A developer will meet with elected officials and Shalersville residents on May 29 to discuss a proposed data center that’s being met with opposition.
The “open house and community Q&A” will take place from noon to 3 p.m. at 9575 state Route 44, in the 1-million-square-foot building at Turnpike Commerce Center in Shalersville. The “neighborly conversation about the project” will provide “local residents the opportunity to have any questions or concerns answered in open forum,” the flyer stated. Lunch will be provided and will be catered by a “local restaurant,” the flyer stated.
Portage County Commissioners and State Rep. Heidi Workman are expected to attend.
Visit www.neohioprojectinfo.com to get more information.
Local data center opponents were quick to criticize the project, including the time of the meeting.
Jessica Winchell, a Streetsboro resident who is Portage County lead for Conserve Ohio, said the hour of the meeting, and stating that “Shalersvile residents” are invited, means that people who need information can’t be there.
“I do think it’s in bad faith to have it during work hours,” she said. “And to say that other residents who may have a stake can’t be there is also in bad faith.”
Shalersville has data center moratorium
Trustee Frank Ruehr said Geis Construction, the developer of the building and the industrial park, is hosting the meeting. Trustees are hosting their own meeting at 5:30 p.m. June 16 at the township hall, 9090 state Route 44, where the developers also will be there.
“Now is your chance to ask questions about what their plans are and address your concerns,” Ruehr stated on social media. “All indications are there will be a lot of people from all over at that meeting and our hall is only so big. This open house is for local people only as it is privately sponsored by the developer. It is your chance to get questions answered more 1 on 1. Hope to see a lot of people there. Again, we haven’t voted on anything and nothing has been decided.”
Shalersville trustees have a moratorium on data centers, which was renewed for six months in April after more than 200 residents showed up at a meeting to express concerns. Trustee Ron Kotkowski said the developers aren’t asking them to lift the moratorium.
“They’re just asking what we want,” he said, noting that the township is working on its regulations. “They claim that they are presenting something different than another data center.”
Kotkowski said he will be there to get information about the project.
“I need to know what’s true and what’s not true before I make any decision,” he said.
Residents criticize proposal
The Facebook group Portage Residents for Responsible Development were quick to criticize the proposed data center. The group is leading efforts to put a ballot issue banning data centers, based on concerns about the environment and electric bills.
The website for the project states that the project would bring in more than 400 local jobs, including construction and full-time permanent jobs; generate “significant real estate taxes,” have noise that is “quieter than the turnpike” and that the user would pay for all power expansion and use local water resources.
But Winchell said that information is misleading. She posted an analysis breaking down language on the group’s website, stating that the project would have a bigger impact than developers claim.
Although the project’s website states that its power usage would have “zero cost impact on the community,” the group stated that this isn’t how electricity pricing works.
“When the grid experiences greater demand, the cost for the power goes up for everyone,” the opposition post states. “You and the data center will both be paying higher costs for electricity, with the critical difference that the data center is owned by a billionaire, and as a business they can negotiate for power discounts, now in the future.”
Which other area communities havea moratorium on data centers?
Streetsboro City Council unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on data centers April 27, the fourth community in Portage County to do so. Ravenna City Council implemented a 12-month moratorium on data centers April 20, while Kent City Council voted April 15 to approve its moratorium.
Several communities in Summit County also have considered action on data centers. Tallmadge passed a six-month moratorium April 13. In October, Norton officials rejected a proposal by Quantum HPC, which wanted to construct a data center dubbed Project Triton on a 90-acre site off South Cleveland-Massillon Road.
Ohio is home to nearly 200 data centers, most of which are concentrated around the Columbus area, according to USA Today Network’s Ohio Bureau. Critics say these projects harm the environment and drain energy resources while providing few permanent jobs.
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Developers host May 29 meeting about proposed Shalersville data center
Reporting by Diane Smith, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
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