Hundreds of people waited outside the Port Washington City Hall, as protestors held signs saying “No Data Center” and “Stay away from our water” in an effort to raise concerns about energy and environmental impacts of a new data center that was approved by the city. Mayor Ted Neitzke IV says the economic effect is important for the community.
“As a native of this community, I urge you to look beyond Vantage AI,” said Tracy Finch. “We must face the serious risks that this massive data project possesses to our town. Risks that have been proven real in other communities regardless of corporate reassurance.”
In August, the common council approved an $8 billion dollar project to build a new data center northwest of downtown Port Washington. Vantage Data Centers, a company based out of Denver, Colorado is facilitating the data center and building four buildings on 640 acres.
Vantage purchased a total of 1900 acres of land that is being annexed from the town to the city. Construction will be completed in 2034.
The meeting began with officers being sworn in and keys being handed out. The media was not allowed in until after the keys were given out, even though the room was no longer at full capacity.
Members of different news stations yelled out “Why aren’t we being allowed in?” Community members voiced questions on why they weren’t being allowed in the room as well.
Police officers facilitated who was allowed to enter the chambers, allowing in the media and a large handful of citizens.
Neitzke IV, started the session by announcing that the data center had already been voted on, and that there will be no vote about the development of the data center, as the common council is just discussing annexing land. Development for the project will begin in 6-8 weeks. Voices in protest were heard throughout the room.
“Just a reminder to the community tonight, there’s a handout given to you that walks through the questions that have been asked publicly about what action is the common council considering tonight on the data center and it’s only an annexation,” said Neitzke IV. “There is no action being taken. The city of Port Washington has already passed and approved a developers agreement with the Vantage Corporation.”
While the data center had already been approved, 30 minutes of public comments were allowed. Area residents poured their hearts out to the common council, including members of communities in Washington, Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties.
“While the data center has been largely discussed and received a lot of coverage, what’s not been widely communicated or discussed are the impacted residents of these power lines,” said Melissa, a Farmington resident whose last name could not be heard over the sound of the public’s chants. “I too, just recently found out, only because a neighbor knocked on my door.”
American Transmission Co. (ATC) is planning on a $1.4 billion electrical infrastructure project in Ozaukee County and surrounding areas in order to meet power needs for a proposed data center in Port Washington.
One of the major groups there was the Protect Fredonia Coalition, who spoke against the data center, pointing out how the power lines will ruin the natural environment.
“These power lines will dissect pristine rural countryside, valuable forests, important wetlands and beautiful watersheds,” said Joe Gromacki, an attorney representing the Coalition. “They will ruin culturally important viewsheds and historic areas. They will disrupt nationally important Native American areas that include effigy mounds, burial sites and archaeological artifacts.”
Not only did members of Ozaukee and Washington County speak, residents of the Port Washington community spoke out as well.
“I’m just asking you to listen to the people,” said Lucy McHugh, a resident of Port Washington. “Take some time. Let this process. I’m just asking that you take some time and give some people some time to review the damage that will be done to our area as well as through the country.”
McHugh dropped off a folder with 2500 signatures from change.org, of people protesting the building of the data center.
David Boetcher, the Vice President of IBEW Local 159, based in Milwaukee, spoke for the data center.
“The controversy may follow, but the union trades are always prepared to build the future. We are building Microsoft in Racine, and we’ll build Port Washington,” said Boetcher, who was booed after his speech by those in attendance.
City leaders said 4,000 construction jobs will be created over several years. When the data center is complete, Vantage estimates that there will be over 300 jobs at the data center itself.
A Vantage Spokeswoman from Colorado spoke, as well. She highlighted the community and appreciated the people coming forward. She also stated how this has been deemed “Project Lighthouse” and how they are excited to bring jobs and revenue to the community. She was interrupted during her three minutes, by chants of people yelling “Let the farmers speak,” “Times up,” and “I live here why can’t I speak.”
After public comments, Neitzke IV explained that Port Washington is on the brink of a sink or swim situation, and the benefits of building the data center will drive the economy up.
In regard to the concerns of neighboring communities, such as Farmington, he said, “We are not in control of where those lines are laid, what is done or what is done with them.”
Neitzke IV shared an independent study that was done to demonstrate the economic impact the data center will have.
“We are unable to meet our financial needs, our infrastructural needs, and in our next common council meeting, I would encourage you all to come back to hear our current budget situation,” said Neitzke IV.
He added that if not for federal and state grants, they would not have been able to update and maintain many things around Port Washington.
After describing his economic plan to the room, he opened comments and questions to members of the common council, no member made any comment. Neitzke IV then reopened comments from the public.
The city claims they are working with Vantage to draft a development agreement that protects residents from bearing any costs associated with the project. Vantage will pay for all infrastructure.
The Tax Incremental District (TID) collects tax revenue from Vantage based on the assessed value of the full project, estimated to be in the billions, then reimburses Vantage for infrastructure costs for up to 20 years.
Separate from the TID, Vantage pays taxes every year on the assessed value of the property only, an estimated $121 million. The city says this will provide immediate revenue to the City and schools.
The Vantage Data Centers project is expected to significantly increase Port Washington’s valuation by up to $120 million, generating approximately $650,000 annually in new property tax revenue starting in 2027, which could reduce property taxes for residents.
Additionally, the $8 billion campus is projected to create thousands of construction and operational jobs, and Vantage will invest $175 million upfront for infrastructure improvements, which will be reimbursed by a tax incremental financing (TID) district.
The data center will use the most restrictive zoning code in the United States, the I-3 Zoning Code. According to the Elwood Illinois code of Ordinances, “The I-3 Heavy Industrial District is intended to be located in areas so that its permitted and special uses are conducted in such a manner so as not to be detrimental to the rest of the community by reason of their noise, vibration, smoke, dust, toxic or noxious materials, odor, fire, explosive hazards, glare or heat that may be incidental to their operations. Further development of residences is prohibited in this district to keep residential uses from absorbing any adverse effects of the industries and to conserve the supply of industrial land for industrial use.”
What do citizens get out of it? The city claims that a long-term multimillion-dollar tax revenue boost for our city and schools every year would greatly decrease the tax burden on residents. It would also provide some tax relief for residents. According to the city, “At a time when taxes are going up almost everywhere, a resident who owns a $350,000 house would see their tax bill decrease by an estimated $170.”
The Plan Commission of the City of Port Washington will hold a public hearing on October 16 at 6:00 p.m. This hearing will give the public opportunity to comment on the proposed creation of Tax Increminal District No.5, its proposed boundaries and Project Plan.