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Those who fear backlash against data centers misinterpret evidence-based skepticism for bad faith and replace transparency and action with respectability politics.
The Sunday News-Register’s Aug. 29 editorial ("Data Center Debate Demands Good Faith") gets one thing right: Wheeling residents deserve concrete answers about Silicon Foundation's proposed data center in Warwood. How much electricity will it use? How much water? How loud will it be? How many permanent jobs will it create? Will safeguards protect nearby residents? And what -- beyond financial penalties routinely absorbed as the cost of doing business -- stops it from becoming a major problem in the future?
But then it makes a troubling leap, suggesting residents who challenge Silicon Foundation's answers are acting in bad faith because they do not automatically believe the answers they receive.
The editorial asks residents to come to the table to listen.
We have, very closely. That's why we reject their unfounded claims.
Legitimate concerns are not personal attacks
We held A Very Public Data Center Hearing on Aug. 25 when it became clear the city had no intention of hosting its own. We hoped to have an open conversation about the facts.
Around 100 people attended to listen to community experts, two council members, and Silicon Foundation attorney and Board of Education President David Croft answered questions from residents.
The responsible reply to this outpouring of concern should have been: "We are committed to transparency, listening to the will of our constituents, and acting quickly to find community-centered solutions."
Instead, public-facing behavior from councilors was so unpleasant it drove two audience members away during the event. After the event, councilors and compatriots wasted many hours and thousands of words complaining about name tags, rather than taking action.
Our group has attended council meetings, filed legal action, and even organized this public forum when we felt our concerns didn't receive adequate answers. A civil government should be able to withstand that scrutiny.
‘There's nothing we can do’ is not a policy
Constituents have been told repeatedly by elected officials "there is nothing we can do" despite deep research and expert-backed recommendations.
Two council members who attended the public hearing pointed out that there was nothing before them to vote on. That is exactly the problem. The city does not have to sit around and wait for someone to put something on the agenda. It can act. Councilors can be proactive and do the work they were elected to do: protect their constituents and enact their will.
Here is what being proactive would look like.
Five recommendations from OROC
1. Hold a public hearing where the public gets an equal chance to engage with this project and the future of data centers in the city.
The city must hold a public hearing to allow citizens to have a dialogue with the city about their legitimate concerns. The city has so far not set one up and made no mention of doing so in the future.
2. Pass a resolution stating the council opposes data centers in Wheeling.
A non-binding resolution would not magically stop development, but it would tell residents where their elected representatives stand. While not legally enforceable, it sets a precedent showing extractive, exploitative industry is not welcome to Wheeling. While concerns that "no business will ever want to come to Wheeling" have been raised, this is not in line with how non-binding resolutions work or are perceived by industry.
3. Make any agreements and plans presented by Silicon Foundation to the city available to the public.
Residents should not be asked to trust assurances about a project when the underlying agreement is unavailable for public examination. The city and Silicon Foundation have a pending agreement to make the Centre Foundry lot a TIF district. Per HB2014, this would exclude it from high-impact data center consideration. It doesn't stop a company from breaking that agreement and getting fined.
Paying penalties for the sake of profit is the playbook of gas, oil, and every other extractive industry.
4. Pass an ordinance imposing a moratorium on data centers in Wheeling.
The threat of potential legal action should never stop the municipal government from doing its job. Moratoriums -- temporary bans while the community gathers more information -- have been passed in many places around the country. Since we are told to take advice from grifters, let us quote a self-help book by Mel Robbins: Afraid of getting sued? Let them.
5. Set up a data center task force.
If the city’s response is that "we don’t know enough," let’s fix that. (Though most residents, like 70% of Americans across every region of the country, feel like they do understand enough to make an informed decision.)
Create a task force composed of residents, city officials, utility experts, engineers, environmental professionals, economic development representatives, and other appropriate stakeholders. Give it a deadline and a specific mission: determine what data centers mean for Wheeling and recommend policies governing them.
Skepticism is not stubbornness
The Aug. 29 editorial repeatedly returns to one central claim: opponents have decided in advance that Silicon Foundation is lying. But there is a difference between rejecting an answer because you dislike it and challenging something because available evidence does not support it. This situation and its constantly changing facts requires a healthy skepticism.
Being skeptical means asking Silicon Foundation to provide facts, documentation, and specifics. It means checking those claims against agreements, local zoning regulations, and information from utilities and government agencies.
It means holding both the developer and Wheeling officials accountable for promises being made today that will change the lives of those in Warwood -- and all of Wheeling -- forever for the worst. That is not bad faith, but due diligence.