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Residents say petition nearing majority of voters as council considers second data center
Summary
A resident group told Trenton council it has gathered about 3,200 signatures — roughly 41.7% of the city—s 7,673 registered voters — to place a charter change on the November ballot to restrict data centers. Speakers urged more transparency and direct engagement from Amazon/AWS.
A group opposed to a proposed second data center in Trenton said it has collected at least 3,200 signatures from city voters and expects to submit an initiative to the board of elections by the Aug. 5, 2026 deadline.
"So far, the petition signing, we've collected at least 3,200 signatures of Trenton residents alone. That's 41.7% of Trenton and registered voters, and we're not done yet," public commenter Amy Humbert told the council during the July 23 meeting. She said the group has the signatures needed to qualify the charter change for the November ballot and urged the city to process the paperwork ethically and on time.
Humbert also criticized council spending priorities, saying the city should set aside money for a potential fire levy rather than approve other spending. "Maybe, you know, take a little bit here, take a little bit there...so that the fire levy...is one of the priorities," she said.
The petition and public opposition came up as the council discussed unfinished business and an annexation tied to the proposed facility. Council members did not vote on the underlying annexation during the meeting; instead, they voted to table items 1 and 2 under unfinished business (see "Votes at a glance"). The petition was described in public comment as approved by the board of elections and returned to the city for completion of the city's portion of the paperwork.
