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Resident urges Cookeville Council to block data centers over water and jobs concerns
Summary
Sam Mattson, a Cookeville resident, told the council during public comment that data centers use heavy electricity and water, deliver comparatively few jobs, and could shift utility costs to residents; he urged the council to oppose proposed data-center projects in Cookeville or Putnam County.
Sam Mattson, identifying himself as a Cookeville resident, used the meeting’s public-comment period to urge the council to oppose any data-center proposals in Cookeville or Putnam County, saying they impose high water and electricity demands and deliver limited local employment.
"Data centers take money out of our pockets," Mattson said. "They use a lot of electricity and water, and often it winds up us who winds up footing the bill for that." He said data centers typically provide far fewer jobs than other industrial projects that have recently been announced locally and argued that, if proposals arise, Cookeville should "flex its muscle and say, no."
No action or formal response from the council was recorded in the hearing minutes. The comment was given during the non-agenda public-comment portion of the meeting after the council concluded its agenda business.
The council’s formal actions during the meeting—all taken during the agenda portion—were separate from the public-comment period and included multiple contract approvals and the rezoning ordinance recorded earlier in the meeting.
