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Residents urge Prince George's County to prepare workforce and safeguards as data centers arrive
Summary
Three residents told the County Council's Committee of the Whole on Feb. 17 that data centers could bring jobs and revenue but urged planning for workforce training and protections on water, power and emissions.
Prince George's County residents told the County Council's Committee of the Whole on Feb. 17 that the county should prepare to make incoming data centers benefit local people.
At the start of the meeting, three public commenters — Ursula Franklin, Sandy McDonald and Demetri Gamble — spoke about data centers. Franklin said she had researched the topic and urged the council to educate the public so residents can make informed choices. "I've been hearing a lot of discussion about data centers coming to our county and our community," she said.
Sandy McDonald said she began as an opponent for environmental reasons but, after studying industry practices, sees potential economic benefits and urged the county to negotiate community benefits and workforce training. McDonald advocated for preparing academic programs in county schools so local students can access well-paying data center jobs: "All of the jobs are well paying," she said.
Demetri Gamble described data centers as "a great opportunity" and said the county—located next to the nation's capital—should try to capture job and infrastructure gains while acknowledging growing energy and water demands.
Why it matters: data centers can bring investment and high-paying jobs but often raise concerns about energy, water use and local environmental impacts. Commenters asked the council to pursue training programs and community agreements so residents can benefit from construction and long-term operations rather than only temporary jobs during building phases.
Council procedure: the chair reminded the public that council members do not respond during the public-comment period but encouraged speakers to follow up at town halls or schedule one-on-one meetings with council members to pursue the issues they raised.
Next steps: the meeting proceeded to a staff briefing on the county's Telecommunications, Transmissions, Facility Coordinating Committee master plan; no formal action on data-center policy or incentives was recorded during this session.
