Montgomery County residents push back against Amazon data center

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Dozens of Montgomery County residents packed the County Commission Room Thursday to voice their concerns against a possible Amazon data center entering the region.

A major concern for residents is the data center's environmental impacts, including noise pollution, chemical runoff and over-pumped wells.

According to the International Energy Agency, large-scale data centers use the energy and water equivalent of around 100,000 homes for power and cooling operations.

"When it gets to be 110 degrees in the summertime around here, they're going to suck a lot of water, a lot of electricity," one resident said during the meeting.

"It will affect our own land values, our own taxes and the potential of future generations of farmers here," resident Bill Dreyer said.

Residents during the meeting also asked the commission for a moratorium to pause the project's progress, as well as a land study to record the potential effects of data centers in the area for future projects.

Supporters of the center argued its construction would lead to economic growth, adding that the project's compliance report requires a job threshold to be met.

"This data center will produce tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue for your taxing jurisdictions into perpetuity," said Steve Etcher, who is with the Greater Montgomery County Economic Development Council. "It'll create thousands of construction jobs for those construction trades that reside here in Montgomery County and within the region."

Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Brian White is supportive of the center for the boost in tax revenue the construction may give to the school systems. White added he understands opponents' concerns to maintain tradition, and he argues data centers are the best option compared to other industries.

"If we brought in large manufacturing to bring in so many people all at once that maybe the growth would be a little bit overwhelming to our traditions, but when I look at data centers, they don't bring in all of that all at once, so it allows us to grow at the right pace," White said.

The commission plans to speak with its attorney before calling a moratorium and is considering candidates for a study. They also told ABC 17 News that constituents have voiced support and opposition to the project and want to take in all opinions and expert sources before making an informed decision for the good of the county.

"Those all have to be taken into consideration, they all have to understand that there's always two sides to a coin," First District Commissioner Dave Teeter said.

 "We're trying to do our due diligence or whatever, but it's a lot going on, it's a lot to digest and it's a lot to make the right informed decision," Presiding Commissioner Ryan Poston said.

Prior to the meeting on Thursday, Poston said the commission would talk about the road infrastructure needs around Project Green, a nearly 1,000-acre project north of Interstate 70 between New Florence and High Hill. Amazon announced last week that it planned on using the campus as a data center for its web services.

Montgomery County is considering two different data center projects in the corridor around I-70 and Highway 19. The Amazon project is slated to start with four buildings, each taking 220,000 square feet. Records from the Montgomery County Planning and Zoning Department show the project could grow to have up to 17 buildings total, and have a wastewater and water treatment facility on site.

A second proposal, dubbed Project Spade, is a 780-acre project in the southeast section of I-70 and Highway 19. If built, it will have three structures and use a closed-loop cooling system. An end user for the data center, developed by Spade Property Owner LLC, has not been identified yet.

The county could also extend millions of dollars in tax breaks to Amazon through Chapter 100 bonds. The proposal, obtained by ABC 17 News through a records request, forecasts a tax break of about $244 million on personal property taxes under a "minimum" build-out of the complex. The maximum would lead to breaks of nearly $1 billion.

Amazon's personal property taxes would break down as follows:

• A $3 million payment each year from 2028-032
• Paying 5% of the personal property taxes on the equipment from 2033-42
• Paying 25% of the personal property taxes on the equipment from 2043-52

Amazon would have to pay the full amount it owes on property taxes toward the ambulance district and the fire district during that time. For example, under the minimum build-out, Amazon would owe the county $6.2 million in 2028.

The package does not include any tax breaks on the real estate. Amazon would have to maintain at least 150 jobs that pay 150% more than Montgomery County's annual average salary to qualify for the benefits.