Ward 2 resident urges council to release details of recent data center approval, questions 'TurboCell' claims

Megan Willis, a Ward 2 resident, used her three-minute public-comment period to press the DeKalb City Council for more transparency about the council’s December approval of the Dana Center and to demand details about the technology the developer has cited.

Willis said she found vague language in the December agenda describing DeKalb officials’ out-of-state site visits and meetings “with brilliant minds” about bringing another data center to the city. She asked whether any of the visited sites were owned by Edge, whether councilors saw TurboCell technology in operation and whether the claimed water- and energy-savings align with DeKalb’s sustainability plans.

“On their website they use a lot of spin words, such as ultra efficient and high performance, to describe TurboCell, but there's no specific data or explanations on how it works,” Willis said. She told the council she found a disclaimer on some articles labeling promises as “forward-looking statements,” and asked why the city approved a data center eight days after learning of it and why NDAs were used.

Willis asked the council to hold a public meeting or a ward-level briefing to share details of site visits, technical findings and any documents the city relied on, including nondisclosure agreements. “You work for us, and you need to be ready to explain and defend your decisions,” Willis said.

The council did not take action during public comment. Council members later noted participation in a metropolitan data center task force and described a recent industry tour arranged for the task force, but no additional public briefing or new study was scheduled during the meeting.

The exchange highlights unresolved questions about the city’s information-sharing and the technical claims tied to the project; Willis requested direct engagement between council members and their constituents to answer those questions.