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GOOD EVENING. CHAIR CALLS THE ORDER OF THE PUBLIC HEARING FOR BILL 26 002. SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION, ESTIMATED EXPENSES. STAT AND MSDE. MR. SANTOS, WHENEVER YOU'RE READY.
RAVI, SAINT LOUIS COUNTY TREASURER, ON BEHALF OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, REQUESTING A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $1.1 MILLION TO COVER SOME UNANTICIPATED COSTS FROM THE STATE OF MARYLAND TO THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT THAT WERE NOT RECEIVED AS PART OF THE NORMAL BUDGET PROCESS. IN FACT, BOTH OF THESE WERE RECEIVED IN IN IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, JULY AND THEREAFTER. SO THERE'S TWO COMPONENTS HERE. FIRST PART IS A LITTLE BIT EASIER MAYBE TO UNDERSTAND, WHICH IS OUR STATE DEPARTMENT OF ASSESSMENTS AND TAXATION. SO BEGINNING IN 2011, COUNTY GOVERNMENTS HAD TO START SHARING 50% OF THE COST OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ASSESSMENTS AND TAXATION. THESE ARE THE STATE AGENCIES THAT DO THE PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS, IN WHICH CASE THEN THE COUNTY APPLIES THEIR PROPERTY TAX RATE TOO. BUT IT WAS ALWAYS CONTROLLED BY THE STATE. SO AGAIN, BEGINNING IN 2011, THE STATE AS PART OF A BUDGET, THAT BUDGET CRISIS DURING THOSE YEARS SHIFTED 50% OF THE COST TO THE COUNTIES. THE WAY IT MORE OR LESS WORKS IS THAT THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ASSESSMENTS AND TAXATION ESTIMATES WHAT THEIR COST IS GOING TO BE. THEN THEY PRORATED ACCORDING TO THE SIZE OF THE COUNTIES, THE NUMBER OF, OF, OF PROPERTIES AND THE LIKE. AND THEN THEY THEY BILL THE COUNTIES RESPECTIVELY. IT'S AN ESTIMATE. AND THEN THERE'S ALWAYS A TRUE UP KIND OF AT THE END IT COULD BE PLUS OR MINUS.
SO WHAT HAPPENED HERE IS IN FISCAL YEAR 25, WHEN THEY WERE APPLYING THE ADJUSTMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF A LITTLE BIT OVER $200,000, THEY, THEY VIEWED IT AS A CREDIT INSTEAD OF AS ADDITIONAL EXPENSE. SO INSTEAD OF HAVING $200,000 ADDED TO OUR BILL, IT'S SUBTRACTED $200,000 BILL, $200,000 TO OUR BILL. SO THEN WE HAVE TO TO GO. AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT FIGURED THIS OUT AFTER THE FACT AND SENT OUT CORRECTED BILLS. SO MORE OR LESS WE ENDED UP, YOU KNOW, NOT PAYING WHAT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO PAY IN YEARS PAST. AND NOW THEY'RE, THEY'RE CATCHING UP WITH THIS AGAIN. I THINK THIS WAS JUST A CLERICAL ERROR ON THEIR PART, BUT IT IS INDICATIVE OF SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING A LOT, AND THAT IS THIS DIRECT BILLING OF COUNTY OF STATE SERVICES DIRECTLY, DIRECTLY TO TO THE COUNTIES. THE OTHER ONE IS A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED. AND THIS HAS TO DO WITH PRIVATE PRE-K COMPONENT. THAT'S A PART OF THE BLUEPRINT INITIATIVE. NOW, IT WAS OUR INITIAL BELIEF, AS WELL AS MOST OF THE OTHER COUNTIES, THAT PRIVATE PRE-K, WHICH WE UNDERSTOOD. BIG COMPONENT OF THE BLUEPRINT IS THAT WE NEED TO PROVIDE PRE-K SERVICES. AND IF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM DOESN'T HAVE THE NECESSARY SLOTS THAT PRIVATE PROVIDERS CAN, CAN PROVIDE IT. AND WE WERE MORE OR LESS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT COUNTY GOVERNMENTS WOULD BE FUNDING THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS, AND THAT THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS WOULD BE HAVING TO PAY THESE THESE EXPENSES. WELL, APPARENTLY THAT WAS NOT HOW THE LAW WAS WRITTEN. THIS WAS SOMEWHAT OF A BLIND SIDE TO TO MAKO AND TO ALL OF THE OTHER COUNTIES WHEN IT WAS DISCOVERED ALSO IN IN JULY THAT NO. IN FACT, BEGINNING IN FISCAL YEAR 26, AGAIN, AFTER THE BUDGET WAS ALREADY WAS ALREADY PASSED, THAT COUNTY GOVERNMENTS WERE GOING TO NEED TO BE THEY WERE GOING TO BE DIRECT BILLED FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR THESE EXPENSES. AND AT THE TIME, IT WAS ESTIMATED AT ABOUT $750,000. WE HAD A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH. I KNOW YOU WERE AT MAKO WITH ME WHEN I ASKED THE QUESTION TO THE TO THE SCHOOL SYSTEM. YOU HAVE A VIDEO OF THAT IF ANYONE WANTS TO SEE IT. YOU AND MY WIFE, TWO PEOPLE HAVE THAT VIDEO. IT IS NOT EXACTLY GONE VIRAL WHERE WE DID MORE OR LESS WHERE I ASKED THEM, I WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, NONE OF US WERE EXPECTING THIS. YOU KNOW, NORMALLY WHEN WE HAVE HAVE COSTS FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, YOU KNOW, WE FUND THE SCHOOL SYSTEM AND THE SCHOOL SYSTEM PAYS. SO SAY FOR LIKE SPECIAL EDUCATION WHEN THERE ARE PRIVATE PROVIDERS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM PROVIDES THOSE NONPUBLIC PLACEMENTS. WHY IS THIS DIFFERENT? AND THEY'RE LIKE, WELL, THIS APPARENTLY WAS WAS HOW THE LAW WAS WRITTEN. THERE WAS A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH. WE KNOW THAT THE MARYLAND ASSOCIATION OF BOARDS OF EDUCATION WERE PUSHING BACK BECAUSE IN FISCAL YEAR 25, THE SCHOOL SYSTEM DID HAVE TO PAY FOR FOR THAT EXPENSE DIRECTLY. BUT THEN AGAIN, THEY SAID, NO, THE LAW IS THAT COUNTIES NEED TO START PROVIDING FOR THIS. OF COURSE, WE DID NOT HAVE THIS THIS BUDGETED KIND OF FAST FORWARD A LITTLE BIT. WE RECEIVE A LETTER ON AUGUST ON OCTOBER 10TH FROM CARRIE WRIGHT, THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, MORE OR LESS OUTLINING THAT THIS IS NOW A COUNTY REQUIREMENT AND THAT HARFORD COUNTY'S BILL FOR THIS IS GOING TO BE 600 AND JUST SHY OF 620, $20,000 IN THAT INVOICE WOULD BE COMING RELATIVELY SOON. WELL, ABOUT A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, WE FINALLY DID RECEIVE RECEIVE AN INVOICE AND IT WAS A LOWER AMOUNT, THIS ONE FOR ABOUT 500,000. HOWEVER, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH AS TO WHETHER OR NOT THIS TRULY IS THE RIGHT AMOUNT, AND WE DON'T RECEIVE A WHOLE LOT OF INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, ON THIS INVOICE, YOU KNOW, WHAT THE COUNTY RECEIVED WAS THAT WE HAD 65 SLOTS OF TITLE ONE TIER, TIER ONE STUDENTS AT $7,648 PER PUPIL. THAT'S OUR SHARE. THAT'S OUR 50% OF OF THE SHARE. AND
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THAT THAT WE'LL NEED TO THAT WE'LL NEED TO PAY THIS. WE DON'T RECEIVE TOO MUCH INFORMATION. WE RECEIVE BIRTH DATES OF, OF THE STUDENTS THAT WERE BEING SERVED THEIR ZIP CODE, AND THEN THE PROGRAM PROVIDERS AND MOST OF THE PROGRAM PROVIDERS IS UNDER KIND OF THE MARYLAND HEAD START. HOWEVER, THERE ARE ALSO INDIVIDUAL KIND OF HOME PROVIDERS AS WELL. OBVIOUSLY HAD A LITTLE BIT OF CONCERN HERE. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONCERNS WITH WITH FRAUD AND THE LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE ARE IN FACT, YOU KNOW, LEGITIMATE PROVIDERS. WE HAVE WORKED WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM.THEY DO APPEAR TO BE LEGITIMATE PROVIDERS, HOWEVER, STILL JUST A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY. YOU KNOW, AS TO, YOU KNOW, WHY THIS IS OUR IS OUR EXPENSE AND WHAT EXACTLY IS OUR ROLE IN KIND OF VERIFYING AND VETTING ALL OF THIS INFORMATION? THE UNFORTUNATE PART IS, AGAIN, THIS IS ALL PART OF, OF THESE ADDITIONAL STATE COSTS THAT WE'RE NOW HAVING TO BEAR. WE'VE HAD TEACHER PENSION COSTS SHIFTED TO US IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF ASSESSMENT AND TAXATION, WHICH I SAID WAS AT 50%, THEY NOW BUMP THAT UP TO 90%, AND NOW WE'RE GETTING PRIVATE PRE-K. THEY'VE ALSO PASSED ON HALF OF ANY WRONGFUL INCARCERATION LAWSUITS. THAT'S CERTAINLY THAT. YOU CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO, TO, TO PLAN FOR EXACTLY WHAT THAT WILL WILL BE. AND AGAIN, THAT ONGOING TREND THAT THE STATE OF MARYLAND IS KIND OF PUSHING ITS, ITS OBLIGATIONS IN MANY CASES ONTO THE COUNTIES, YOU KNOW, NOT A WHOLE LOT WE CAN REALLY DO. I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE DO PUSH BACK. WE DO TRY TO, YOU KNOW, SEE IF WE CAN FIND, YOU KNOW, MISTAKES OR ERRORS OR THINGS LIKE THAT. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU KNOW, COUNTIES EXIST BECAUSE THE STATE OF MARYLAND SAYS THAT WE EXIST.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T PAY, THEY WILL ULTIMATELY TAKE IT OUT OF OUR INCOME TAX OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. BUT IT IS, I GUESS IT'S AN ONGOING PROBLEM THAT WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT.
BUT. ROBBIE, THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. YOU MENTIONED A VIDEO THAT WAS NOT PLANNED. WE WERE AT MAKO. WE WERE IN THE AUDITORIUM, AND YOU ASKED THE QUESTION OF THE STATE AND THEY COULDN'T RESPOND. AND THEN YOU FURTHER WENT OUT AND ELABORATED ON YOUR CONCERNS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF ALL THESE UNFUNDED MANDATES. AND I APPRECIATE THAT. AND I'M JUST SO GLAD THAT I DID VIDEO YOU, BECAUSE I THINK IT WAS A HIGHLIGHT OF THAT MAKO CONVENTION THAT YEAR. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. COUNCIL QUESTIONS AT ANY TIME. MR. ROBBIE. THANKS.
