Commissioner John Wood said it best at last Friday’s called meeting to discuss the data center amendment.
“This is a thankless job.”
And it often is.
A couple of people did speak in favor the change to the county’s code, but they were dwarfed by an overflow room of people who wanted to be heard on whether or not Jones County wants a data center.
The people who spoke were asking to put the brakes on any changes and to extend a moratorium on data center applications. For five months, the commissioners have had hearings and an unimaginable number of phone calls from opponents.
Despite that, the commissioners were repeatedly told that the process was moving too fast and more research needed to be done. A few speakers directly challenged Commissioner Sam Kitchens, who has been the most open and transparent in this process, listening to every complaint, theory and fear that has been levied by data center opponents. No good deed goes unpunished.
In the reality that lives outside of Facebook — yes, there is one! — Sam has undoubtedly imagined creative ways to destroy his phone. Without the highly intelligent computers that we call phones, we wouldn’t need data centers anyway.
None of the five sitting commissioners were on the board when Griswoldville Industrial Park was purchased. They inherited a goal that established in the late 1990s and early aughts when it became evident to local governments that residential growth, booming at the time, would not support the law enforcement, roads or schools that growth in population would cause.
Growing the county’s industrial base was the only solution other than raising millage rates.
Industries provide a lot more property tax revenue in comparison to their costs to the community.
Residences cost more than the services they require unless the house is unusually expensive.
Commercial development is not immune, either, as the taxes from homeowners fall short of covering the county’s expenses.
For those reasons, the commissioners would be negligent if they did not explore an industry that could completely change the community for the better. Using the numbers from an initial data center proposal that would have been located near the intersection of Highway 18 East and Bethlehem Church Road, conservative estimates put the net tax improvement — after expenses — at more than $600 million over 20 years.
Will that happen?
Any industrial project is subject to change. What if the political factors that have attracted data centers to Georgia change? The state offers a sales and use tax exception on data center equipment, but the General Assembly could change that as opinions on data centers have cooled.
The economy could change. What if we go to war with Venezuela, Greenland, Denmark, or a multi-national terrorist organization?
The technology could change. What if one of our tech billionaires makes a breakthrough that would allow a data center to be reduced to the size of a suitcase?
What if there are health or safety ramifications from data centers that make one unfit to locate in our rural community?
The commissioners have the power to deny that.
The vote last Friday was not about whether or not a data center would locate in Jones County. The vote was to be prepared when one comes.
The Development Authority of Jones County has done a lot of testing over 20 years on the site, so county commissioners decided that, if a data center was to be entertained, it should be located there. Then guardrails would need to be installed to ensure the county would enjoy the benefits without negatively affecting the citizens who live here.
This is the beginning; not the end. But what Jones County’s commissioners have shown is that they are open to ideas, they want to protect the community, and they do want to be responsive to the concerns of citizens.
Vile threats have been issued to commissioners and county workers, from slurs to threats of needing pallbearers.
Chairman Chris Weidner made sure everyone who wanted to speak had the opportunity. Opponents had workshops with the commissioners, and those ideas and concerns were largely worked into the text amendment up until the night of the vote.
Any community would be lucky to have five leaders who are willing to take the heat from their constituents to make the right call. That’s why they were voted into office, and they will hear about this issue when their terms are up in 2028.
One commissioner went to the trouble to find an outspoken critic after the meeting to shake his hand. Let the last word be one of friendship and community. There is a lot more work to be done, but we have the right leaders to guide the process.
