By 1812Blockhouse
Mayor Jodie Perry addressed Mansfield City Council at its regular meeting on Tuesday night concerning the proposed data center development in Franklin Township.
For more information about the proposed development, this is our link to our story which was shared on Tuesday morning:
She began by noting that there had been extensive conversation in the community over the past week, and that she had released a statement publicly shortly before the meeting began. She then read that statement aloud. In its entirety, as posted on the Mayor’s Facebook page, it read as follows:
“I know there have been a lot of questions and thoughts on the proposed data center project since the public meeting last week. It was still in early stages of development, but became clear that they were not in alignment with the community. My full statement (is) below.
“The City of Mansfield routinely works on potential projects with developers in many sectors including industrial, commercial, residential, and technology. That process can span months or years, as details are explored or refined before presenting a final proposal for consideration.
In this case, the proposed data center project started as a concept with a much smaller scope. As the proposal evolved it became significantly larger and more complex to consider. As that happened, we began engaging regional and state resources to assist.
The project still had many important unanswered questions, which were essential to being able to consider it fully. We made it clear to EnergiAcres that we needed further definition, coordination, and answers to key questions before taking any further steps.
The developer moved forward with the public meeting last week without prior local coordination. This made clear that we are not in alignment, and so we have communicated to them that we will no longer pursue the project.
I do not take a decision like this lightly because I know that we need to continue to attract businesses, jobs, and new residents. Projects of this scale must be fully vetted as well as coordinated and aligned with the community before they can move forward.
Ultimately, a development must work FOR the community, not just IN the community.”
The Mayor did not elaborate on what level or kinds of discussions had been taking place with the developer or what the City of Mansfield was being asked to provide in terms of consent, utilities, etc..
Photo: Davide Alotto, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
