of having “public apologies” made, at least occasionally, at your Federal Council meetings. We would need dozens upon dozens of such apologies from our President and his Cabinet members to even scratch the surface of their lies, misconduct, corruption, and plain nastiness. — Zev S., South Burlington, VT.
To the Editor: Hey, Walt, Bricklyn is certainly a stellar example of how to run a realm. I’m impressed by the apology tradition and by the willingness of Bricklynites to talk things out and compromise. I hate to admit it, but I’m mostly taken by the Viking hats and think the ladies should have them as well. Come to think of it, maybe even the beards too. … Well done, Bricklynites. –– Pat D., Burlington, VT.
Reply from the Editor: Dear Pat D. We appreciate your interest in both our apology tradition and the Viking style helmets that Federal Council members (male and female) wear during Council meetings held in the Longhouse. Our October 7, 2025 article on the history and use of the Bricklyn Longhouse included an explanation of the style of helmets used. We hope you and other readers take a look at that article. Have to say, however, that there is no tradition of female Councilors donning the beards that many male Councilors put on during meetings!
To the Editor: While I appreciate The Bricklyn Eagle’s solid news reporting, I wish you’d take an Editorial stand against AI and the data centers they require. Instead of improving our lives, they will be wreaking havoc with not just our environment, but with our our social cohesion. I agree with the words of Joni Mitchell mentioned in your article, saying we need to shine a light on our “Frankenstein” technologies.
Let me just add that several years ago our Federal Council dealt with a somewhat similar situation when it took the bold step of banning the operation of Facebrick, the Facebook subsidiary serving Bricklyn, because of the company’s neglect of legitimate privacy concerns and its monopolistic practices. I’m hoping that consideration of the growing impact of AI programs, and the need for their regulation, will be part of the study the Federal Council just authorized. — Martin Plater Nelson, South Bricklyn, VT.
