WILMINGTON, Ohio — Residents in Wilmington got together once again to speak out against a proposed Amazon data center that could be built in their city.
Organizers of the town hall event told me this is the third event like this, held by Wilmington Residents for Responsible Development.
"I don't care what value it is, what benefit does that have to our community if there's no tax dollars?" one woman asked.
"Do you actually think that they're going to become a resident of Wilmington or even Clinton County?" one man said, regarding workers moving to the area if the data center opens.
The project would be located off U.S. 68 near the Timber Glen subdivision, if approved.
Watch to see residents expressing worries over a proposed data center:
There was a presentation to open, and then questions and comments followed.
Residents expressed concerns over location, jobs, ecological effects, health and other topics. Jessica Sharp and other organizers responded to questions with what they've been able to learn through research.
Sharp told us her biggest concern is the location of the project, which we previously reported is planned to be right near her home.
"We believe that this site was tailored to the project rather than the other way around," Sharp said.
In January, we reported that the Wilmington Planning Commission voted to table the proposal for an Amazon data center after representatives from the company were unable to answer specific questions from commission members.
We have also covered similar concerns from residents in Maysville and Hamilton regarding proposed data centers in their communities.
I reached out to the city's council members, mayor and a representative from the Clinton County Port Authority.
Wilmington's mayor responded to my inquiry and declined to comment.
As neighbors continue to have questions on the proposed data center, resident Kurt Cooper hopes that his community can work toward unity.
"We're small, we're a city of 12,000 people, and it feels pretty divided at this point in time. So, help, let's work together to bring it back together, be the Wilmington I know it can be, and then go from there," Cooper said.
The Clinton County Port Authority has a comprehensive FAQ site with answers to questions about the proposed data center in Wilmington, which you can see here.
