Local leaders urge pause on Perry Village data center over power, water and pollution concerns

At a Lake County commissioners workshop, the mayor of Timberlake and county commissioners pressed county staff and peers to pause or slow consideration of plans for a large data-center project in Perry Village, saying the proposal could strain electric and water infrastructure and deliver little near-term tax benefit to local schools.

The mayor of Timberlake, speaking during public comment, said the project’s power arrangements alarm local officials and residents. “The power grid is going to be number one,” the mayor said, describing discussions that a private operator would reserve “about 6 to 700 megawws of power” and that upgrades of roughly “300 megawws” would be paid for by the operator — a combination the speaker said could yield “about a 1 gawatt of power total.” The speaker warned that continuous 24/7 use by data centers would erode reserve capacity and could lead to intermittent outages or automated load management on residences.

The mayor also raised environmental and water concerns. He said water needs cited in proposals — roughly “250,000 gallons a day” for the current six-building plan — may be sustainable now but could become insufficient if the campus expands. He urged caution over wastewater handling of what he called “forever chemicals,” saying closed-loop cooling systems still require periodic purges and that existing wastewater plants are not designed to remove some of those persistent contaminants before effluent reaches Lake Erie. He added concerns about backup generation, noting both diesel generators and natural-gas turbine generators carry noise and emissions impacts and that multiple large units would be disruptive if run frequently.

A county commissioner who later identified himself in the discussion as Commissioner Plesnik thanked local residents and urged a county-level response that does not require zoning authority. “I would humbly propose that we consider whether we should have a resolution encouraging our 23 municipalities to follow the lead of East Lake and Payneesville Township and Timberlake in passing a moratorium,” Plesnik said, arguing a pause would let the county and municipalities evaluate tax burdens, environmental safeguards and siting before contracts are finalized.

A second commissioner said county staff are pursuing follow-up work and outreach with the utilities, prosecutor’s office and developers. That commissioner described having briefings on an announced Vistra–Meta arrangement tied to the Perry nuclear plant and said descriptions of the deal have varied: staff members explained to the commissioner that Meta had been described as taking “100% of the power” coming from the plant, later characterized as “90%,” and that power could be routed to other data centers in central Ohio. County officials said they have been approached by Vistra and will schedule additional conversations to understand whether and how capital costs and contractual terms for plant upgrades would be passed through to local ratepayers.

Fiscal concerns were also a recurring theme. Speakers questioned tax-abatement terms described in local proposals — including one figure cited during the meeting of a 75% property-tax abatement — and raised a published projection that the project might generate $426 million in property tax revenue over 31 years while much of the benefit to local governments would occur after the abatement period. The commissioner called the current abatement proposal “laughable” and said schools had not been offered direct pilot payments.

County officials told the workshop they do not control municipal zoning but can press state lawmakers and utilities for greater safeguards and can work with municipalities that opt to enact moratoriums or more stringent local rules. “We will continue to work with our prosecutor’s office and the utilities department. When we have updates, I assure you that you will hear from us,” a commissioner said.

Next steps: county staff said they will meet with Vistra and other stakeholders to clarify the deal terms, continue coordination with municipal leaders considering moratoriums, and follow up with the prosecutor’s office and utilities on environmental and infrastructure protections. The commission did not take a formal vote during the workshop.