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Revena council member urges county action on proposed data center, citing environmental and infrastructure concerns
Summary
During public comment a Revena council member said plans for a proposed data center across from the hospital raise water, energy, noise and local-job concerns and urged the county to consider moratoria or coordinated local responses; commissioners acknowledged the issue and encouraged community engagement and further study.
A newly elected Revena council member used the public-comment period to tell commissioners she and residents are concerned about a proposed data center that may come to Revena, citing local meetings and planning-commission filings she said show an application is forthcoming.
The commenter said communities statewide are debating data centers and told the board: “they consume as much energy as a 100,000 homes,” and raised concerns about large water use for cooling, increased energy costs for surrounding customers, heat-island effects, continuous noise from large generators, and limited long-term local employment (she said the Revena proposal was reported to create about 30 jobs but cautioned many positions are construction-phase only). She urged coordinated local measures—such as moratoria or bans—and local legal protections to manage site approvals.
Commissioners and staff responded that they are aware of the emerging issue, have attended seminars and regional planning discussions, and are monitoring state and local legislative proposals. One commissioner noted sample local legislation and invited the commenter to share it; staff signaled they will continue to follow the topic and invited the commenter to a city meeting where sample legislation will be discussed.
Why it matters: the commenter tied the concern to infrastructure impacts (electric transmission, water resources), public-safety and emergency-response needs (specialized fire suppression for data-center equipment), and local land-use choices. No board action was taken on data-center policy at the April 2 meeting; commissioners said they will continue coordination with municipalities and regional planning bodies.
