WILMINGTON, Clinton County — Residents are sharing their concerns about a massive data center that could be built in their community.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, Amazon Web Services wants to build a nearly 500-acre, $4 billion data center off US-68 in Wilmington.
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About 30 Wilmington residents gathered to share their opinions about the center on Monday night.
Several people didn’t oppose the center being built in Wilmington; they just didn’t like the specific location.
>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Southwest Ohio Amazon data center stalls development
Jessica Sharp said she moved to the area four months ago. She recently found out the center may be built 200 feet away from her subdivision.
“My first thought was, what do we have to do to make it so we can move out of here?” she said.
Sharp told News Center 7’s Taylor Robertson that she’s heard some negative things about these centers in other parts of the country.
Some include negative impacts on the environment, loud noise, and light pollution.
It motivated her to gather a group of Wilmington residents to better understand Amazon’s plans.
“We’ve been asking a lot of questions, and we keep being told you know, more to come, more to come, and those answers don’t come,“ Sharp said.
>>RELATED: I-TEAM: Data centers, water, and secrets: Companies using NDAs to hide their names, water usage
Clinton County Port Authority is working with Amazon to turn this plan into reality.
Last week, Wilmington’s Planning Commission decided to table the idea until it gets more information.
On Monday, a port authority representative was at the meeting.
He said he was there to listen, not answer questions.
The same went for Wilmington City Commissioner Jamie Knowles, who was also in attendance.
He would not answer News Center 7’s questions, but welcomed residents to reach out to him directly.
“It’s going to take us all to keep this place how we want it,” Wilmington resident Molly Boatman said.
Boatman said her opinion on the center changes daily.
“Which I feel like is shamed upon, but it should be the approach that everyone takes,” she said.
Only one person at the meeting didn’t agree with the rest of the group.
“Could they have done a better job of educating and communicating? Probably. But there’s a whole lot of things here where frankly, this is the kind of industry you want here,” Wilmington resident Fred Duff said.
Duff thinks the data center will help Wilmington in the long run.
“I would just ask that you have an open mind,” he said.
Thursday will be the first city commissioner meeting for its newly elected members.
Neighbors who spoke to News Center 7 said they plan to show up and let the city leaders know how they feel.
News Center 7’s I-Team previously obtained a statement from Amazon spokesperson Kylee Yonas regarding data centers across the region.
“Our data centers in Ohio exceed industry efficiency standards,” Yonas told the I-Team. “Our Water Use Effectiveness score, which measures the amount of water used per unit of computing power, is three times better than the U.S. industry average. Our commitment to the communities where we operate is equally important, which is why we have invested more than $19.7 billion in Ohio, creating thousands of jobs and supporting local communities through education programs, skills training, and renewable energy projects.”
In addition, Amazon told the I-Team, “We follow standard industry practices with full transparency. Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) and corporate structures are common in major infrastructure projects, and we work openly with local governments and utilities to ensure fair cost-sharing for any needed infrastructure.”
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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