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Mayors say well‑negotiated data‑center agreements brought infrastructure, buffers and jobs
Summary
Mayors from Ridgeland, Clinton, Meridian and Brandon told the task force that careful zoning, negotiated buffers and company-funded infrastructure turned data‑center proposals into community benefits, while urging preservation of local control and ad valorem revenue.
Several mayors described how negotiated agreements with developers produced infrastructure and community benefits rather than unmitigated externalities. Jean McGee, mayor of Ridgeland, said AWS initially committed roughly $33,700,000 for water and sewer improvements and that construction cost increases have lifted that commitment to an expected $40,000,000. McGee said those investments will expand sanitary sewer service, fund wells and elevated water storage, and enable road and safety projects paid by the project rather than existing taxpayers.
Will Purdy, mayor of Clinton, said the city’s $1 billion AWS site sits deep in an industrial park, draws power through a dedicated transmission substation (not on‑site generation), and is expected to generate roughly $2.8 million for the city and $4.6 million for Clinton Public School District in the first year. Mayors and public‑works directors emphasized conditional zoning, buffer distances (Ridgeland required a 2,000‑foot buffer from residences), closed‑loop cooling, acoustic enclosures and decommissioning bonds as tools communities used to protect residents.
Across speakers a consistent recommendation emerged: preserve local decision authority, require developers to negotiate community protections and retain a share of ad valorem revenue to fund local services.