QUESTION. YOU SAID 65 SLOTS. IS THAT BECAUSE THE SCHOOL DIDN'T HAVE THE AVAILABILITY FOR THE KINDERGARTEN, THAT THAT IS THAT IS THAT THAT IS THAT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY DON'T HAVE THE THAT ALL OF THE AVAILABILITY. HOWEVER, THERE IS EVEN I STILL THINK THE OPTION IN ORDER TO USE THE PRIVATE, THE PRIVATE PRE-K. AND IT'S KIND OF FUZZY. AND I'M NOT A EDUCATIONAL ANALYST BY, BY TRADE. AND SO WE DO KNOW THOUGH, THAT NEXT YEAR IT'S GOING TO BE A LOT MORE SLOTS. SO WHY IS THAT? BECAUSE THAT'S THEY'RE PHASING UP THE NUMBERS. AND SO THAT'S ANOTHER QUESTION I'VE ASKED. LIKE, OKAY, WHERE DOES THIS END? SO NEXT YEAR, WHAT THEY HAVE TOLD US THROUGH THE STATE PROCESS IS THAT TO, TO, TO PLAN ON 1.5 MILLION NOW, IT MIGHT COME IN A LITTLE BIT LOWER IF NOT ALL THOSE SLOTS ARE TAKEN. BUT I'M LIKE, WELL, IS IT GOING TO BE 2 MILLION, 3 MILLION THE NEXT YEAR? YOU KNOW, WHEN WHERE DOES IT WHERE DOES IT ALL END? I MEAN, I THINK ULTIMATELY IT ENDS AT SOME TYPE OF UNIVERSAL PRE-K. NOW IT WILL BE ON A SLIDING SCALE. SO I THINK ONCE YOU GET BEYOND THE KIND OF LIKE THE TIER ONE STUDENTS THAT MEET CERTAIN INCOME REQUIREMENTS, THE PARENTS WILL HAVE TO PAY, YOU KNOW, A PORTION OF THAT EXPENSE. AND SO, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT THE COUNTY HAD ADDITIONAL COSTS RELATED TO THAT, IT WOULD BE LESS. BUT AGAIN, I THINK IT'S JUST AN ONGOING TRAJECTORY AND THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WILL HAVE NO CONTROL OVER WHETHER THEY HAVE 65 OR OR 100. IT'S BASED IF BASED ON THESE TITLE, TITLE ONE, IF THEY'RE IF THEY'RE GOING TO COME IN AND SAY, WE'D RATHER GO HERE, IS THERE, IS THERE ANY CRITERIA OR HOW DO WE FIND OUT THIS CRITERIA? I THINK THOSE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HERE FOR, FOR THE BUDGET WORK SESSIONS, I THINK THERE'S PRIVATE PRE-K IS A IS IT I MEAN, TO SOME EXTENT, SINCE THE COUNTY HAS TO PAY IT DIRECTLY, YOU KNOW, THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF OF THAT. IT KIND OF GOES THROUGH THAT NORMAL, LIKE THE SCHOOL SYSTEM DOESN'T EXACTLY HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IT IN THE SAME WAY. I'M NOT SAYING THAT THAT THEY'RE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE THE EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS OF THIS, BUT FROM A PHYSICAL STANDPOINT, IT'S NOW KIND OF OUR PROBLEM. AND SO HOW DOES THAT WORK? AND IT SEEMS LIKE THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE ACCREDITED BECAUSE YOU SAID THERE COULD BE ALSO OUT OF THE HOME. WELL, I THINK THERE'S STILL A CREDIT. SO I DON'T WANT TO SAY THAT THEY'RE NOT ACCREDITED. AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THEY ARE, BUT THEY ARE HOME BASED. SOME OF THESE ARE HOME BASED PROVIDERS. OKAY. NOW WHAT THE I HAVE ASKED THE STATE THIS DIRECTLY. AND I WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, SO YOU CAN VERIFY PEOPLE AT MSD THAT THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT JUST PROVIDING DAYCARE, THAT THEY'RE PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL THINGS AND THEY, THEY, THEY ASSURE ME THAT THEY ARE, THAT THEY ARE VERIFIED AND THEY ARE CHECKED AND, AND ALL OF THAT. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, LIKE, WE'RE NOT GIVING A WHOLE LOT OF INFORMATION. YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE DON'T EVEN, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW THE
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EXACT STUDENTS. WE DON'T KNOW, IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF LIKE, HEY, YOU TRUST US. THIS IS WHAT, THIS IS WHAT YOUR BILL IS. WELL, THANKS FOR ASKING THE TOUGH QUESTIONS. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY'RE NOT GIVING YOU THE ANSWERS THAT YOU'RE THAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AND THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR. SO I DON'T KNOW WHERE WE GO FROM HERE NOW. AND WE ASKED THE SCHOOL. YES. AND I WILL SAY THAT THAT WHAT I'M ASKING FOR HERE IS THE APPROPRIATION AUTHORITY. YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO PAY THIS, THIS, THIS BILL IMMEDIATELY. YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE WE DO HAVE TIME. AND WE ARE KIND OF GOING BACK AND FORTH TO MAKE SURE THAT CAN WE AUDIT THESE? THAT IS, YOU KNOW. YEAH. AND AGAIN, I DON'T THINK IT'S SO MUCH, YOU KNOW, WITH WITH THE SCHOOL SYSTEM ITSELF. I MEAN, TO ME, I THINK IT'S JUST THE NATURE OF, OF HOW THE STATE PROGRAM WAS, WAS DESIGNED, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, I MEAN, IDEALLY, I WANT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM TO BE ABLE TO, TO VERIFY ALL THESE STUDENTS. I THINK THE SCHOOL SYSTEM WANTS TO. I MEAN, I DID SEND IT TO I DID SEND THEM THIS INVOICE AND THEY WERE LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD NEED THE NAMES AND ALL TOO. SO THEN I ASKED THE STATE FOR THEM. I HAVE NOT HEARD BACK AT THIS POINT. OKAY, SO BUT THE SCHOOL SYSTEM HAS BEEN A WILLING PARTNER IN THIS. I MEAN, THEY'VE GOTTEN BACK TO ME. THEY'RE NOT YOU KNOW, THEY ARE THEY'RE CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, HELPING TO TRY TO SOLVE, SOLVE FOR SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS. JACOB. MR. BENNETT. HELLO. GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD. YOU'RE ALWAYS REALLY IN TUNE WITH WHAT'S GOING ON AT THE STATE LEVEL. THAT IMPACTS US AT THE COUNTY LEVEL AS FAR AS OUR SHARE OF PAYING FOR THINGS. AND I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO AT MAKO TWICE A YEAR TO REALLY PUSH THAT ISSUE. FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, PILLAR ONE OF THE BLUEPRINT IS THE PILLAR THAT DEALS WITH THE PRE-K EXPANSION. AND FIVE OR SO YEARS AGO, BEFORE I WAS ON THE COUNTY COUNCIL, I SERVED ON THE ADVISORY BOARD FOR PILLAR ONE FOR THE FOR THE BLUEPRINT. AND I REALLY ADVOCATED AT THAT TIME AGAINST THE STRUCTURE OF HOW PRE-K IS SET UP WITH THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS FOR A LOT OF WHAT YOU TALK TO, BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO EXPAND EACH YEAR THROUGH 2029, AND IT ONLY IS GOING TO BECOME MORE AND MORE EXPENSIVE. AND WHILE THEY DO, WHILE THEY DO COMPLETE EXTENSIVE INSPECTIONS OF THE WORK SITES, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALL THESE REQUIREMENTS OF, YOU KNOW, ANYBODY WORKING IN THE SITE HAVING AT LEAST AN ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE IF THEIR SUPPORT STAFF AND A BACHELOR'S DEGREE, IF THEY'RE THE EDUCATOR, YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THAT THEY'RE USING A CURRICULUM THAT ALIGNS WITH THE KINDERGARTEN THEY'RE GOING TO BE PUT INTO. AND, YOU KNOW, ALL SORTS OF DIFFERENT CONCERNS WITH IT. AND THE COST IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST CONCERN AT THE TIME. I ADVOCATE FOR WHY ARE WE NOT PUTTING UPFRONT FUNDS TO BUILD LITTLE BUILDINGS NEXT TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS TO HOUSE PRE-K? AND THAT WAS NOT ONE OUT IN THAT DEBATE. BUT IT IS GOING TO BE A GROWING COST EACH YEAR FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. BUT A BIG QUESTION IS, WILL THEY PROVIDE WILL THEY FIND PRIVATE PROVIDERS WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM BECAUSE IT'S NOT SO GREAT FOR THEM EITHER, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO GET THEIR STAFF TRAINED, GET THEM NEW CERTIFICATIONS, YOU KNOW, ALL SORTS OF RENOVATIONS TO HAVE THINGS THAT I LEVEL FOR THE CHILDREN AND, YOU KNOW, HAVE THINGS IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES REPRESENTED THROUGHOUT THE ROOM. AND IT IS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK FOR THE PRIVATE PROVIDERS. AND FIVE YEARS AGO, THAT WAS THE BIG THING WE WERE HEARING FROM PRIVATE PROVIDERS IS, YES, IT IS MONEY FOR US, BUT IT'S NOT WORTH IT FOR US. SO ANYWAY, I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING THIS FORWARD, AND I THINK IT'LL BE GOOD TO BE ABLE TO PASS THIS, ALTHOUGH I WISH WE WEREN'T HAVING TO PAY FOR THESE THINGS. THANK YOU, MR. BENNETT. ANYONE ELSE? MISS DIXON, DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP? THERE IS NO ONE SIGNED UP, MR. PRESIDENT. ALL RIGHT, WELL, THANK YOU. THIS WILL CONCLUDE THIS PUBLIC HEARING FOR BILL 2602, AND WE'LL TAKE IT UP AT OUR NEXT MEETING. AND I THINK WE'RE OKAY TO GO RIGHT INTO OUR GENERAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION. SO WE'LL CALL TO ORDER LEGISLATIVE SESSION DAY 20 6-0 12. I WOULD ASK YOU TO PLEASE JOIN US IN STANDING FOR THE PLEDGE, FOLLOWED BY THE OPENING PRAYER BY COUNCIL MEMBER JAN GIORDANO. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. GOOD EVENING, HEAVENLY FATHER. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING US TOGETHER TODAY. TODAY WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY AND TO BE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES. AS WE BEGIN THIS MEETING, WE ASK FOR YOUR GUIDANCE. HELP US TO LISTEN WELL, TO SPEAK WITH HONESTY, AND TO TREAT ONE ANOTHER WITH RESPECT. GIVE US WISDOM IN THE DECISIONS WE MAKE AND KEEP OUR FOCUS ON WHAT TRULY BENEFITS THE PEOPLE WE REPRESENT. REMIND US TO LEAD WITH INTEGRITY, PATIENCE AND COMPASSION. WE ALSO LIFT UP OUR COMMUNITY THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING, THOSE WHO FEEL UNHEARD, THOSE WHO DEPEND ON THE CHOICES MADE HERE HELP US TO SERVE THEM FAITHFULLY. THANK[00:15:03]
YOU FOR THE RESPONSIBILITY ENTRUSTED TO US. GIVE US IN ALL WE DO THIS EVENING. AMEN, AMEN.THANK YOU. AGENDA NUMBER FOUR PRESENTATION OF PROCLAMATIONS. APRIL 2026, CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS MONTH. MISS ROBERT, WOULD YOU PLEASE STEP DOWN FOR. CAN I ASK. YOU GET A MICROPHONE.
