Mayor Larry Spears Jr. addressed the city of Orange’s council meeting agenda ahead of its scheduled July 28 meeting, after concerns on social media were brought to his attention.
The memorandum, presented by Kelvin Knauf, Director of Planning and Community Development, stated a purpose of familiarizing the city council with data center development and to discuss the opportunities and challenges the facilities may present for the city of Orange.
“We’ve asked staff to keep us in the know…we don’t understand everything going on in the state of Texas,” Spears said. “There’s been data centers popping up and one of our team members wants to make sure we understand the pros, the cons and what all it entails - how it would affect us and make sure we are knowledgeable and able to make a decision if someone were ever to approach us.”
Spears said that, while no one has approached the city about a potential data center, he is proud of his team for due diligence and being proactive about becoming educated on the topic.
Knauf presented related information to the council and attendees July 28, showing a data center in Montgomery, Texas, just west of Conroe. Knauf explained potential city impacts, such as up to one million gallons of water used monthly, public concerns, and that cities have even voted to prohibit data centers citywide.
“Mr. Knauf wanted to let us know before anyone came and brought it to us,” Spears said, thanking Knauf for the preemptive assessment and presentation.
Orange City Council discusses data centers