Perry Village to hold town hall event on proposed data center

Perry Village is organizing a town hall meeting to address public concerns regarding a proposed data center by California-based real estate developer Province Group. The decision to hold the meeting was made during an April 9 Village Council session, where numerous residents from Perry Village, Perry Township, and surrounding communities voiced strong opposition to the project. They raised concerns about potential environmental harm, excessive noise and light, and the suitability of a large industrial facility in their primarily residential area. Residents also accused village officials of a lack of transparency regarding the land sale agreements with Province Group for the 213-acre former Champion Farm property, which includes parcels owned by Perry Village, Perry Township, and the Perry Joint Economic Development District. Province Group aims to construct six 200,000-square-foot data center buildings on the site. Councilwoman Pamela Jenkins, who will help format the upcoming town hall, highlighted issues with a previous similar event held last July. At the April 9 meeting, Mayor James Gessic oversaw a public comment session where citizens like Jennifer Sturgill, Nick McNamee, and Jen McNamee criticized officials for not seeking community input before entering into sales agreements and urged them to learn more about data centers. Earlier that day, approximately 50 people protested outside Village Hall with signs expressing anti-data center sentiments, citing environmental impacts, water usage, noise, pollution, and energy consumption. Mark and Melissa Whipple from Painesville Township joined the protest to prevent the data center from ruining a rural environment.