Solar farms and data centers were hot topics during St. Joseph County’s first “Coffee with Your Commissioners” event Saturday.
Commissioner Carl Baxmeyer noted that the county has tightened restrictions on solar farm developers, by requiring special use permits and property value guarantees, and he felt development deals with Amazon and GM were good for the county.
“All of the work that Amazon is doing – $114 million worth of infrastructure improvements, including part of the [State Road 2] interchange – it’s all being paid for by the companies, not by us,” Baxmeyer said.
But some residents complained that they had no voice in the county’s recent development boom. Some said the projects have brought an increase in traffic and more calls for service for local fire departments.
Residents also said the latest data center proposal near New Carlisle doesn’t fit with the updated area plan. Baxmeyer argued that the plan is more of a guideline. "The zoning ordinance is what controls that," Baxmeyer said. "That’s why the council is wrestling or will wrestle with this issue."
Residents also wanted more transparency about the proposed data center. The county council president initially announced Friday that Meta was behind the proposal, but a public relations firm later denied that.
Baxmeyer acknowledged Friday’s announcement but told WVPE he didn’t have a definitive answer about the end user. He said he’s more interested in the impact on the community.
“Are they going to require the same kind of water that Amazon requires? And the company that approached us said, ‘No, we’re not,’ and we encourage them to tell the public,” Baxmeyer told WVPE.
He also noted that the county needs to make up for lost revenue, due to Indiana’s property tax reform. Depending on the projection, St. Joseph County and its cities could see a shortfall of up to $71 million dollars in the coming years, and Baxmeyer said there isn’t much support for raising local income taxes or cutting services.
“We need big businesses because they will pay taxes,” Baxmeyer added.
Saturday’s “Coffee with Your Commissioners” was designed to be a way to share information with constituents, similar to events held by local mayors.
Baxmeyer said he appreciates that people came out. “This is the first time we’ve tried this, and we’re going to do more of these,” he told WVPE.
Baxmeyer and Commissioner Rafael Morton attended Saturday’s event at the St. Joseph County Public Library’s Francis Branch. Commissioner Tony Hazen was not in attendance.
