Change can be difficult. There is no question about it. As a former state representative and small business owner, and now two-term mayor of the City of La Porte, I have seen many sides of change. Most recently, Senate Enrolled Act 1 created property tax savings for property owners in our state. That positive change came with a challenge as well — local governments, schools, libraries and other taxing units are faced with further reductions in funding, meaning we must find new ways to provide the quality services our residents deserve.
Here in the City of La Porte, our financial advisors put it quite simply: we must grow in order to survive. When we think about growth in a community, our mind often jumps immediately to new housing developments. While addressing our city’s housing need is most certainly on our radar, there is another potential catalyst for growth: data centers.
When I first heard the term “data center,” I admit I had little idea what exactly we were talking about. La Porte has a rich history of heavy industrial development and given many people’s severely negative reaction to the idea of data centers, I was led to believe this must be a development in a similar vein. However, when I visited my first data center development, I was shocked to find nothing of the like. Instead, what I saw were large, well-constructed, clean industrial buildings filled with computer servers. That was it.
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Data centers are a hot topic in Northwest Indiana right now and rightfully so — this kind of development has the potential to drastically change the future of our Region. Whether you’re willing to look past the sensationalized headlines and click-bait will determine if you see that change as positive or negative. There are most definitely right and wrong locations for development of this scale, but if positioned correctly, capital investments made by tech companies in this space are the type of benefits that can reshape a community.
I talk to residents every day in La Porte, and I hear many of the same themes over and over —”I want jobs for my kids to move back home for,” “I want better schools,” “I want better paving of our roads.” The list goes on and on. Much of these changes our residents want to see revolve around growth, industry diversification and funding. That means La Porte must look different tomorrow than it does today. Change is hard, though, and once it is upon you it can be scary as well. That’s why I’m happy to speak with concerned residents and address some of the misinformation that’s floating around.
Residents ask me about the water used to cool data centers. Thanks to technology advances and our local climate here in the Region, these facilities have the ability to use other means of cooling — ones which require no water — 80% of the year. The facility I toured in NWI had an average water bill of $180 a month — that’s far less than most of our industrial partners in La Porte. Additionally, we have some of the best leadership in our water and wastewater departments. Our experts will do their jobs to protect our natural resources.
Residents are concerned about the usage of electricity. I am, too. We are committed to working with NIPSCO to ensure existing rate payers shoulder none of the costs of serving major power customers like data centers. That said, as data centers are crucial to our developing world, national security and daily life, I can say with confidence that they WILL be built. That means they will be on our national power grid. Investments by these companies in our local infrastructure only increase the reliability of our local utilities.
Residents are concerned with where data centers are built — so am I. No location in a developed community is perfect, but there are good locations for this development. We are forced to look at our utility network, undeveloped land and existing homes. Does this mean that everyone will agree on an appropriate location? Unfortunately, no. That is the job of an elected official, however. We must balance the needs of the community as a whole with the needs of a few. It is an unpleasant position but the position we were elected for.
I’ve seen many Facebook posts detailing the horrors of this type of development, but here’s the irony: the very posts that tear down data centers are stored in data centers. The developing world is driven by the technology that utilizes these facilities. They will be built in our country — specifically in the Midwest — and they will utilize our electric network. The only question is this: will our communities in Northwest Indiana benefit from the investments that will be made? We have numerous geographic, utility and spacial advantages, but it is up to us to capitalize.
Do your research. Visit data centers in other communities. Understand what is at stake. Change is hard, but tough decisions often lead to the greatest growth.
