Shock is giving way to organizing as opponents of a proposed 520-acre data center near Ross prepare for the Lacy Lakeview City Council’s first vote Tuesday to partner on the project.
Some 100 residents from Ross, Lacy Lakeview and Greater Waco gathered at the Ross Volunteer Fire Department on Sunday to pool information and plan their next move. A related petition has amassed more than 1,700 signatures.
They were joined by State Rep. Pat Curry, R-Waco, and a representative from the City of Waco.
Infrakey, the data center developer, is asking Lacy Lakeview to supply water and infrastructure to the data campus. Lacy Lakeview would annex the unincorporated site, which at full buildout is estimated to have a $10 billion tax value – more than 15 times the city’s current tax base.
The company is also in discussions with McLennan County about possible incentives.The Lacy Lakeview council will vote at its 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday on a nonbinding memorandum of understanding that includes annexing the property into its city limits. The meeting is at City Hall, 501 East Craven Ave.
Curry stopped short of rejecting the data center outright but said he would fight to get answers for affected residents.
“I’m not here to defend it, I’m not here to be against it,” he said.
Curry said he learned about the project from media reports.
“I wish we had known about this in advance,” he told the crowd. “I’ve talked to several people in this room that had no idea this was coming, myself included, and that’s sad. They should have warned us.”
He raised concerns about the data center’s water use, which has not been publicly disclosed, and called for Lacy Lakeview Mayor Charles Wilson to provide answers.
“I’d love to challenge (Mayor Wilson) toe-to-toe,” Curry said, apparently unaware that the mayor was seated in the back. Then a voice from the crowd shouted, “He’s here!”
Mayor Wilson walked to the microphone and fielded a salvo of questions from residents related to water use, air pollution and the impact of a data center on electrical grid stability.
Wilson admitted he did not have the information to answer all of the questions in detail.
“Some of the concerns expressed here tonight appear not to be material, some may be a little exaggerated, and some of them are very real,” Wilson said.