COME THIS WAY JUST A BIT. THERE YOU GO. WHEREAS THE WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN IS ESSENTIAL TO THE STRENGTH AND FUTURE OF OUR COMMUNITY, AND ALL CHILDREN DESERVE TO GROW UP IN A SAFE, STABLE AND NURTURING ENVIRONMENTS. CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT REMAIN SERIOUS CONCERNS THAT AFFECT CHILDREN OF ALL BACKGROUNDS, WHILE LIFELONG INFLUENCE ON THEIR PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING. AND WHEREAS OBSERVED ANNUALLY IN APRIL, NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH NOT ONLY CALLS TO ATTENTION TO PREVENT THE PREVENTION OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT, BUT ALSO THE RESPONSIBILITY OF OUR COMMUNITY TO SUPPORT CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IMPACTED BY THESE CHALLENGES. AND WHEREAS ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE FORGOTTEN INITIATIVE PLAY A VITAL ROLE IN THIS EFFORT, BY PARTNERING WITH OUR LOCAL FOSTER CARE AGENCY TO HELP MEET THE NEEDS OF FOSTER PARENTS, VULNERABLE ADULTS, CHILDREN, AND AGENCY WORKERS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. NOW, THEREFORE, WE, THE COUNTY COUNCIL OF HARFORD COUNTY, MARYLAND ON THIS 14TH DAY OF APRIL 2026, DO HEREBY SALUTE NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH, THE FORGOTTEN INITIATIVE AND WISH TO ENCOURAGE ALL CITIZENS TO SUPPORT EFFORTS THAT STRENGTHEN FAMILIES, RAISE AWARENESS AND HELP PREVENT CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT IN OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. SO I WAS AT A FAIR LAST YEAR, A RESOURCE FAIR, AND FOUND THE FORGOTTEN INITIATIVE. AND THEY'RE NOT VERY WELL KNOWN FOR WHAT THEY DO. AND I THOUGHT IN HONOR OF CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH, PEOPLE SHOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY DO BECAUSE THEY WORK CLOSELY WITH THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM, WITH THE FOSTER PARENTS, WITH OUR VULNERABLE ADULTS AND OUR CHILDREN. AND SO THEY HAVE TOLD ME THAT THE PROGRAM HAS IMPROVED A LOT. THEY HAVE GOTTEN 88, I BELIEVE, FAMILIES. AND SO I'M GOING TO GIVE THEM THE MIC. LISA, DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK? AND WE'RE GOING TO TAG TEAM TAG TEAM IT. OKAY. AND LISA IS THE DIRECTOR. I'M JOE POWELL. THANK YOU SO MUCH. IT'S AN HONOR TO RECEIVE THIS. SO WE ARE A CHAPTER, THE HARFORD COUNTY CHAPTER OF THE NATIONAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THE FORGOTTEN INITIATIVE. AND IF I HAD TO SUM UP WHAT WE DO, IT WOULD BE CONNECTING THE LOCAL COMMUNITY AND LOCAL CHURCHES TO THE FOSTER CARE COMMUNITY. AND LISA IS GOING TO GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT HOW WE DO THAT. SURE, SO I WILL. MY NAME IS LISA DAVIS. I WILL JUST ACKNOWLEDGE UP FRONT THAT I STUMBLED ONTO THE FORGOTTEN INITIATIVE AND THEIR WORK ROUGHLY A YEAR AGO. AND ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO, I STARTED TO JUST DIVE IN HEAD FIRST. SO WHAT I SAW WAS JUST REALLY A BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE OF A SMALL GROUP OF VOLUNTEERS THAT WERE, YOU KNOW, GIVING OF THEIR HEARTS AND THEIR TIME AND THEIR RESOURCES TO COME OUT AND MENTOR AND HAVE CLASSES AND TRAINING AND CONNECTION WITH VULNERABLE YOUTH HERE IN FOSTER HERE IN HARFORD COUNTY. SO I'M STILL LEARNING A LOT ABOUT THE FOSTER COMMUNITY. I WILL SAY LIKE JOANNA AND MARY GRANT WERE THE TWO LADIES THAT STARTED THIS CHAPTER. SO I CAME ALONG AND GOT TO INHERIT, YOU KNOW, THE FRUITS OF THEIR WORK AND JUST KIND OF BUILD UPON THAT.
BACK IN 2021, MARY GRANT, WHO HAD SOME EXPERIENCE WITH FOSTER, THE FOSTER COMMUNITY AND FOSTER FAMILIES, STEPPED OUT AND REACHED OUT TO TFI, OUR NATIONAL ORGANIZATION, TO UNDERSTAND HOW SHE COULD BUILD A MISSION, A MISSION HERE IN HARFORD COUNTY. AND SHE DID THAT THROUGH CONNECTION TO CHURCHES, THROUGH PARTNERING WITH SOME REALLY WONDERFUL FOLKS THAT DECIDED TO JUST, YOU KNOW, GO ALL IN FOR THIS. WE'VE HAD THE SUPPORT OF CHURCHES, VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS. THESE LADIES WENT TO DSS AND SAID, WHAT CAN WE DO TO WORK CLOSELY WITH YOU AND HELP SUPPORT YOUR MISSION? WHEN THAT MEETING HAPPENED, I BELIEVE THEY SAID, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY STRUGGLE WITH TRANSITION AGE YOUTH. SO FOSTER KIDS THAT ARE 14 TO 21 YEARS OLD AND HOW WE GET THEM CRITICAL LIFE SKILLS TRAINING. SO THIS GROUP WAS ABLE TO PARTNER WITH DSS, REACH OUT, LEVERAGE RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY, TRAINERS, CHURCHES, SMALL GROUPS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO DEVELOP AND OFFER ONCE A MONTH, THE FIRST MONDAY
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OF EVERY MONTH THERE IS A TRAINING SESSION. TYPICALLY, IT'S HELD AT CHRIST FELLOWSHIP CHURCH IN HARFORD COUNTY IN FOREST HILL. AND SORRY ABOUT THAT. AND IT IS ABOUT THREE HOURS. SO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IS A GROUP OF 15 TO 2025 KIDS. SOMETIMES THAT COME IN, THEY GET A WARM WELCOME. THEY GET LOTS OF HUGS, THEY SEE FAMILIAR FACES AND MENTORS MONTH AFTER MONTH AND THEY SIT DOWN, THEY HAVE FOOD, FELLOWSHIP. THEY CONNECT AND HAVE CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER. SOME OF THESE KIDS ACTUALLY ARE LIVING IN GROUP HOMES, FOSTER HOMES.SOMETIMES THEY'RE IN SOME LEVEL OF INDEPENDENT LIVING AND AND IN SOME CASES THEY'RE IN KINSHIP CARE. WE HAVE SIBLING GROUPS THAT BELONG OR ARE IN DIFFERENT LIVING ARRANGEMENTS.
SO THOSE KIDS WILL COME AND SHOW UP SO THEY CAN CONNECT WITH THEIR SIBLINGS. SO IT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, A PRETTY AMAZING THING TO WATCH. AND I HAD THE BENEFIT OF SEEING THAT.
