Friday’s rally at Peace River Park in Fort Meade attracted more than 100 people from all over the community, demonstrating the breadth of opposition to the proposal that is scheduled to come before the City Commission Tuesday night.
The meeting will begin at 6 p.n. and will be held at the Community Center to accommodate the expected crowd.
On the agenda is the decision on whether to approve a development agreement between the city and the project’s developer for a project in northwest Fort Meade on former mined land.
The agreement will involve paying the city millions of dollars in incentives as well a substantial increase in the tax base if commissioners agree to advance the project.
Raul Alfonso, one of the leaders of the opposition on Friday asked opponents to urge commissioners to pause the process util they take more time to learn about the project’s impact to the community.
Key impacts include noise and water pollution he said, explaining the data center will need its own power plant as well as a large number of backup generators and forever chemicals in the sewage that the city sewer plant is unable to treat.
He likened the developer payments to the city to a payday loan, arguing city officials are trading short-term financial gain for the long-term change in the community’s quality of life. Other opponents raised concerns about other issues ranging from the impact on the Florida Wildlife Corridor to how it will affect dark sky conditions.
