The No Data Centers Hobart group wasn’t allowed to speak during what is usually public comment at the end of the Hobart City Council meeting.
But the group, which lined both sides of the street with No Data Centers signs in front of Hobart City Hall before Wednesday’s meeting, still had plenty to say during allowed comments at a public hearing on a $30 million Community Impact Fund.
The Community Impact Fund, the appropriation of which was adopted by the council in a 6-0 vote, is a portion of the upfront payment of $47 million from Amazon Data Services in connection with the construction of an $11 billion data center for AI computing at 61st Avenue and Colorado Street.
The fund, which includes such categories as park improvements, residential impact grants, youth programs and nonprofits, was determined following Mayor Josh Huddlestun’s Whiteboard Public Input Session on April 6, city officials said.
Since the $47 million was paid to Hobart in late January, it wasn’t included in this year’s city budget and the funds must be appropriated for fiscal year 2026, City Councilman Matt Claussen, D-At-large, said.
Claussen chaired Wednesday’s meeting in Huddlestun’s absence.
“Before we can spend, we have to appropriate the funding,” Claussen said.
The determination on how the money will be spent will next go before the Board of Public Works and Safety, Claussen said.
Several residents, including Barbara Koteles, said some of the money should be used to protect and assist those living near the data center like her.
Koteles handed the City Council photos she had taken of her car coated with a heavy layer of dust she said was from work being done at the data construction site. The dust and water runoff from the data center is harmful not only to residents but also to wildlife in the area, she said.
“Are you allocating money for health issues?” Koteles asked.
Still others, including Alice Pawlowski, noted the dangers of the truck traffic from the construction site. She said her daughter was nearly killed by a construction truck driver this past week at Liverpool Road and 61st Avenue.
“Put police officers there during the busy part of the day,” Pawlowski said.
Claussen said the reason for the elimination of the public comment at the end of the meeting was because of what he termed “time constraints.”
Claussen did allow ample time for residents’ input during the public hearing on the Community Impact Fund, except for one resident who called into the meeting via Zoom. Speakers must be in attendance at the meeting, city officials said.
Some residents, including Rachel Marroquin, questioned when the council would allow public comment.
Public comment most likely would be allowed at the end of the June 3 council meeting, Claussen said.
“Do you understand the negative impact the data center will have on the community?”Marroquin asked.
Residents like Marroquin have continued to vociferously oppose the data centers, including at a May 7 Hobart Plan Commission meeting during which planners delivered unanimous yes votes to two separate site plans, both of which will be operated by Amazon Web Services at Colorado Street and 61st Avenue.
The marathon meeting, which included one arrest, lasted almost five hours and was held in Hobart’s City Court amidst tight security and police presence.
Dozens of residents lined up to speak during public comment after lengthy presentations made by attorney Todd Leeth for the first site plan and Langan Engineering spokesman Todd Huntington for the second site plan, both of which were approved. Only two people voiced support for the project.
Leeth, who returned to the Hobart City Council on Wednesday, received initial approval on a zone change request, from R-3 to M-1, for a 2.3-acre parcel at the intersection of 61st Avenue and Arizona Street.
Leeth called the action “housekeeping” and will return to the council on June 3 for final approval.
Deborah Laverty is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
