We’ll admit, the data center informational meeting presented by the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce on March 11 was quite impressive. It was economic development showmanship at its absolute finest, but we still have more questions than answers when it comes to data centers and their viability as a part of economic development in Hutchinson and Reno County.
Those questions are why we’re open to at least having serious, transparent discussions about a data center or data centers coming to Hutchinson and Reno County. The emphasis being on transparency. Because unless all parties are willing to be completely transparent in the discussions, there’s no point in having them in the first place. Data center developers haven’t been adequately transparent in their dealings with local communities so far, and we’re hoping the March 11 event is just the start of transparent discussions about all the details involved with data centers.
Hutchinson and Reno County have the power and obligation to dictate terms to data center developers who are interested in coming, and both the Hutchinson City Council and the Reno County Board of Commissioners should use it wisely. The Evergy power plant is locked in, and data centers need lots of electricity. Hutchinson and Reno County will have it. A lot of other places don’t. Data centers need ready developable land. Again Hutchinson and Reno County have it. A lot of other places don’t. Data centers have specific water needs—which may be far less than we previously thought—but they require water. Hutchinson and Reno County have it. A lot of places are struggling to find it. Hutchinson and Reno County elected officials need to remember those things when it comes to negotiations with data center developers.
Hutchinson and Reno County need to expand their property and sales tax bases. Data centers can provide that, but only if data centers pay their way or at least the majority of it. Data centers provide lots of business to construction firms at startup, but once they’re built, job creation becomes minimal at best. Hutchinson and Reno County elected officials need to remember that. We understand that tax breaks are part of the economic development toolkit, but when you have the land, power, and water resources that a lot of other communities vying for data centers don’t have, you can be more stringent about the size and length of the tax breaks you’re giving. We expect our elected officials to do just that in their negotiations with data center developers.
Location matters, especially with things like data centers, and we expect our elected officials to ensure that data centers aren’t placed in inappropriate places. Industrial zoning areas are ideal locations for data centers, and we would hope that data center developers would be steered towards those areas instead of encroaching on neighborhoods and shopping centers. Local elected officials have that power. They should exercise it wisely. If the AI bubble bursts and data centers are abandoned, local elected officials need to make sure that data center developers have an iron-clad plan in place to help remediate those properties instead of leaving local taxpayers on the hook.
Data center proponents definitely put on a good show on March 11, and we hope that everything that was said is 100% true. If it was, then it’s incumbent upon our local elected officials to ensure that data centers fit correctly into the overall economic development of Hutchinson and Reno County and are an economic multiplier instead of an economic development dead end.
At the end of the day we’re still opposed to the idea of data centers coming to Hutchinson and Reno County. The numbers just don’t add up, and we believe that Hutchinson and Reno County residents deserve economic development that actually creates significant numbers of jobs and are economic multipliers. Data centers haven’t met that standard yet, and we strongly doubt they ever will. The data center event was a nice show, but without further proof and strong commitments, that’s all it was. A nice show.
– The Hutchinson Tribune Editorial Board