PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — The City of Port Washington took the next step toward permitting a large, nearly 2,000 acre data center campus to be built North of the city's downtown.
At Tuesday night's Common Council meeting, members unanimously approved the annexation of just more than 562 acres of land from the town in anticipation of the data center being built there.
It is the first of what is expected to be several annexation votes over the next few months that will eventually make up the final site.
The data center itself has been controversial among neighbors across the area. In the past, some of those neighbors, particularly town residents who live near the site, have expressed their concerns to the council, arguing their voices haven't been heard.
"More and more people will be watching and asking questions once the company breaks ground and the scale of this project becomes reality," one of those residents, Ben, said Tuesday.
Watch: Port Washington annexes first 560 acres of town land for large data center project
Others, like Dan Micha who lives in the city, spoke more in favor of the project, telling TMJ4 News that he supports the data center, provided its handled appropriately by city leaders.
"I don't like this bickering," Micha said. "I know there's been a lot of heat on you. I'm surprised you're not wearing fire retardant suits."
Mayor Ted Neitzke IV maintains that there are many more city residents like Dan, who are excited by the prospects of the data center. He argues many of them are afraid to speak up, fearing backlash from others online.
"Constituents really have more questions about 'When will we see tax breaks?' Not 'We don't want this," Mayor Neitzke said. ""We are dealing with — what gets fueled by social media. A lot of the misinformation that goes out there, which is why I believe we've been really proactive."
The city says it will continue to answer letters and questions from residents in a public FAQperiodically on their website.
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