JOE, DO YOU WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT. SO WE'VE BEEN AROUND ABOUT FIVE YEARS AND WE ARE NOW JUST HAVING SOME OF OUR KIDS TRANSITION INTO INDEPENDENT LIVING. AND IT'S A HUGE CHALLENGE. AND THEY NEED THE COMMUNITY. AND SO WE ARE REALLY WORKING TOWARDS SUPPORTING THEM. ONCE THEY AGE OUT AND THEY LOSE THE SUPPORT FROM DSS. THE OTHER THING, I JUST WANT TO DO A SHOUT OUT. WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH HARFORD COUNTY SOCIAL WORKERS AND THEY'RE AMAZING. THERE'S A QUOTE, I'M NOT I'M GOING TO BUTCHER IT, BUT IT'S LIKE SOME SOME HEROES WEAR CAPES. THESE HEROES CARRY, YOU KNOW, THEIR THEIR FILES AND THEY TAKE LATE NIGHT CALLS AND THEY ARE IN THESE KIDS CORNERS. SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE DO, AND THIS IS ALL 100% DONATED DONATIONS FROM LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, CHURCHES IN THE COMMUNITY. AS WE DO MONTHLY DROPS TO DSS, WE GIVE THEM SNACKS AND DRINKS AND WE PROVIDED THEM WITH BREAKFASTS FOR SOCIAL WORKER AWARENESS MONTH, BECAUSE THEY ARE THE GLUE THAT HOLDS ALL OF THIS TOGETHER. WITHOUT THEM AND US COMING ALONGSIDE OF THEM AND SAYING, WE APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DO AND WE SEE WHAT YOU DO AND WE WANT TO BE A PART OF IT. THE KIDS SUFFER, YOU KNOW. AND SO YEAH, SO IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED, WE HAVE YEAH, WE DO, WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES. WE'RE GROWING OUR, OUR MISSION AND OUR PROGRAMS. AS JOE SAID, CONTINUED FOCUS ON INDEPENDENT LIVING. AND THAT MEANS, YOU KNOW, WE SEE TEXTS COME THROUGH THAT, THAT A YOUNG LADY IS MOVING INTO AN APARTMENT AND WE MOBILIZE RESOURCES AND FURNITURE, KITCHEN OR FINE FURNITURE. JO'S HUSBAND WENT AND PUT UP HER PICTURES A FEW DAYS AGO. SO, I MEAN, IT IS REALLY TANGIBLE, HANDS ON SUPPORT. I CAN TELL YOU, THESE KIDS REACH OUT TO THEIR MENTORS WHEN THEY'RE IN CRISIS, WHEN THEY NEED FRIENDSHIP, WHEN WE CELEBRATE BIRTHDAYS WITH THEM. AND THAT TRAINING THAT WE'RE ABLE TO OFFER IN PARTNERSHIP WITH DSS IS, YOU KNOW, FINANCIAL FREEDOM IS BUDGETING AND NUTRITION AND HEALTH AND COOKING AND THINGS. YEAH, EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED TO KNOW. AND THEN WE JUST MIX IN A LOT OF LOVE AND A LOT OF FUN. SO IT IS REALLY A BEAUTIFUL, MESSY, FUN, CRAZY, SOMETIMES HEARTBREAKING MISSION THAT WE'RE ON. BUT WE LOVE IT AND THE KIDS ARE SO WORTH IT. SO IF ANYONE'S INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE, WE'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH. HAVE YOU GUYS MOVE IN THIS WAY. WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU CENTERED. AND THEN IF I CAN HAVE COUNCIL PRESIDENT OR ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS MOVE IN THIS WAY JUST A LITTLE BIT, SHIFT DOWN. HERE WE GO. EVERYBODY MOVE DOWN JUST A LITTLE MORE. ALL RIGHT. FRONT ROW IS GREAT. BACK ROW. ONE MORE STEP THIS WAY. YOU'RE ALMOST THERE. AWESOME. YOU'RE GOING TO DO A COUPLE WITH THE FLASH. 321321. 321321. THANK YOU EVERYBODY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT THANK YOU. AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS APPLICATIONS APPOINTMENTS AND NOMINATIONS. WE HAVE NONE. SIX SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS. MARYLAND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. SCHULTZ. MR. SADOWSKI. SO GOOD EVENING. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR COMING TONIGHT. AS YOU KNOW, RECENTLY
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YOU GAVE A PRESENTATION AT THE ABINGTON LIBRARY. AND I THINK THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE HAD MEMBERS OF HIS ADMINISTRATION THERE AND PLANNING ADVISORY BOARDS WERE THERE, AND A COUPLE COUNCIL MEMBERS WERE THERE, BUT ALL OF US WERE NOT. SO MY COLLEAGUES THOUGHT IT'D BE GREAT TO HAVE YOU GUYS COME AND GIVE US A PRESENTATION. AND THAT'S WHAT THIS IS ABOUT. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TONIGHT. VERY GOOD. WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND FOR THE INVITATION. YEAH, IT WAS A GREAT DISCUSSION. WE HAD A NUMBER OF BUSINESS COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, LEADERSHIP FROM ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND DEFENSE CONTRACTORS, THE POWER COMPANY, AND THESE BREAKFAST DISCUSSIONS ARE ALL ABOUT WHERE THE ECONOMY IS HEADING. AND CERTAINLY FIRST AND FOREMOST, IT'S GOOD TO SEE MANY OF YOU AGAIN. AND I'M A PROUD RESIDENT MYSELF. YOU'RE ALL DOING A GREAT JOB. THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO. BUT I WANT TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WE'RE ASKED TO PRESENT AND INFORM ON THIS ISSUE ACROSS THE STATE. THERE ARE A LOT OF COMMUNITIES THAT ARE FACED WITH, YOU KNOW, THESE DECISIONS AND THE VARIOUS ISSUES RELATED TO THEM. AND SO OUR ROLE IN ALL THIS IS TO TRY TO HELP INFORM AND SUPPORT COMMUNITIES MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS, ONES THAT, YOU KNOW, MEET THEIR NEEDS. I MEAN, ULTIMATELY, THE MISSION OF THE MARYLAND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IS TO SERVE AS A PARTNER FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENTITIES TO HELP THEM ACHIEVE THEIR STRATEGIC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES, WHATEVER THEY MAY BE. OFTENTIMES, WE SIT DOWN WHEN COMMUNITIES HAVE THOUGHTS OR IDEAS OF WHAT THEY WANT TO TRY TO DEVELOP OR REDEVELOP, AND WE SIT DOWN WITH THEM, WE GO OVER THE VARIOUS ISSUES. WE HELP DO FINANCIAL MODELING. WE CAN HELP COME UP WITH CREATIVE FINANCING OR INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY SOLUTIONS. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST WE'RE A PARTNER. WE'RE SOMEBODY THAT'S OFFERS ADDED VALUE TO DETERMINE WHAT'S BEST FOR THAT COMMUNITY AND HOW TO BEST GO ABOUT DOING IT. THERE'S THERE'S NO DOUBT. I MEAN, IN THIS INSTANCE, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S A REALLY HOT TOPIC. WE LIVE IN AN EVER INCREASING DIGITAL WORLD. HOSPITALS, SCHOOLS, UNIVERSITIES, RESEARCH LABORATORIES, CERTAINLY ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, THEY ALL HAVE GROWING NEEDS FOR WHAT'S CALLED DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE. AND IT'S NECESSARY IN ORDER FOR THEM TO REMAIN COMPETITIVE. ALL THOSE KEY INSTITUTIONS AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY, OUR KIDS SHOOT.I ASKED MY KIDS TO DO FIX MY PHONE OR MY IPAD ALL THE TIME. BUT YOU KNOW, THEIR THEIR DIGITAL SKILLS ARE JUST GROWING EXPONENTIALLY EACH AND EVERY DAY. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT A DATA CENTER PROJECT IS RIGHT FOR EVERY COMMUNITY, RIGHT? THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAVE TO BE EVALUATED. SO WHETHER THEY BE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, POWER GENERATION OPTIONS, FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS, THESE THINGS GENERATE A LOT OF REVENUES. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THEM. ALL OF THESE THINGS THOUGH MUST BE VERY CAREFULLY CONSIDERED. SO IT IS IT IS IN THAT CAPACITY THAT WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION PREVIOUSLY AT THE LIBRARY. AND WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE TONIGHT AGAIN AND COME BACK WHENEVER NECESSARY. BUT IT'S TO HELP INFORM WHAT IS BEST FOR THE COMMUNITY. ULTIMATELY, THESE ARE DECISIONS THAT NEED TO THAT NEED TO HAVE, THAT REQUIRE A LOT OF HEAVY CONSIDERATION. SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY. AND WITH THAT, I DEFER TO KELLY TO GO OVER SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION THAT SHE'S PROVIDED.
THANK YOU TOM. AND FOR THE RECORD, I'M KELLY SCHULZ AND I RESIDE IN FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND, AND I AM THE CEO OF THE MARYLAND TECH COUNCIL. AND THE MARYLAND TECH COUNCIL HAS FORMED AN ORGANIZATION UNDER OUR UMBRELLA CALLED THE DATA CENTER ALLIANCE. AND I THINK THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE THIS EVENING. IT'S GREAT TO SEE ALL OF YOU AGAIN AND VERY APPRECIATIVE OF WELCOMING, WELCOMING US INTO YOUR HOME HERE IN HARFORD COUNTY. WE HAVE TRAVELED AS THE DATA CENTER ALLIANCE TO MANY COUNTIES ACROSS THE STATE WITH THE PURE INTENTION OF EDUCATING ELECTED OFFICIALS AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY ON WHAT THIS KIND OF BRAND NEW INDUSTRY IN MARYLAND IS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT IT IS NOT, AND TO PROVIDE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A VERY OPEN DIALOG TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE HAVE COME IN THE GENERATION OF DATA CENTERS OVER THE COURSE OF THE PAST 25 YEARS AND WHAT THEY ARE TODAY. SO WITH YOUR PERMISSION, MR. PRESIDENT, I WILL CONTINUE WITH MY PRESENTATION, PLEASE. SO WHY ARE DATA CENTERS IN DEMAND? I THINK WE ALL UNDERSTAND THE DATA CENTER DEMAND ISSUE, AND IT IS BASICALLY THESE AS WELL AS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND LIFE SCIENCES, R&D, CYBERSECURITY, SCIENTIFIC, DIGITAL COMMERCE. BUT THERE IS A MYTH THAT DATA CENTERS ARE IN DEMAND ONLY BECAUSE OF AI. AND IF YOU LOOK AT THIS CHART, I HAVE SENT A COPY OF THE CHART TO THE COUNCIL IN CASE YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR GLASSES ON TO READ IT FURTHER, BECAUSE I NEED MY
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GLASSES FOR IT WILL YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE KIND OF THE DIFFERENCES IN THE GROWTH OF AI GENERATION WITH DATA AND OTHER GENERATION. SO THE CHART ON THE SLIDE SHOWS THAT NON AI DATA CENTER DEMAND IS EXPECTED TO NEARLY DOUBLE BY 2030. IN MARYLAND, A BIG DRIVER OF DATA CENTER INTEREST IS FEDERAL CUSTOMERS. CYBER DEFENSE, SCIENTIFIC R&D, NIH AND MORE.TOM HAD MENTIONED ABERDEEN PROVING GROUNDS, WHICH I THINK IS VERY CLOSE TO THE HEART OF THOSE HERE IN HARFORD COUNTY. ADDITIONALLY, IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES WILL GENERATE TWICE AS MUCH DATA AS ALL OF THE DATA CREATED OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS. WE NEED DATA CENTERS TO SUPPORT THAT. THAT'S JUST THE FACT. THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF A TYPICAL DATA CENTER. I WANT TO TALK FIRST ABOUT WHAT THE AVERAGE DATA CENTER IS. WE'RE LOOKING AT ROUGHLY AN 800 ZERO ZERO ZERO SQUARE FOOT DATA CENTER JUST OFF THE BAT. I WILL TELL YOU THAT I'M NOT HERE TO SUPPORT OR TALK ABOUT ANY SPECIFIC PROJECT. I'M HERE TO TALK ABOUT DATA THAT WE'VE COLLECTED ON THE STATEWIDE LEVEL AND THE NATIONAL LEVEL, TO BE ABLE TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT COULD POSSIBLY COME INTO THE COMMUNITY. SO A TYPICAL 800 ZERO ZERO ZERO SQUARE FOOT DATA CENTER SUPPORTS 5000 DIRECT AND INDIRECT JOBS AND $775 MILLION IN ECONOMIC ACTIVITY, WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF 10,300 MARYLAND INCOMES. ONCE OPERATIONAL, THE DATA CENTER SUPPORTS. IN THIS SCENARIO, NEARLY 500 PERMANENT JOBS, AND THAT IS BOTH DIRECT AND INDIRECT PERMANENT JOBS. THOSE ARE JOBS THAT ARE CREATED THROUGH ORGANIZATIONS LIKE IBEW AND PLUMBERS AND STEAMFITTERS CARPENTERS, BUT ALSO THOSE JOBS THAT MAY BE CONTRACTED OUTSIDE OF THE END USER AND ALSO WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. ANNUAL STATE REVENUES IN THE SAME SCENARIO, AGAIN, WITH THE 800 ZERO ZERO ZERO SQUARE FOOT GENERATION OF DATA CENTER USAGE WOULD GENERATE ABOUT $14 MILLION IN STATE TAX REVENUE, WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF 171 POLICE OFFICER SALARIES, 194 FIREFIGHTER SALARIES. OR PERHAPS RELEVANT TO THE CONVERSATION AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR HEARINGS TODAY, 165 TEACHER SALARIES. SO CURRENTLY, WHAT IS HAPPENING IN MARYLAND WITH THE ACTIVITIES AROUND DATA CENTER? I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION THAT COMES FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD, BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS. AND I THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME IN THE AUDIENCE TODAY, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS OUR LOCAL IBEW CHAPTERS.
