El Paso council directs staff to draft Meta community benefits agreement for data center

El Paso City Council took another step toward addressing community concerns about Meta's planned $10 billion data center in Northeast El Paso. On Tuesday, City Council voted to move forward with an agreement that could spell out community benefits tied to the project. The action does not change the City's existing Chapter 380 agreement with Meta, which the Council considered ending back on June 9, but ultimately kept, as El Paso Mayor Renard Johnson and other City Reps said ending it would've put taxpayers in hot water, legally and financially speaking. City Rep. Cynthia Boyar Trejo, who represents the area where the data center is under construction, said this new agreement is intended to bring residents and other groups into the process. "This process is going to bring together residents, community organizations, utility providers, business leaders, labor representatives, environmental advocates and other stakeholders to help shape the framework of an agreement between the city and Meta," Boyar-Trejo said. City documents note that this new community benefits agreement could include safeguards tied to water and electric utility resources, ratepayer protections, environmental projects, local hiring commitments and workforce training. The agenda item also called for additional roundtable discussions with Meta, city leaders, utilities and community representatives. Ideas listed include water recycling or advanced purification projects, solar and battery storage, support for an advanced training center, and "El Paso First" hiring commitments for the 300 operational jobs connected to the data center. Council added amendments that include discussion of a possible community investment fund, a formal request for Meta to hold eight public meetings across the city, and language stating the agreement should be structured as legally enforceable under Texas law. STORY: https://cbs4local.com/newsletter-daily/el-paso-council-directs-staff-to-draft-meta-community-benefits-agreement-for-data-center Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest news, and turn on the notifications to get alerted when the big stories break as we bring them to you live! For all the full stories seen here, go to cbs4local.com. Follow CBS4 on our other social media pages for more photos, videos and reports: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CBS4Local Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBS4Local Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbs4local/ If you see something newsworthy happen, or you just witness something incredible, hilarious or adorable, you can send your videos, photos and news tips to cbs4local.com/chimein. We love sharing our favorites on cbs4local.com, our social media and our broadcasts! You can also email a news tips, or call our newsroom. Email: elpaso-assignmentsdesk@sbgtv.com Call the Newsroom: 915-845-5369 _______________ CBS4 Local is an El Paso-based station and a CBS Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. Sinclair owns and operates programs or provides sales services to nearly 200 television stations in 86 markets. Sinclair's television group reaches close to 40% of US television households and includes FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, Univision and Azteca affiliates.