Mayor presents data-center findings and board moves to approve power easement for Avaya site

Mayor opened the meeting by summarizing a recent trip to the state capital and task-force hearings on data centers, saying the community should separate documented risks from amplified online claims. He told the board the agenda included the Avaya Digital Taurus Phase 1 project — two buildings for which the city will consider an energy easement to bring permanent power to the site.

The mayor said staff prepared an 11-by-17 frequently asked questions packet and a QR code linking to materials from Avaya, the utility and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and urged the board and residents to review the primary sources before reacting to social-media claims. "This is a public meeting. We're being transparent," the mayor said, introducing the material he asked staff to post on the city website.

The mayor and a guest presenter who earlier attended the state task-force hearings described on-site noise and water measurements taken near existing and under-construction data centers in the region. Guest Jim Walsh, introduced by the mayor, cautioned the board that much of the online material about data centers can be amplified misinformation and urged officials to verify sources. "Be very cautious on the information that you're getting," Walsh said, asking the board to check whether complainants are local citizens or false accounts and to consult regulators and utilities for technical answers.

The mayor relayed several readings collected during site visits: interior readings in a hearing room and decibel readings taken near multiple data-center footprints, including a Colossus campus. He and staff said most outdoor readings the mayor showed were in the mid-50s to low-60s decibels at the exact public-street observation points they visited and that construction noise — not ongoing operations — was the principal source of elevated readings at some sites. The mayor also presented month-of-May municipal water-usage examples and compared typical institutional users (nursing home, car wash, school) against reported data-center demand, concluding the city's review suggested water use was not the major strain residents feared.

The board also heard that for the Avaya project the near-term action before the board and on the public-works agenda was to grant an easement to run power into the site so Entergy (the utility) and Avaya can proceed with studies and work to supply the campus. Staff noted the easement and right-of-way instrument had been placed on the public-works items and was read aloud during the agenda. The public-works package, including authorization of the easement, moved forward in the board's vote that followed the presentation.

Why it matters: Data centers can prompt questions about noise, water and grid impacts; the city presented raw measurements, an FAQ packet and a process for residents to request verified technical information. The board approved the procedural easement that allows power infrastructure work to proceed, a step that enables future construction and operation if other permits and approvals follow.

What’s next: Staff will publish the FAQ materials and QR code the mayor displayed and will continue coordination with the utility and state regulators as the Avaya site proceeds through permitting and construction. The board’s approval of the easement does not by itself authorize any building permits or guarantees of final operation; those remain subject to future approvals and regulatory review.