THEY ARE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE DATA CENTER GROWTH HERE. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE 3 TO 400 ELECTRICAL WORKERS EMPLOYED WITHIN THE FREDERICK PROJECT. YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR ME TALK A LOT ABOUT THE FREDERICK PROJECT, BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONE PROJECT IN MARYLAND THAT IS ACTUALLY UP AND RUNNING THAT HAS GOTTEN APPROVAL, THAT IS IN THE CONSTRUCTION MODE. SO A LOT OF OUR DATA IS GOING TO COME. OUR CURRENT DATA IS GOING TO COME FROM THAT PROJECT ITSELF. SO THOSE 3 TO 400 ELECTRIC WORKERS ARE CURRENTLY AT THE FREDERICK SITE AND ALSO IN HANOVER, MARYLAND, WORKING ON A SITE THERE. THERE WERE 100 NEW WORKERS HIRED AT A PREFABRICATION FACILITY AT THE FREDERICK SITE. AND I'LL JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE FREDERICK COMMUNITY COLLEGE, BECAUSE THE IBEW WAS ABLE TO LAUNCH FOR THE FIRST TIME AT FREDERICK COMMUNITY COLLEGE, NEW APPRENTICESHIP CLASSES, AND BRING IN THE LARGEST APPRENTICESHIP CLASS THAT THEY'VE HAD IN YEARS. 240 APPRENTICES WERE ACCEPTED IN YEAR ONE, AND ALL OF THEM ARE EMPLOYED TODAY. NOBODY IS SITTING ON THE BENCH. IBEW PROJECTS THAT 1200 ELECTRIC WORKERS FOR THE FREDERICK'S CORE AND SHELL WORK WILL BE IN EMPLOYMENT THROUGH THE PROCESS OF THE CONSTRUCTION. IN AN. ADDITIONAL 800 WORKERS ARE ESTIMATED AS TENANT WORK. THAT'S HISTORICAL. IBEW HAS DONE A FAIR AMOUNT OF WORK ON THIS PART OF THE STATE AND THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE COUNTIES AND IN FREDERICK COUNTY. THIS IS A NEW INITIATIVE FOR THEM. MANY OF THE IBEW WORKERS WHO ARE WORKING ON THE PROJECT CURRENTLY LIVE IN FREDERICK COUNTY, AND HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN TRAVELING TO VIRGINIA OR OTHER STATES FOR WORK BEFORE THIS PROJECT WAS STARTED. SO LOCAL TAX REVENUES AGAIN, I'M GOING TO BASE IT ON SOME OF THE STATUTES AND BUDGET LANGUAGE FROM FREDERICK COUNTY. BUT THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE TAX REVENUE IMPACT IS TO LOOK AT THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT, BECAUSE IT IS UP AND RUNNING. THERE IS A 16,000,000 SQUARE FOOT DEVELOPMENT THAT'S
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OCCURRING IN FREDERICK COUNTY. THE PROJECT THE PROJECT IS ESTIMATED TO GENERATE $215 MILLION IN ANNUAL TAX REVENUE TO THE COUNTY. ONCE IN FULL OPERATION, THAT'S ABOUT 40% OF ITS CURRENT OPERATIONAL BUDGET IN THE COUNTY. IF HALF OF THOSE FUNDS ARE DEDICATED TO EDUCATION, IT'S EQUAL TO 1800 ENTRY LEVEL TEACHER SALARIES EVERY YEAR. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE RECORDATION TAXES. THE RECORDATION TAXES. AS YOU AS A COUNCIL KNOW, PROBABLY FAR MORE THAN I DO ARE COLLECTED ON THE ORIGINAL SALE OF THE PROPERTY AND IN THE ONE YEAR IN FISCAL YEAR 25, FREDERICK COUNTY WAS ABLE TO COLLECT $50.6 MILLION IN RECORDATION TAXES. THE CHART IN FRONT OF YOU SHOWS HOW FREDERICK COUNTY BREAKS DOWN THE RECORDATION TAXES. AS I WAS DRIVING HERE TODAY, I HEARD A REPORT ON THE NEWS THAT AG PRESERVATION ACROSS THE STATE HAS BEEN DEPLETED BECAUSE OF STATE BUDGET OPPORTUNITIES, AND LAST YEAR, WITH NO STATE FUNDING, FREDERICK COUNTY WAS ABLE TO PUT $12 MILLION INTO AG PRESERVATION, ONE OF THE ONLY COUNTIES IN THE STATE THAT WAS ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THAT PROGRAM. OTHER FUNDS THE GENERAL FUND RECEIVED $24 MILLION. PARKS AND REC RECEIVED $5 MILLION. AND I'LL ALSO NOTE THAT ONE OF THE PET PROJECTS OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND THE COUNTY COUNCIL IN FREDERICK COUNTY, WHICH IS A FREE TRANSPORTATION SERVICE, WAS ABLE TO BE FUNDED FULLY THROUGH THE RECORDATION TAXES. PART OF WHAT WE DO AT THE DATA CENTER ALLIANCE IS TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE MYTHS THAT ARE ACCOMPANIED WITH THE THE PROJECTS THEMSELVES. I WANT TO TALK JUST A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WATER, BUT NOT SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN CASE YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. MOST OF THE DATA CENTER PROJECTS THAT ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW ARE USING AIR COOLING, WATER COOLING OR COOLING WITH OTHER LIQUIDS. AND MOST OF THOSE LOOPED SYSTEMS ARE USING WASTEWATER TREATMENT WATERS, AND THEY'RE USING THAT TO COOL THE SYSTEMS, PUTTING IT BACK INTO THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY FOR POTABLE SERVICES, AS IT WOULD NORMALLY DO THROUGH COUNTY SERVICES IN AND OF ITSELF, THAT'S CALLED A CLOSED LOOP COOLING SYSTEM. AND THAT UTILIZES NO AQUIFER WATER THAT'S COMING FROM THE GROUNDWATER. IT'S ALL COMING FROM PREEXISTING WATER. ONE OF THE OTHER COMPLAINTS OR CONCERNS, I WOULD SAY, THAT WE HAVE GOTTEN FROM PEOPLE IN COMMUNITIES IS THE VALUE OF THEIR HOME PRICING. AND I JUST WANTED TO POINT THIS SIMPLE CHART OUT THAT THE VALUE OF HOME PRICES, THE MEDIAN FIRST OF ALL, LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA, LET'S JUST GET THAT OFF OUR CHEST RIGHT NOW. LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA IS THE EPICENTER OF DATA CENTERS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. WE'RE NOT COMPETING WITH LOUDOUN COUNTY. WE DON'T WANT TO COMPETE WITH VIRGINIA. THERE'S NO WAY THAT ANYBODY COULD HAVE MORE DATA CENTERS THAN LOUDOUN COUNTY ANYWHERE ON THIS PLANET. BUT IN LOUDOUN COUNTY, WHICH HAS MORE DATA CENTERS THAN ANY OTHER PLACE ON THE PLANET, THEIR MEDIAN HOME PRICES ARE CONTINUING TO RISE. AND IN LOUDOUN COUNTY, THEY ROSE 9,092% FROM 2010 TO 2024, FASTER THAN THE STATEWIDE AVERAGE OF 73.9%, AND THE COUNTY NOW RANKS IN THE TOP 2% IN AMERICA FOR MEDIAN HOME PRICES, SO THEY HAVE NOT SEEN A DECREASE IN HOME VALUES IN THAT JURISDICTION. RESPECTING HER RURAL HERITAGE AND OUR LANDSCAPES, HARFORD COUNTY IS VERY SIMILAR TO FREDERICK IN THE IN THE ASPECT OF REALLY WANTING TO BE ABLE TO PROTECT OUR HERITAGE, OUR AGRICULTURAL CULTURE. AND I THINK THAT THAT CAN BE DONE IN WAYS THAT YOU, AS THE COUNTY COUNCIL, HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO UNDER YOUR CHARTER, WHICH IS TO CREATE REGULATIONS IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO SATISFY THOSE NEEDS OF YOUR JURISDICTION. AND ONE OF THOSE WAYS THAT FREDERICK COUNTY WAS ABLE TO DO THAT IS THEY PASSED A ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT SAYING THAT NO MORE THAN 1% OF TOTAL FREDERICK COUNTY LAND COULD BE USED FOR DATA CENTERS, NO MORE THAN 1%. AND THAT FIGURE THAT I SHOWED YOU, WHICH WAS $215 MILLION PER YEAR ON THAT, NO MORE THAN 1%. THAT WAS PER YEAR ANNUAL REVENUES ON THAT. AND SO THAT LAW DID PASS. SO THAT WAS LESS THAN 1%. DEVELOPERS ALSO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING FIVE ACRES OF FARMLAND INTO PRESERVATION, INTO AG PRESERVATION FOR EVERY ONE ACRE THAT THEY USE FOR DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT. ALL OF THIS WAS DONE VIA COUNTY COUNCIL VOTE AND PUBLIC HEARINGS. THAT MEANS THAT 10,500 ACRES OF FREDERICK COUNTY FARMLAND WILL BE PLACED IN PERMANENT PRESERVATION. DATA CENTERS CAN ACCELERATE LAND PRESERVATION, NOT TAKE UP LAND FOR AERIAL USE. IT ALSO RESTRICTS DATA CENTERS TO 500FT, NO LESS THAN 500FT. SETBACK FROM RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS. AND I'M HAPPY TO. AND I KNOW[00:40:02]
MOST OF YOU WORK WITH MAKO AND THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY CAN DO AS FAR AS REGULATIONS FOR THE DATA CENTER INDUSTRY AND FOR THAT INDUSTRY AND INDUSTRIAL ZONES SPECIFICALLY. ONE OTHER QUESTION THAT WE GET VERY FREQUENTLY IS THE SOUND LEVELS.WHEN IT COMES TO RURAL HERITAGE, DATA CENTERS HAVE TO COMPLY WITH LOCAL NOISE ORDINANCES. SO THIS COUNCIL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WORKING WITH THE AGENCIES AND THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES HERE ABOUT WHAT THOSE LOCAL NOISE ORDINANCES ARE. AND THERE HAVE BEEN COUNTY COUNCILS CURRENTLY AND IN THE WORKS, PUTTING TOGETHER THOSE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE DECIBELS DURING DAYTIME AND NIGHTTIME USE. THAT IS THE AUTHORITY THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO YOU. MANY, MANY DATA CENTER DEVELOPERS STRIVE TO OPERATE BELOW THE LOCAL NOISE ORDINANCE, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE COMMUNITIES IN WHICH THEY'RE SURROUNDING THEM. AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE CHART THE DIFFERENT LEVEL OF DECIBELS, BUT MANY DATA CENTERS OPERATE AT 55DB, WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF A NORMAL CONVERSATION AT THE PROPERTY LINE IN WHICH THERE THEY'RE DOING THEIR BUSINESS DATA CENTERS, PAY FOR ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE. AND I THINK THIS IS REALLY RELEVANT CONSIDERING THE CONVERSATION THAT HAS HAPPENED IN ANNAPOLIS THIS PAST YEAR, AND THEN ALSO THE YEAR BEFORE THIS. DATA CENTERS DO REQUIRE ENERGY. WE ALL KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO DENY IT, BUT THEY HAVE TO PAY FOR IT. AND MARYLAND IS THE FIRST STATE TO REQUIRE DATA CENTERS TO PAY FOR ELECTRIC GRID UPGRADES. LAST YEAR, THE NEXT GENERATION ENERGY ACT, IT STATES THAT VERY CLEARLY IT IS THE INTENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY THAT RESIDENTIAL RETAIL ELECTRIC CUSTOMERS IN THE STATE SHOULD NOT BEAR THE FINANCIAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH LARGE LOAD CUSTOMERS INTERCONNECTING TO THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM SERVING THE STATE. THAT MEANS THAT EVERY DATA CENTER, EVERY PROJECT IN THE STATE, REGARDLESS OF WHO THE UTILITY AND THE PROVIDER IS, WILL PAY FOR THAT ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE. LOCAL DISTRIBUTION COSTS FOR RATEPAYERS DO NOT GO UP SIMPLY BECAUSE A DATA CENTER IS LOCATED IN THEIR COUNTY. AND I'LL JUST DO AN ASTERISK HERE BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE, FAMILY, NEIGHBOR, THEY ARE ALL ASKING, THEN WHY ARE MY ENERGY BILLS GOING UP RIGHT NOW? THERE IS NO ENERGY OR THERE IS NO DATA CENTER THAT HAS COME ONLINE SINCE WE'VE BEEN HAVING THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT DATA CENTERS. SO THE ENERGY USAGE RIGHT NOW HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DATA CENTERS THAT ARE HERE. I DON'T KNOW WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO THAT, BUT I'M JUST GOING TO CONTINUE ON. DATA CENTERS CAN HELP ACTUALLY LOWER ELECTRICITY PRICES. IT'S ALREADY HAPPENING AROUND THE COUNTRY. THERE HAVE BEEN STUDIES. A NEW STUDY FROM LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LAB FOUND THAT STATES WITH THE HIGHEST LOAD GROWTH DUE TO DATA CENTERS SAW AVERAGE ELECTRICITY PRICES DECLINE IN INFLATION ADJUSTED TERMS FROM 2019 TO 2024, AND THE STATES THAT DO NOT. OH, YOU'RE SO NICE. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THE STATES WITH LOAD REDUCTIONS OFTEN SAW PRICES GO UP. WHY? WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN? THESE STUDIES ARE CITED ON OUR WEBSITE AND ALSO ON THIS PRESENTATION. BECAUSE MORE DATA CENTERS MEANS THERE ARE MORE LARGE CUSTOMERS TO PAY FOR GRID UPGRADES IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA. AS WE HAD ALREADY TALKED ABOUT, THE CUSTOMERS PAY 10% BELOW THE US AVERAGE FOR TRANSMISSION COSTS DUE TO DATA CENTERS PAYING FOR COSTS. WE'LL JUST CATCH UP HERE FOR A SECOND. SORRY TO THE AUDIENCE THAT MAY HAVE MISSED THAT. THESE ARE SOME OTHER STATES THAT HAVE TALKED ABOUT DECLINING PRICES IN THEIR. I'LL LET THE FOLKS IN THE AUDIENCE READ THIS, AND I KNOW THAT I'M RUNNING OUT OF TIME, BUT I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THAT THE DATA CENTER ALLIANCE IS HERE NOT TO PLUG SPECIFIC PROJECTS, BUT TO HELP TO EDUCATE AND TO DEMYSTIFY AND TO DEMYSTIFY SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY. SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS ARE CREATING A LOT OF FEAR AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS, AND WE ARE HAVING THIS DIALOG HERE, HOPEFULLY WITH THE INTENTION TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING, THE TYPES OF INNOVATION THAT'S HAPPENING WITHIN THE TECHNOLOGY COMMUNITY. WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT THAT. AND MOST OF ALL, WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU AND YOUR CONSTITUENTS WHO YOU REPORT TO.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. I'M SURE THAT THERE ARE A LOT MORE ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO BE AWARE OF BEFORE WE EVEN CONSIDER SOMETHING LIKE THAT. SO, MR. BENNETT, WOULD YOU LIKE TO START OFF? HELLO. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE THIS EVENING. I DO HAVE A SERIES OF QUESTIONS. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT AND RESEARCHING AND WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY ON FOR THE PAST SIX MONTHS OR SO. FIRST, JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND LIKE WHO YOU ALL ARE IN THE CONTEXT OF COMING AND PRESENTING TO US, YOU KNOW, LIKE HAVING A NAME LIKE THE MARYLAND TECH COUNCIL
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AND DATA CENTER ALLIANCE ARE GOOD NAMES, BUT REALISTICALLY, WHO SUPPORTS SLASH FUNDS SLASH AMPLIFIES YOUR VOICE. YOU KNOW, ANYBODY CAN NAME THEMSELVES THE MARYLAND TECH COUNCIL OR THE DATA CENTER ALLIANCE, BUT JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHO HELPS BRING YOU HERE TODAY TO GET YOU GOING AND TO GET YOU ACROSS THE STATE OF MARYLAND AND ALL THAT. I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT CONTEXT TO UNDERSTANDING YOUR PERSPECTIVE. SURE. THE MARYLAND TECH COUNCIL IS A 500 1C6 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION THAT HAS BEEN AROUND FOR ABOUT 41 YEARS. WE ARE A MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATION. SO THINK THE MARYLAND REALTORS ASSOCIATION, THE MARYLAND TECH COUNCIL, WE REPRESENT INDUSTRIES WHICH RANGE FROM LIFE SCIENCE AND BIOTECH, EVERYTHING IN THE LIFE SCIENCE INDUSTRY TO TECHNOLOGY IN GENERAL. AND THAT INCLUDES DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES. IT INCLUDES AGRIBUSINESS, IT INCLUDES FINTECH. ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK ABOUT. WE ALSO HAVE AS MEMBERS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICES FROM COUNTIES ACROSS THE STATE AND THE STATE, THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEMS AND INDEPENDENT AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES, AND THEN ALSO A SERIES OF THOSE SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT SUPPORT THE INDUSTRIES THEMSELVES. THANK YOU FOR THAT. EARLY IN YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU CITED 500 JOBS BEING CREATED FOR AN AVERAGE 800,000 SQUARE FOOT DATA CENTER. BUT THOSE JOBS INCLUDED INDIRECT, YOU KNOW, JOBS IN A RELATED FIELD OR, YOU KNOW, SECOND HAND CONNECTED. WHAT WOULD BE THE DIRECT NUMBER OF JOBS FOR AN AVERAGE 800 ZERO ZERO ZERO SQUARE FOOT DATA CENTER? YOU KNOW, I WORK AT THE DATA CENTER, RIGHT? SO THAT WOULD BE 500 PERMANENT JOBS AFTER CONSTRUCTION. RIGHT? SO THAT WAS THE SLIDE. AND I'M SORRY IF THAT WAS A LITTLE WISHY, BUT FOR THE 800 ZERO ZERO ZERO SQUARE FOOT DATA CENTER, THERE'S BETWEEN 5000 ABOUT DIRECT AND INDIRECT JOBS FOR THAT CONSTRUCTION PROCESS, WHICH, AS WE KNOW, COULD TAKE SEVERAL YEARS TO GO THROUGH THAT PROCESS. AND THEN AFTER THAT CONSTRUCTION PROCESS HAS GONE 500 PERMANENT JOBS AND THOSE PERMANENT JOBS, THERE ARE 500 PEOPLE CLOCKING IN 40 HOURS A WEEK AT THE DATA CENTER. NOW, HOLD ON JUST A SECOND. AM I ALLOWED TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS? YES, BUT HOLD ON JUST A MINUTE.WE'RE RECOGNIZING ONE SPEAKER AT A TIME. AND IF I HAVE TO CALL YOU DOWN AGAIN, WE'LL DUMP THE CHAMBER AND BRING YOU IN ONE AT A TIME. SO PLEASE RESPECT OUR RULES AND PROCEDURES. THANK YOU, MR. SCHULTZ. THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE END USER AND THE PERMANENT JOBS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE END USER, WHICH WOULD PROBABLY BE A HYPERSCALER, A LARGE LOAD USER. AND THAT EMPLOYEE FOR THE 800,000 SQUARE FOOT WOULD BE PROBABLY ABOUT 120 JOBS SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT END USER.
BUT THAT END USER CONTRACTS PEOPLE TO DO THE JOBS. SO A LOT OF THE NATIONAL REPORTS THAT HAVE COME OUT SHOWED, LET'S JUST SAY FOR AN AWS, BECAUSE PEOPLE IN MARYLAND ARE TALKING ABOUT AWS, THEY MAY EMPLOY 75, 85, 110 EMPLOYEES THROUGH AWS. BUT IS THE LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT HAVE FULL TIME EMPLOYEES THAT ARE THERE AS WELL, THAT NEED TO BE COUNTED BECAUSE THEY ARE ON SITE FULL TIME, 40 HOURS A WEEK OR MORE? I APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE I WAS CONFUSED WHEN THE RESEARCH I'VE BEEN DOING. MOST OF WHAT I'VE SEEN IS THAT THE AVERAGE IS 50 TO 100 WORKERS ON SITE WHO WORK FOR THE DATA CENTER. SO THAT 500 NUMBER WAS JUST LIKE, WHOA, THAT'S SO I APPRECIATE THE CLARIFICATION, OF COURSE. AND MR. COUNCILMAN, IF I IF I MAY, AS TECHNOLOGY INCREASES AND WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM FOR THE WATER COOLING THAT ALSO NEEDS THE CONSISTENT MAINTENANCE OF PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO BE ON SITE. RIGHT? AND THEN THERE IS GOING TO BE THE ROOFING THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDITIONALLY MAINTAINED IN THE PROPERTY THAT NEEDS TO BE MAINTAINED. SO THERE ARE SEVERAL TYPES OF TRADES AND PROFESSIONS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THE CONSTANT MAINTENANCE OF A MODERN DATA CENTER. MY NEXT QUESTION ALSO HAS TO DO WITH JOBS. YOU KNOW, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE APPRENTICE PROGRAM GOING ON IN FREDERICK COUNTY RIGHT NOW, HOW A LOT OF THOSE ELECTRICAL WORKERS WERE WORKING IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA, BUT NOW THEY'RE WORKING IN THEIR HOME COUNTY OF FREDERICK.
