Union Township residents show up in force to protest data centers proposed for rural community
The sea of orange T-shirts that read 'Wheeler Country Not Corporate' covered nearly every body in the 530 chairs, while hundreds more stood on three sides around them. That visual message was audibly reinforced at a deafening level as the crowd cheered their neighbors who spoke against the proposal and booed a NIPSCO official and other business leaders who spoke in favor of it.
The town hall was organized by the Porter County Plan Commission as an extra step not required by state statute to allow petitioner QTS to hear the questions, concerns, and feedback from residents as it finesses its application for a planned unit development that would allow for changes to the county's Unified Development Ordinance through a vote of the Board of Commissioners.
While the Plan Commission will run the majority of the application process it is strictly an advisory body, meaning it will take a vote to make a non-binding favorable or unfavorable recommendation to the Board of Commissioners which has the final say.
'I know a lot of people are impatient and they want it to stop now,' said Porter County's Director of Development & Storm Water Management Mike Jabo, 'but there's a process.'
The proposed projects are being called Jeremiah A and Jeremiah B. Jeremiah A is proposed for a 351.85-acre parcel at the northeast corner of County Road W 450 N and County Road N 750 W owned by John Loxas of Hammond.
Jeremiah B is proposed for 434.46 acres owned by Johnson Sunnybrook Farm, LLC and Ceres Cedar Creek Farm, LLC, of Hobart, at the southeast corner of W 450 N and N 650 W due north of Union Township Middle and High schools.
QTS, a Kansas City-based data center owner, operator, and developer, was given 45 minutes to make a presentation. The formal petition came from AXPK, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, on behalf of the property owners who would transfer ownership upon adoption of the ordinances. Attorneys for AXPK filed papers with the county naming QTS as an affiliate.
Nick Blessing, of the land policy and development department for QTS, started off with a lot of talk about core values.
'Integrity, character, and trust are foundational to every relationship,' he said while two women who live in Union Township and serve the children in the cafeteria at Union Center Elementary chuckled over his remarks in the middle of the audience.
Upon his mention of QTS taking a team of boys from one of its data center towns to the Little League World Series someone in the audience muttered, 'He's gaslighting.' To talk of the installation of a 50-foot American flag on a 'Freedom Wall' another said, 'Oh big deal!' And to his claims that the company's data centers provide 'very skilled labor jobs' and 'highly skilled technology jobs,' someone shouted, 'That's a lie.'
Blessing said 125 to 175 full-time permanent jobs were anticipated at the sites upon completion. He also said the county could expect $10 million in tax revenues upon full buildout. He then passed the presentation to his colleague Chris Kapper of the predevelopment team who addressed a series of particular concerns, including building height, setbacks, and site lines.
Building height in the proposed light industrial zone would be 75 feet, plus additional height for mechanical equipment. 'We understand that is what is causing some angst,' Blessing said.
A 32-foot landscaping berm with a 5-foot elevation change from the road level is proposed. 'We envision you will be able to shield the view of the development at maturation in about 10 years,' he added.
He explained that setback plans have been expanded to 2,000 feet from the nearest school building, 1,000 feet from the nearest ball field, 100 feet from agriculture, 200 feet from residential development, and 500 feet from school property. The audience was unimpressed.
After a few brief remarks from Blessing regarding noise and EMFs the meeting was turned over to public comment.
What had been planned for two hours eventually stretched 45 minutes over schedule as moderator and Plan Commission President Rick Burns failed to maintain control of the event.
While the audience was originally told each speaker would be given a maximum of two minutes to speak, some were haphazardly given up to five because they were deemed to have special status, such as a physician, or the crowd demanded they be allowed to continue.
Rex Richards, president of the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce, spoke first. 'I'm here to compliment the county on going through this type of process,' he said. 'If you need to hire experts to help please consider doing that.'
NIPSCO's Rick Calinski, director of public affairs and economic development, got big boos when he introduced himself next. He said NIPSCO's Generation Company is pursuing the separation of the cost of infrastructure for large projects like data centers from that of regular customers.
Several county officials were in attendance, including the entire Board of Commissioners, Treasurer Jimmy Albarran, and County Council members Red Stone, R-1st; Michelle Harris, R-At-Large; Mike Brickner, R-At-Large; and Andy Vasquez, R-4th.
Vasquez was the only one to speak. 'If it comes to me for a vote for an abatement, my answer is no,' he said.
Speakers made a variety of points including statements that the project would not be a data center, but a hyper-scaled data center the size of many WalMarts and that Blackstone, which is considered by many to have contributed to the 2008 housing crisis, bought QTS in 2021.
Porter Township School Corporation Superintendant Stacey Schmidt joked that despite Union Township Bearcats being their arch-rivals, her community did not support a data center being thrust upon them.
'Parents send our most precious asset (to school),' she said. 'School safety is lacking in your presentation.'
Union Township resident Chris Navetta summed up the ethos of the crowd. 'I've moved here for this and I've never been more proud of Wheeler. These are your constituents.'
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