Now that construction is underway on Microsoft’s Granger data center, St. Joseph County officials are promising to keep an eye on disruption to the surrounding community. Officials responded to data center concerns during Saturday’s “Coffee with Your Commissioners” event.
Economic development director Bill Schalliol said he’s already spoken with Microsoft about blowing dust. “They’re trucking water into the site . . . [to] make sure that, especially in these early phases to make sure they’ve got enough water to knock down the dust,” Schalliol explained.
Additionally, Adam Villa with the highway department said they’re watching for trucks pulling onto Bittersweet Road, which they’re only supposed to do in an emergency. "We have inspectors that are checking that, and last week, they had a truck and we called Microsoft immediately," Villa said. "Our inspector caught them quickly."
County officials also offered to look at the possibility of adding air quality warning systems, after a resident expressed concern about emissions from backup generators.
But residents still question how the data center development ended up being approved in the first place. Some said the rezoning request language was misleading, while others felt county officials considered the economic and legal implications more than the desires of the community.
Commissioner Carl Baxmeyer argued that these sorts of developments can help offset the revenue lost to the state’s property tax relief efforts for homeowners. “Who do you want to pay the bill, us as individuals or these big companies that are investing here?” Baxmeyer asked.
Microsoft has opted not to seek a tax abatement on the data center development. While that may seem positive financially, Baxmeyer noted that could also mean less control for the county.
"We lose some leverage," Baxmeyer told WVPE following Saturday's event. "If they have a development agreement, we have some leverage to say, ‘O.K., you need to do this.’"
He said he’d like the county council to look at ways to strengthen the development ordinance for all industrial uses, beyond just zoning requirements. Still, Baxmeyer said he’s opposed to a moratorium on data center development.
