Rock Volunteer Fire Department Chief Charley Pearson declined a $250,000 donation from Google, saying public trust outweighed the needed funding

SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — The Rock Volunteer Fire Department has turned down a $250,000 donation from Google, saying community trust mattered more than needed funding as opposition grows to a proposed data center near Highway 97.

Fire Chief Charley Pearson said the department could have used the money, but accepting the donation, leading to the development of the data center, would jeopardize community safety and quality of life, KTUL reported.

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“That’s what all the people out here are fighting for, cause that’s what they moved out here for,” Pearson told KTUL.

“It’s going to jeopardize the people that live out here,” he continued.

Pearson said the decision was made after discussion with the city council.

“As a volunteer firefighter, I’ve stood in the middle of that road, and I’ve heard a mother cry and shout because her son, her daughter got killed in a car wreck,” Pearson told the city council.

Pearson said the issue also raised questions about money.

“Money is the root of all evil,” he said during the council meeting.

Pearson said Google representative Kate Franko approached him with an offer to donate $250,000 to the fire department, funding he acknowledged the department could have used, but the offer prompted serious discussion among the department’s board of directors.

Pearson also stressed that the fire department is not taking a position on the proposal and will continue serving the community regardless of the outcome.

Pearson said the department’s equipment and resources have been made possible by years of public support, and he did not want to risk undermining that trust. He said that because the department is staffed entirely by volunteers, the donation would have been helpful, but leaders ultimately decided to decline Google’s offer.

Would your department turn down a $250,000 donation to preserve your community’s way of life? Why or why not?

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February 11, 2026 12:19 PM