(Photo by Amber Phipps) Left, Washington County Commissioner Charlie Schilling responds to questions from Waterford residents regarding preliminary data center project during regular meeting Thursday. Commissioners Eddie Place and Greg Nohe listen and respond as well.

Concerned residents voiced their opinions and posed questions regarding the potential data center project in Waterford during the regular Washington County Commission meeting Thursday.

Although the commissioners said there have been no decisions made at this time as the project is in the preliminary phase, people voiced concerns in prior meetings when the commissioners entered into a non-disclosure agreement with potential developers in January.

Marietta resident Barbara Stewart said building the data center would only make the rich billionaires running AI companies even richer. She said it would also eliminate many jobs because at the rate by which AI is advancing, most entry level jobs will be fully automated.

“All the billionaires are in a race to win AI, and they are all gobbling up all the power they can both now and in the future,” said Stewart.

Many of the residents who spoke Thursday were asking for more information about the project and had concerns about the data center potentially ruining their farmlands and scenery.

“We are fortunate in Washington County to have pristine farmland and farmers who know what they’re doing,” said Stewart. “Let’s not put them out of business by raising their electric rates and draining our aquifers.”

County resident Robert Pennock asked the commissioners how the data center tax abatement would allocate money back to the county.

“Wehether it’s a tax abatement or whether it’s a P.I.L.O.T. (payment in lieu of taxes), that money would come back to the local community, the primary share would go to the school districts,” said Commissioner Charlie Schilling. “There would be a county portion of it and a township portion of it as well.”

Schilling said they would have to evaluate the various departments and townships to identify the benefits.

Pennock said he noticed there were a lot of people upset by the NDA and the potential development in Waterford. He said he wanted to identify the facts because there was a lot of information spreading in the community and some of that could be false.

“There’s a lot of people making up things that are going to happen, so if there was a way you were able to have a little more transparency and get these people informed, I think a lot of your problems would go away,” he said.

Resident Justin Arthur asked the commissioners what the benefits would be of constructing a data center in Waterford. He asked them to elaborate on the number of jobs the data center would bring in and how it would help residents of the county.

“This comes down to jobs and being able to support the local economy,” said Schilling. He said he’s lived in Beverly his entire life and has seen large companies come and go which directly impacted the schools in the area. He said this potential project would support those budgets.

“When there are projects like this, there’s an opportunity to bring back some jobs – good-paying, high-scale jobs and construction jobs – it’s something that we need to really take a serious look at,” he said.

Schilling said the project is preliminary so they don’t have secure numbers in terms of jobs and the longevity of those jobs.

Data centers store and process digital information which supports services such as banking, health care, emergency systems, education and more, he said.

“I think when you have a decision-making process, there’s advantages and disadvantages to both, and right now, we’re currently weighing those advantages and disadvantages,” said Commissioner Greg Nohe. “Before we make any decision, we will seriously evaluate every aspect of a data center coming into this area.”

Destiny Jones said her family lives in Waterford and she had concerns about the proximity of the site to their property. She said they’re concerned about the data center’s impact on their farm and the future of their kids.

“I just wish you guys would listen to the public,” she said. “Why hasn’t there been a public meeting yet? We have a lot of questions and a lot of doubts.”

Jones asked if there was anything the commissioners could tell the public, because “our feelings are valid, and our concerns are valid, and we want to know more.”

Schilling said when they visited a data center in New Albany, there was no noise pollution due to new soundproofing technology.

Waterford resident Shayna Robinson said she started a Facebook page for residents to share information and their concerns about the project.

“I’m just really after more information or reassurance that this is going to be OK if I have to live there,” she said.

Neighboring farmers are all looking to sell their properties so she would be surrounded on all four sides by the data center project if it were to happen, Robinson said.

“Me as an individual, and I can speak for the other commissioners as well, that we are doing our due diligence to make sure that all those questions are answered,” said Nohe. “Before any decisions are made, there will be a public forum where all those concerns will be addressed.”

Robinson asked if they were planning on breaking ground for the project in March.

The commissioners said no decisions have been made and there’s no groundbreaking for the project in March.

There was pushback from the public who didn’t want their farmland to be disrupted. Many of the residents said they chose to live there because of the scenery the countryside provided.

Marietta City Council President Susan Vessels asked who is going to be running the data center. She said she wanted to know who was behind the project.

Schilling said the industry drivers are companies like Google, Amazon, IBM, and more.

“Do we want them to have more control over our lives than they already do?” asked Stewart. “We do have choices, and that’s why we’re all here because you have choices that will affect us.”

Vessels said the public has an obligation to know who exactly they’re dealing with for this project.