CONNEAUT – At the beginning of every Conneaut City Council meeting over the last month, a handful of residents have stood, expressed their concerns and voiced their opinions on a data center they believe will be built in the community.
City council has listened to each and every comment and responded very little, despite the fact that there is no offer or plan to build that data center.
The public comments have extended city council meetings by an average of 30 minutes.
During a regular work session on Monday, May 4, City Manager Nick Sanford offered a solution.
“This is an idea that I want to throw out there,” Sanford said. “Council has to recognize and appreciate we have drawn a sizable audience at the most recent series of public meetings that appear to be in opposition of development that has not even materialized. However, it’s no secret that there is an environment favorable to such development, and the Economic Development Committee understands that.”
“We have drafted some language for regulation of land use for advanced manufacturing,” Sanford continued. “It’s not specific to data centers. These organizations are seeking a moratorium on development, and I would never, in a hundred years, advocate that for the City of Conneaut. Nope, not going to do it. What I would advocate for is the development of an ad hoc committee to park the conversation to the committee level.”
Sanford said an ad hoc committee would include members of city council, the economic development committee, the planning commission and interested stakeholders.
The goal is to conduct simple conversations on the subject of advanced manufacturing, figure out what the concerns might be and how best to vet projects.
“Maybe, just maybe, we would curtail accusations being made about us taking money,” Ward 3 Councilman Oakey Emery said.
At-Large Councilman Nick Perkoski liked the idea of a committee.
“This would be so helpful,” Perkoski said. “We don’t know how to answer these questions. We don’t have enough information ourselves to really counteract all the crazy statements.”
Sanford noted that the formation of the committee is not meant to subvert public participation.
“I’m not trying to advocate for curbing participation in public meetings,” Sanford said. “I encourage people to participate, as we all should. We’re talking about the same thing, meeting in, meeting out, and there’s nothing to talk about.”
Council President Terry Moisio told Sanford he was right in wanting to form the ad hoc committee.
“Then, there’s a temporary committee – ad hoc is temporary – and then once their job is done, (the committee is disbanded),” Moisio said. “At the least, we have people in opposition, maybe people for, maybe people who are neutral, and then they discuss that, bring their thoughts before us. Then, everybody has input.”
“Like you’re saying, we appreciate your opinions, but we need to work,” Moisio continued. “We have to address this one way or the other, and that’s the best way to do it. Then, maybe, they will have a group in it. We cannot get into a big discussion, but this is what we’re looking at, who would be interested? Based on the charter, you can establish the committee on a temporary basis.”
Perkoski said he was all for the committee.
Ward 2 Councilman Chris Castrilla was planning to broach the topic during the work session.
“I was going to ask this of you tonight, Mr. Sanford, was can we stop this going on,” Castrilla said.
At-Large Councilwoman Mariana Branch noted that council meetings are open to the public, and Castrilla said he understood that, but the topic being discussed is a project that does not exist.
“They still have a right under the 1st Amendment to come in,” Moisio said.
Castrilla asked if they could talk about “the same thing over and over and over again.”
“They have the right to do that,” Emery said.
Emery has his own problems with the commenters.
“What I was disappointed in, is a person sitting there making accusations that we’re getting money, we’re getting paid by an entity that we’ve never even seen,” Emery said. “That person didn’t bother me. What bothered me was the people we’ve known for 35, 40 years, sitting in the audience and applauding, like they were going to rip the skin off their hands. I thought that was not good. It was very disappointing.”
Sanford noted that was a reason he’d like to form the committee.
“This is an opportunity, I think, just to say, ‘Let’s try to park this so we can conduct the business of the city. We understand that you have concerns, we’ve heard them, let’s talk about them in another forum and be able to conduct (city business). If you have other concerns, let’s hear them,’” Sanford said.
Emery warned Sanford and council that the move could backfire.
“You’ve got to remember, they have the leader of this group, the leaders of the group saying, ‘We are going to be watching all of you,’” Emery said.
Moisio said that the committee makes them a part of the solution.
“You come to us and tell us what you were seeing, what your concerns are,” Moisio said. “You’re going to have people who are going to say, ‘Listen,’ and they need to be on this, too, ‘You’re bashing, so to speak, the very technology that you use.’”
“There’s legitimate environmental concerns,” Moisio continued. “That’s why I think (an ad hoc committee) would be more productive than having to come every meeting, same old thing, and we sit there going, ‘Well, there’s no viable (project on the table). We haven’t done anything.’”
Ward 1 Councilman Rick Gaugh said that at least a couple of commenters are against certain development.
“The two on Hatches Corners Road, they don’t want nothing over there,” Gaugh said. “And, I tell them, we need to have industry. If we don’t have industry, when you call for an ambulance, maybe it won’t come because our tax base is our gone.”
An ad hoc committee would also give voice to the opinions of others, the people who don’t attend council meetings.
“On a flip note, I’ve got people calling me saying, ‘I don’t want like the fact you’re against these, here’s an opportunity to make this data center come to Conneaut.’ They don’t come here. I get the phone calls. I get stopped on the street,” Emery said.
Branch made it a point that the committee needed to have people with different points of view.
“As long as you have both sides represented,” Branch said. “I’m going to be honest. I’m not in favor. I’m in favor of advanced manufacturing development that’s smart and won’t affect our environment for the next 100 years. I work at a technology company. I was talking to my boss about it, he said those data centers aren’t even going to be needed in 10 years. We really, really need to think about it. Do our homework.”
Emery said there are aspects of a data center in Conneaut that give him some pause.
“The data center backing is what bothers me, when we have foreign entities throwing money in here, that’s the part I don’t like,” Emery said. “We had American companies doing this, and they have it broke down when I did my research looking at it. They have different steps now, but the major backing is UAE (United Arab Emirates) that’s behind it. I don’t like that.”
Moisio noted that the push for data centers is a result of the broader uses of AI.
“You’re right, Terry, that people don’t realize every time they make a picture of whatever on Facebook, using AI, they’re contributing to the need,” Branch said.
Branch said that if council ever wants to have a hotel built at the Interstate 90 interchange, a data center cannot be built in that area.
“That’s not where they’re going to put (a data center),” Perkoski said. “That’s not where they’re looking at.”
Emery had a laugh as various council members noted rumored sites for a data center.
“(It’s going) right, beside the Moose,” Emery said. “I saw it on Facebook.”