I GUESS MY QUESTION OR CONCERN IS IF A COUNTY OUTSIDE OF FREDERICK COUNTY, BUT IN DRIVING DISTANCE OF FREDERICK COUNTY WAS TO GET GOING ON DATA CENTER CONSTRUCTION, THAT IT WOULD JUST BRING WORKERS FROM FREDERICK COUNTY DRIVING OVER TO WHATEVER NEIGHBORING COUNTY AND NOT HAVE THE SAME EFFECT THAT FREDERICK COUNTY EXPERIENCED, BECAUSE THE WORKERS ARE NOW ALREADY HERE, THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN DEVELOPED, THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN TRAINED.
AND NOW, YOU KNOW, CONSTRUCTION WRAPS UP ON DATA CENTER X IN FREDERICK COUNTY. THEY NOW
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DRIVE TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF DATA CENTER Y IN BALTIMORE COUNTY. AND THERE'S NOT BALTIMORE COUNTY JOBS BEING CREATED IN THAT. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT QUESTION? AND THUS THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE TRADES AND CONSTRUCTION, NO MATTER THE END PRODUCT. RIGHT.AND SO I WILL JUST SAY, AS A FORMER LABOR SECRETARY IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND, I GIVE THE UTMOST RESPECT TO THE TRADES AND WHAT THEY DO WITH THE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEIR JOB PERFORMANCES ARE AND WHERE THEIR JOBS TAKE THEM. I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO SAY THAT THERE ARE AND HAVE BEEN NEW JOBS THAT ARE CREATED HERE IN MARYLAND BECAUSE OF THESE ADDITIONAL PROJECTS. THERE ARE NOT NEW CONSTRUCTION JOBS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND RIGHT NOW AT MASS, WHICH IS WHY OUR WORKERS ARE TRAVELING ACROSS STATE LINES IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO GET THE WORK THAT THEY NEED. OUR LOCALS HERE IN ALL OF THE TRADES ARE FINDING THOSE JOBS FOR THEM TO GO TO ON A DAILY BASIS, HAVING THOSE JOBS CLOSER TO HOME. IT'S AMAZING. HERE AT THE HARFORD COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, I'VE BEEN TO THE IBEW AND THE TRADES GRADUATION CEREMONIES, AND WATCH THOSE APPRENTICES WALK ACROSS THE STAGE AND BE ABLE TO GO OUT INTO THIS COMMUNITY WITH HOPES OF GETTING LOCAL CONSTRUCTION JOBS HERE. THAT IS THE HOPE FOR THE JOBS OF THE FUTURE AS WELL. THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT ALL OF THOSE JOBS ARE GOING TO BE CREATED AND THEY'RE GOING TO BE IN THAT SPECIFIC LOCATION. BUT WHEN THAT FREDERICK PROJECT IS THERE FOR TEN YEARS, THAT'S ABOUT AS PERMANENT OF A JOB AS YOU CAN GET IN THE TRADES. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT. YOU KNOW, THE BAY JOURNAL HAD AN ARTICLE THIS PAST JANUARY THAT TALKED ABOUT HOW DATA CENTERS INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF FOREVER, CHEMICALS THAT ARE FOUND IN WATER. AND IT TALKED ABOUT SPECIFICALLY, EVEN IN CLOSED LOOP SYSTEMS, BECAUSE THERE'S THE TRANSFER OF THE WATER BACK TO THE WATER AND SEWER SYSTEM TO THEN BRING IT BACK AND FORTH, THAT THAT WATER INTERMINGLES WITH OTHER WATER. AND OFTEN OUR WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS ARE NOT FULLY EQUIPPED TO CLEAN OUT FOREVER CHEMICALS. SO WHAT YOU END UP DOING IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WASHING OFF AND COOLING OFF THE DATA CENTER, WHICH IS MADE OUT OF MATERIALS THAT CONTAIN FOREVER CHEMICALS. THEY THEN GET SENT BACK TO THE WATER AND SEWER SYSTEM. THEY INTERMINGLE WITH OTHER WATER THAT'S BEING CLEANED. BUT NOW FOREVER, CHEMICALS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED TO THE WATER THAT'S BEING USED IN PEOPLE'S HOMES AND BUSINESSES. DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? SIR, THERE'S ONE THING THAT I AM NOT, AND THAT IS AN ENGINEER. I PLAY A LOT OF ROLES, BUT THAT IS NOT ONE. I CAN CERTAINLY BRING BACK INFORMATION TO THE COUNCIL. IF YOU WOULD LIKE SOME INFORMATION ON THAT SPECIFIC ISSUE WITH THE WATER. OKAY, SURE. THERE'S A STORY OUT OF OREGON THAT SAW A SHARP INCREASE IN RARE CANCERS, MISCARRIAGES AND BIRTH DEFECTS.
AND THIS WAS IN A COMMUNITY THAT HAD A 10,000 SQUARE FOOT AMAZON DATA CENTER PUT IN, SO MUCH SMALLER THAN WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT. AND AMAZON RECENTLY SETTLED FOR $20 MILLION IN A LAWSUIT WITH THE COMMUNITY. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT? IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THAT SITUATION OF WHAT WOULD CAUSE THAT TO TAKE PLACE? I AM ALSO NOT A SCIENTIST, SIR, SO I CANNOT COMMENT ON A CASE THAT'S HAPPENING IN OREGON. BUT I, I CAN JUST REVERT BACK TO THE FACT THAT LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA, HAS MORE DATA CENTERS THAN ANYBODY ON THE PLANET. AND I HAVE NOT HEARD THAT HAPPENING LOCALLY. I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT ELECTRICITY GENERATION. YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE DATA CENTER INDUSTRY ARE REALLY PUSHING FOR ON SITE GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY TO HELP SELL THE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT INCREASING LOAD ON THE GRID AND HELPING TO REDUCE OR MAINTAIN ENERGY PRICES. BUT OFTENTIMES THAT INVOLVES NATURAL GAS AND DIESEL GENERATORS ON SITE. AND WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOW YOU MITIGATE THE IMPACTS ON HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT? PUTTING NATURAL GAS GENERATION ON SITE FOR A DATA CENTER THAT'S 500FT AWAY FROM A COMMUNITY? WELL, SO NATURAL GAS COULD NOT BE GENERATED IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND DUE TO STATE STATUTES. SO THAT'S KIND OF A NONSTARTER. AND THE LARGEST DATA CENTER, THE FREDERICK LOCATION WAS JUST RECEIVED THEIR DIESEL GENERATING PERMITS FROM THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT THAT SPENT 18 MONTHS INVESTIGATING THE
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ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS OF THOSE. AND THEY JUST PASSED THOSE PERMITS ON LAST WEEK. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT, BECAUSE THE SIERRA CLUB REACHED OUT TO ME, AND ONE OF THE STUDIES THEY SHARED WITH ME WAS AN INDIANA DATA CENTER, REALLY BASED ON THIS STUDY, RELEASED AS MUCH DIESEL EMISSIONS INTO THE AIR AS 4000 BIG RIG TRUCKS OVER THE COURSE OF THAT YEAR, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IN A STATIONARY POSITION, A BIG RIG TRUCK, IT NATURALLY DISPERSES ITS DIESEL EMISSIONS BECAUSE IT'S MOVING. BUT A DATA CENTER IS NOT ON THE ROAD.HAVING KIDS, YOU KNOW, HONK NEXT TO THEM. IT IS SITTING RIGHT THERE FOREVER, BUT NOT BEING USED CONSISTENTLY. BUT STILL OVER THE COURSE OF THAT YEAR, RELEASING AS MUCH EMISSIONS AS 4000 BIG RIGS. DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS AROUND DIESEL EMISSIONS AND DIESEL AIR CONTAMINATION FROM DATA CENTERS? THIS IS WHAT I WILL SAY ABOUT ANY CONCERNS IS THAT THIS PROCESS THAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS HAVE TO GO THROUGH IN ORDER TO GET THE PERMITS THEY START AT THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT. AND WHAT I KNOW ABOUT THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT IS THAT THEY ARE THE SECOND MOST STRICT STATE ENVIRONMENTAL ENTITY OTHER THAN CALIFORNIA IN THE NATION. AND BECAUSE THEY HAVE GONE THROUGH VERY STRICT REVIEW BY OUR STATE, RESPECTED OFFICIALS, I WOULD TRUST THEM AS THE EXPERTS INTO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MARYLAND IN THEIR PERMITTING PROCESS. AND I KNOW MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT IS IN THE MIDST OF DOING A STUDY ON DATA CENTERS THAT WAS MANDATED BY A BILL PASSED A YEAR AGO IN ANNAPOLIS, AND THAT SHOULD BE COMING OUT IN SEPTEMBER. CORRECT. WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE BEING IN THAT STUDY WHEN IT COMES OUT? I'VE BEEN IN THIS BUSINESS A LONG TIME, AND I DON'T PRETEND TO ANTICIPATE ANYBODY'S DECISIONS ON THESE PRACTICES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. OF COURSE. THANK YOU. COUNCILMAN. THANK YOU, MR. BENNETT. MR. KELLY, GOOD EVENING. HOW ARE YOU? THANKS FOR COMING UP HERE FROM FREDERICK COUNTY. SO YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT ONE OF THOSE FACILITIES, 800,000FT■!S. BUT THEN I SAW THE 16,000,000 SQUARE FOOT QUANTUM FREDERICK CAMPUS. SO THAT'S THE ENTIRE CAMPUS? CORRECT. HOW MANY ACRES DOES THAT TAKE UP? SO WHAT FREDERICK COUNTY DID WAS THEY PASSED A, AN ORDINANCE, AN OVERLAY BASICALLY FOR THEIR EXISTING INDUSTRIAL ZONE. AND SO THEIR OVERLAY CONSISTS OF, I'M GOING TO SAY ABOUT 2400 ACRES IN THAT CAMPUS. AND SO THAT IS THE EQUIVALENT OF THAT LESS THAN 1% THAT FREDERICK COUNTY CAN CONTINUE TO. WAS THAT FARMLAND? IT IT WAS ACTUALLY A BROWNFIELD BROWNFIELD. OKAY. IF ANYBODY'S FAMILIAR WITH THE OLD EAST ELCO STEEL SMELTING PLANT, THAT WAS THE ACREAGE THAT WAS THERE, AND THAT PROPERTY HAD BEEN A BROWNFIELD AND VACANT FOR 