Columbia County chair candidates discuss data centers, growth, traffic at library forum
Candidates for Columbia County chair discussed data center development, residential growth, traffic and public safety at a forum held at the Columbia County Library. The discussion included opposition to a proposed 3,000-acre data center project in the Pumpkin Center area and debate over county tax incentives and data center ordinances.
Candidates for Columbia County chair addressed growth, traffic, public safety and data center development during a forum at the Columbia County Library. Both candidates reportedly agreed that residential growth should slow and that public safety should be the county budget's top priority, but they disagreed over the county's approach to data centers and economic development.
The forum focused in part on a proposed 3,000-acre data center area in or near Pumpkin Center. Opposition has come from nearby residents, including Cambridge Wood, who criticized the project and argued that the county's tax-relief agreement provides data centers with a tax break without delivering enough benefit to the community. One candidate defended county data center ordinances as guardrails intended to protect residents, while the opposing view questioned whether the estimated $40 million in annual revenue justified leaving more than $2 billion on the table over 25 years that could otherwise support roads, capital improvements, safety upgrades and law-enforcement equipment.