Guevremont, Procuk answer questions at town hall meeting

Frederick County, Virginia, officials Mike Guevremont and Mike Procuk hosted a town hall meeting at Greenwood Mill Elementary School in Winchester to address constituent concerns, primarily focusing on data center development in the county. Supervisor Guevremont acknowledged previous public frustrations regarding the county's communication on data centers, particularly after a contentious forum at Sherando High School which led to the postponement of a second public meeting. Guevremont, a proponent of data center development, presented a chart analyzing water usage, asserting that modern data centers with glycol cooling use significantly less water (100,000 to 250,000 gallons per day) compared to traditional industries like HP Hood (900,000 to 1,100,000 gallons per day). He emphasized data centers' potential to generate substantial tax revenue, projecting $5 million to $15 million annually within five to six years, far exceeding the revenue from agricultural businesses or other large industries, despite lower water usage. This discussion marks a potential shift in the Frederick County Board of Supervisors' stance, who previously rejected data center proposals due to public opposition. While public pushback remains a factor, with an estimated 200 people attending the first forum, Guevremont noted that a majority of attendees at the recent town hall indicated support for data centers if properly sited. School Board representative Mike Procuk also expressed disappointment over the Virginia General Assembly deferring HB 334, a bill that would have allowed a 1% sales tax increase for school capital projects.