 - The Town of Shoshoni is holding off on its grant application for a data center feasibility study, Mayor Joel Highsmith announced this week.){kind=link}
(Shoshoni, WY) – The Town of Shoshoni is holding off on its grant application for a data center feasibility study, Mayor Joel Highsmith announced this week.
The Shoshoni Town Council voted to approve the grant application last month – but during a regular meeting on Tuesday, Highsmith said a Wyoming Business Council representative advised him not to submit the paperwork yet.
“They said we really need to work with Rocky Mountain Power a little bit more before we go on and spend (our) money on this feasibility study,” Highsmith said.
“I think we should follow their advice, (because) that could be an issue, if we don’t have things ironed out with them – which we do not.”
Highsmith said he plans to set up a meeting with the WBC representative, RMP, and IDEA Inc. in the coming months to “make sure we understand what we’re up against” and “work out some sort of agreement.”
“I really hate to put it off a year, (but) that’s what they say we need to do … so we’re not throwing away $16,000,” he said.
“I’ll do my due diligence to keep the council (informed).”
‘Buying knowledge’
The council voted unanimously to seek the grant funding last month after fielding multiple questions from community members – like Janel Kuszewski, who asked how large the data center would be, and whether it would create excess noise that would be disruptive for residents.
“Some areas get these huge buildings, and they have just huge fans that run all day and night and are not quiet,” she said during a public hearing on the topic.
In response, Mayor Joel Highsmith said it was too soon to know what kind of facility might be recommended for Shoshoni.
“That’s what the feasibility study is,” he explained. “The feasibility study (will) make recommendations.”
Those recommendations will be based on multiple factors – including public feedback, he noted, answering a question from resident Teresa Taylor, who had asked whether community members would be able to provide input during the feasibility study process.
“It’s going to have a lot of community input,” Highsmith said. “That’s the way it’s designed. … They’re going to be reaching out to the community.”
Peter Gottfried – a member of the University of Wyoming’s Energy Resources Council – confirmed that the feasibility study would determine not only whether a data center is “actually doable here” but also “whether the residents want it.”
“The study is (going) to have a lot of public participation, because we want your input,” he said. “The people involved with the study (are) going to be working with … the community.”
And if the community decides it doesn’t want a data center, the town doesn’t have to pursue the project, Highsmith added.
“We’re not obligated to go any further,” he said. “This is (just) a study to see if it’s a fit for Shoshoni. …
“I think it’s something that (we) should look at and see if it works for us.”
Resident Tony Olson agreed with Highsmith, expressing his support for the feasibility study and the potential data center, which would bring more “good-paying jobs” to Shoshoni and “keep some of our local people working here.”
An increase in local jobs would be “a big boost,” Highsmith said, sharing his hope that Shoshoni might someday attract enough residents “that we could have a darn cafe.”
“If we don’t move forward and look at something like this, (we) could be missing a great opportunity for our kids and grandkids and great-grandkids,” he said. “I wouldn’t be doing my job as mayor if we didn’t look at it.”
Councilmember Jordan Whitener shared a similar sentiment, arguing that the council would be “negligent” not to pursue the feasibility study “and find out what it has to offer.”
“We all just need to be open-minded,” he said. “There are going to be concerns. I have some concerns, too. (But) with this study, we’ll probably be able to answer and solve a lot of them.”
Councilmember Jake Stetler characterized it as “buying knowledge.”
“I think it’s worth the investment to find out if it’s something we want,” he said. “If it’s turning into something the community does not want, we can stop it at any time.”
Before the council voted on the resolution authorizing the grant application for the feasibility study, Highsmith asked the citizens in attendance at the meeting to raise their hands if they agreed that the town should move forward – and he said everyone in the audience did so.
The resolution the council approved said the $50,000 grant would have come from the Wyoming Business Council’s Business Ready Community program, with a $16,667 local match from the Town of Shoshoni’s general fund capital projects account.