(Editor's note: This is just one part of a series of stories about local candidates in the upcoming June 2 primary, municipal and school board election. Find more coverage here.)
Simplified: Data centers have been a hot topic in Sioux Falls and statewide as local leaders decide how these facilities might fit into zoning designations, qualify for economic incentives and more. Sioux Falls Simplified asked each candidate how they'd approach decisions about data centers in the city.
Here's (approximately) what we asked:
Let's talk about data centers. How would you manage the tension between welcoming growth/new businesses to Sioux Falls with the concerns of residents about water usage, electricity rates and more?
Here's what candidates said (in alphabetical order):
At-Large A
Vince Danh said he was at the City Council meeting in January when councilors heard four hours of testimony, and that night was a "watershed moment" in terms of seeing the gap in communication between councilors and the general public.
"It's a two-way street," Danh said. "People need to be engaged enough to look these things up ahead of time or know what’s happening on the horizon, but the city also needs to have a better vehicle of explaining things like we’re five sometimes to better understand it."
As for concerns about electricity rates, Danh said the state has safeguards in place (i.e. the Public Utilities Commission) to protect residents.
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James Oppenheimer noted the parameters councilors put in place in terms of limiting water usage to the proposed northeast Sioux Falls data center.
"As we look at the data center, now it sounds like it may not come here," Oppenheimer said. "But something that the council put in that I thought was very important was that the water system had to be a self-contained system and that the water (for the closed-loop system) had to come from not from Sioux Falls. That allows them – if it is here then it's sustainable. It's not pulling water from the Big Sioux River."
Juliann Perrigo Talkington was unable to meet in-person or respond to questions sent virtually in time for publication. This will be updated if/when those responses are received or a meeting is set.
At-Large B
Rich Merkouris said in regards to concerns about water and electricity usage, he personally sponsored an amendment specifying any water coming from the city can only be used for domestic uses (i.e. bathrooms, water fountains) and not for cooling equipment. And in terms of zoning, it's up to the city to establish and then follow zoning laws.
"I think we put the appropriate zoning in place, and then private business needs to operate within that zoning," Merkouris said. "I think that's government's role."
Samantha Scarlata was a leader in the "Let Sioux Falls Vote" campaign to repeal the council's vote to rezone property in northeast Sioux Falls paving the way for a future data center. That referendum effort ultimately fell short of the required number of signatures to get it to a public vote.
"Let's hope they don't come," Scarlata said, referring to the data center. "But if there's other votes about the Gemini data center, than, no, we don't want it here. Yeah, we got a little over 5000 signatures. We didn't get enough, but still, the city, the majority of the city doesn't want it here and Brandon and other surrounding areas."
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