La Pine council directs staff to pursue sale process for industrial lot tied to proposed Boxminer data center

The La Pine City Council voted March 25 to instruct City administration to move forward with the purchase-and-sale process for county-owned lot 221040000101 as a potential site for a Boxminer data center. The motion, made by Councilor Morse and seconded by Council President VanDamme, passed unanimously; the vote authorizes advancing the sale process but does not finalize any transfer or remove conditions staff may request from Deschutes County.

City Manager Geoff Wullschlager and Boxminer representative Jeff Keller presented details about a proposed 20-megawatt facility and possible future expansion. Keller told the Council his calculations used a rate of $7.75 per kilowatt-hour and that "a 20-megawatt data center would generate approximately $1,131,500 in power fees per month." Wullschlager and Finance Director Ashley Ivans said city estimates produced inconsistent revenue figures and that staff had forwarded questions to Midstate for clarification. Keller said Midstate had indicated it could supply 20 megawatts but that supplying larger increases could require consultation with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).

Councilors pressed on likely local benefits and risks: Mayor Jeannine Earls said she had heard data centers often do not create the number of local jobs first projected, and Council President VanDamme asked whether a closed-loop cooling system could risk contaminating the water table. Keller said the system does not use water and that preventing leaks is a priority given the value of equipment, but he acknowledged the cooling approach is relatively new and lacks long-term performance data. City staff also outlined potential traffic, noise and resource constraints and described conditions they have asked the county to consider, including limits tied to city water and sewer resources and environmental protections.

The council vote authorizes staff to continue permitting and sale discussions and to seek conditions from Deschutes County but does not constitute final approval of a sale, of permitting, or of any tax or franchise revenue figures. Next steps identified by staff include further clarification from Midstate on power availability and revenue estimates and continued review of environmental and infrastructure impacts.