WRIGHTSTOWN, Wis. (WFRV) – Wrightstown is the latest Northeast Wisconsin community to find itself in the middle of a data center debate.
Wrightstown’s village administrator Travis Coenen said right now the village hasn’t received any formal proposals for a data center project.
However, officials with Cloverleaf Infrastructure, a real estate development company that finds land for potential data center projects, said they’re still looking for spots in Northeast Wisconsin for one of these projects. The company official told Local 5 News that Wrightstown is on their list of potential locations for a data center project.
Some Wrightstown residents aren’t happy with this news.
“In general, from an environmental safety (perspective) you start questioning the water, the air, and the sound with some of the vibration noise that comes from these data centers so you just question a lot,” Wrightstown resident Nick Sagal told Local 5 News. “From a community standpoint, I don’t see the positive.”
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Sagal told Local 5 News that he worries about dust from the data center construction because his wife has a health condition that impacts her lungs.
“Honestly, I’d probably have to consider selling the home and moving (if a data center came to Wrightstown),” Sagal said. “I don’t know if I can reasonably accept the risk.”
Sagal and other residents brought their concerns to a village board meeting on Tuesday night. All those who spoke during the public comment section of the meeting said they didn’t want a data center to come to their village.
Several village trustees said that because the village hasn’t received a formal proposal for a data center project, it doesn’t make sense for them to issue a moratorium on these projects or change their zoning to prevent data centers from being built here.
Coenen said their current zoning would allow a data center in the industrial areas of the village.
The village administrator and trustees promised transparency and lots of opportunities for public comment if there ever was a proposal for a data center project submitted to the village.
“Every project that comes in Wrightstown, we’re going to evaluate for its value and merit,” Coenen said “That’s really the message we want to get out there, no matter the project; we’re going to evaluate to see if it’s a good fit for the village. That’s what this meeting is for, to let them know it goes through a due process that’s transparent and we’d look for public comment if something is proposed.”
Village officials also promised they would consult experts on data centers so they can thoroughly evaluate the pros and cons of data centers before making any potential decision. Several trustees also reminded folks that there are some good things that can happen when data centers come into a community.
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“The tax revenue (the data center would bring) maybe taxes get cut in half, maybe that doesn’t mean a lot to you, but someone struggling to make their house payment and their payment goes down $200 a month, and maybe that makes a difference to them,” Trustee Ryan Roebke said. “Our job is to look at what’s best for every single person in our community.”
“I am concerned, it seemed like the stance (from trustees) is neutral at best if not leaning towards (favoring) the potential income without taking into account the safety,” Sagal said when asked how he felt after the meeting.
Greenleaf was recently able to stave off a potential data center project after community opposition. Last month, Manitowoc County supervisors put an 18-month moratorium on accepting applications for or approving new data center projects.