25, 30 YEARS. AND ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK YOU SAID, I WANT TO JUST CLARIFY BECAUSE I COULDN'T HEAR. SO YOU CAN'T BRING NATURAL GAS IN, RUN YOUR OWN POWER GENERATION PLANT TO FUEL THESE DATA CENTERS. YOU'D HAVE TO USE ELECTRICITY OFF OF THE GRID. THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE USING RIGHT NOW. I WILL SAY THAT THIS BILL THAT WAS PASSED LAST NIGHT, JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT, THE UTILITY RELIEF ACT, I BELIEVE IT IS. TOM, HELP ME OUT HERE. THEY CREATED SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR BRING YOUR OWN POWER, BRING YOUR OWN GENERATION TYPE OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR NOT ONLY DATA CENTERS, BUT OTHER LARGE LOAD USERS. AND I SAW FREDERICK COUNTY DID 500FT. THAT'S NOT A FAR DISTANCE AWAY FROM, BUT IT IS THE LARGEST DISTANCE IN REGULATORY EXISTENCE RIGHT NOW. I. OKAY, SO IN THE COUNTRY, 500FT IS THE LARGEST IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND. IT IS. I THINK PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY HAS A 400 FOOT SETBACK FROM PROPERTY LINES. RIGHT. ONE OF THE THINGS I DO HERE, AND I ACTUALLY TALKED TO A LAWYER WHO'S ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER THREE OF THESE POWER PLANTS DOWN IN VIRGINIA. HER BIGGEST ISSUE TO ME WAS ALSO WAS THE HUMMING NOISE THAT CONTINUES FROM THESE FACILITIES. AND I THINK THAT'S A BIG CONCERN FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE, BUT ALSO CLOSE TO PROXIMITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND THE NOISE, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE NOISE LEVEL. BUT LIKE JACOB WAS SAYING, THERE IS SOME ISSUES WITH THE DIESEL EXHAUST, BUT THAT'S FOR WHEN THEY NEED TO USE THE DIESEL. AND I THINK THERE'S SOME OTHER QUESTIONS I HAD HERE ABOUT THE COST OF ELECTRICITY HAS GONE UP BECAUSE WE'VE DECOMMISSIONED ONE, I THINK, 12 POWER PLANTS
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IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND. AND WE'RE WE'RE LOOKING AT BRANDON SHORES THAT'S GOING ON SOMETHING ELSE, AND WE'RE GETTING ALL OF OUR POWER FROM PENNSYLVANIA. AND THE QUESTION IS, THEN HOW MANY MORE OF THESE POWER LINES THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BRING DOWN HERE TO GENERATE A. YOU KNOW, ONE OF THESE THESE PLANTS. AND WHETHER IT'S A HYPER PLANT. AND MY MY OTHER CONCERN IS, I DON'T KNOW, THE POWER WATTAGE OF WHAT A HYPER PLANT IS. AND LET'S SAY IT STARTS OUT AS A SMALLER PLANT AND THAT'S WHAT THEY GET APPROVED FOR. AND THEN THEY SAY, HEY, LOOK, WE WANT TO INCREASE THIS BECAUSE WE NEED TO BUILD IT. WE'VE GOT THE INFRASTRUCTURE. THAT'S THAT'S ANOTHER CONCERN TOO, IS THEY START OUT WITH CERTAIN, LET'S SAY, 300MW, AND THEN THEY GO TO THEN THEY WANT TO COME BACK AND SAY, HEY, WE WANT TO GO TO 500MW AND WE WANT TO GO TO 800MW. THERE'S A POWER PLANT UP IN CECIL COUNTY, AND ALL OF THEIR POWER GOES TO VIRGINIA. AND OBVIOUSLY IT'S PROBABLY GOING TO THE POWER PLANTS DOWN THERE. AND I KNOW AOL'S INFRASTRUCTURE IS IS THE LOUDOUN COUNTY ONE, THAT THEY BUILT THAT OUT TO BE SOMETHING OF A MONSTER OF DOING THAT WELL. AND I THINK IN THE STUDIES THAT I PRESENTED AND TOM, I KNOW YOU HAVE STUDIES FROM MEDCO AS WELL, BUT THE ENERGY THAT WE ARE USING IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND IS 40% OF THAT IS COMING FROM OUT OF STATE. BUT WE DO WE DO BELONG TO A 13 STATE ENERGY CONSORTIUM, RIGHT? SO PJM, SO WHATEVER WE'RE GENERATING HERE NOW GOES INTO THE BIG PICTURE OF THE GRID, RIGHT? THE ENERGY USERS. AND THEN WITHIN THOSE 13 STATES, THEY'RE ALLOWED TO USE THAT ENERGY. SO WHETHER WE'RE PRODUCING THAT ENERGY OR NOT, THAT IS GOING INTO THE POOL OF ENERGY THAT'S TO BE USED BY THE 13 STATES. SO IF THERE IS MORE LARGE LOAD USERS THAT ARE NEEDING TO GO ONLINE OUT OF STATE THAN THOSE STATES WOULD GET THAT ENERGY ALLOCATED TO THEM. YEAH. THE OTHER INTERESTING FACT IS, IF THEY WERE TO BUILD A DATA CENTER ACROSS THE LINE IN DELAWARE OR PA, THAT WOULD STILL IMPACT THE RATES IN THAT IN THAT PJM, RIGHT. YOU KNOW, TERRITORY. SO BUT I MEAN, IT CAN'T BE STRESSED ENOUGH. I MEAN, THE ACTION IN ANNAPOLIS THIS SESSION TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE IF THERE WAS A DATA CENTER PROJECT PURSUED, IT'S GOING TO HAVE TO PROVIDE ITS OWN, YOU KNOW, POWER. IT CAN'T GENERATE A NET NEGATIVE IMPACT ON RATEPAYERS OR TAKE DOWN THE LOAD THAT'S AVAILABLE TO MARYLAND RESIDENTS. I MEAN, THAT'S PART OF THE LEGISLATION.SO THAT'S THAT'S PART OF THE OVERALL INFRASTRUCTURE CHALLENGES. AND I MEAN, TO GO WITH A LOT OF THE OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS. I MEAN, NOBODY WANTS THAT IN THEIR COMMUNITY, IN THEIR STATE OR EVEN A NEARBY STATE. SO I MEAN, THAT'S WHY THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, YOU KNOW, GOVERNING WHERE THESE THINGS GO AND HOW THEY'RE BUILT, IT HAS NEVER BEEN MORE AGGRESSIVE. AND, YOU KNOW, IF IT'S DEEMED THAT IT'S RIGHT FOR OUR COMMUNITY, THEN THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO TO SET NEW RECORDS IN TERMS OF SETBACKS, RIGHT? I MEAN, THAT THAT'S JUST KIND OF THE ENVIRONMENT THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW. IS THERE A REASON THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO GO TO THESE VAST OPEN AREAS, MAYBE, YOU KNOW, OUT IN WESTERN MARYLAND OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? WHY ARE THEY LOOKING TO COME INTO, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN AREAS, LET'S SAY, LIKE FREDERICK HARFORD COUNTY OR THEY JUST DOES IT? DO THEY NEED TO BE CLOSER TO ELECTRICAL GRID OR WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE REASONING BEHIND WHERE THEY PUT THESE? CAN I TALK ABOUT THE COST? THE FREDERICK FACILITY WAS VERY MUCH A FACILITY THAT THEY LOOKED AT. NOW THEM INDEPENDENTLY. THEY LOOKED AT BECAUSE IT WAS A BROWNFIELD, BECAUSE IT WAS AN OLD STEEL SMELTING PLANT. IT HAD THE SUBSTATION RIGHT THERE. RIGHT. THE ENERGY SUBSTATION WAS THERE.
THE PROPERTY HAD BEEN VACANT FOR A REALLY LONG TIME, AND IT WAS A BROWNFIELD. AND THERE'S NOTHING MORE THAT YOU CAN DO WITH THAT TYPE OF AN INDUSTRIALIZED PIECE OF PROPERTY AND OF THE PROXIMITY DUE TO THE PROXIMITY TO LOUDOUN COUNTY, BECAUSE THEY WERE ABLE TO THEN SPEND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO TUNNEL UNDERNEATH THE POTOMAC TO BRING THE FIBER INTO ADAMSTOWN. AND SO THAT PROXIMITY HELPED THEM THERE. I WOULD SAY SOME OF THE OTHER LOCATIONS THAT I HAVE HEARD PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT ARE SIMILAR. PERHAPS, COUNCILMAN, YOU HAD MENTIONED SOME PREVIOUS ENERGY GENERATION SITES WHERE THEY COULD BE APT FOR THIS TYPE OF REDEVELOPMENT FOR THIS TYPE OF A SCENARIO AS WELL. YEAH, I KNOW THE COST DOWN HERE IN VIRGINIA ON SOME OF THE COST PER LAND WAS LIKE $6.3 MILLION PER ACRE. THAT'S DOWN IN LOUDOUN. I THINK THAT WAS THERE WAS ONE IN LOUDOUN COUNTY, I THINK THAT'S DOWN THERE. AND
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THEN 3.7 MILLION PER ACRE. SO THAT CERTAINLY DRIVES UP THE COST OF THE LAND. IT DOES. AND I THINK THERE ARE OTHER SITES BEING LOOKED AT TOO, LIKE IN CALVERT COUNTY. AND YOU KNOW, PROXIMITY TO THE USERS IS A BIG DRIVER. THIS WAS JUST SOME DEALS THAT WENT WENT THROUGH.YEAH, SURE. I'VE GOT A BUNCH OF OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I APPRECIATE YOU COMING UP AND ANSWERING SOME STUFF. I'LL LET SOME OF MY OTHER COUNCIL COLLEAGUES. IF YOU HAVE A LIST OF QUESTIONS, WE'RE HAPPY TO GET THEM BACK TO YOU IF YOU WANT TO SEND THEM TO US. SURE.
THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANK YOU, MR. EMHOFF. GOOD EVENING. SO WITH NATURAL GAS NOT BEING AN OPTION TO GENERATE POWER, HOW WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR GENERATING POWER FOR THESE DATA CENTERS WITHOUT POOLING ON THE EXISTING GRID? OKAY. WELL, MUCH OF IT CAN COME FROM SOME OF THE LOCATIONS THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT FOR THEM TO UTILIZE THE SUBSTATIONS THAT ARE THERE. BUT IF THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT SPECIFICALLY BRING YOUR OWN GENERATION, THERE ARE NUCLEAR, SMALL MODULAR REACTORS THAT ARE BEING BUILT, ACTUALLY ONE OF THE LARGEST BUILDERS MANUFACTURERS OF THAT IS HERE IN MARYLAND. BUT UP UNTIL NOW, THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SELL HERE IN MARYLAND. AND THEY'RE DOING A BUNCH OF RESEARCH ON THAT ON THAT PROCESS. BUT THERE'S OTHER THERE'S OTHER ENERGY OPTIONS AS WELL. BUT WE'RE SHUTTING DOWN MOST OF THE NUCLEAR PLANTS, RIGHT? THERE'S TALK OF PUTTING DATA CENTERS ON THOSE OLD THOSE OLD SITES. SO I MEAN, BUT AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S PART OF THE OVERALL. I MEAN, THERE'S NO OVERNIGHT SOLUTION TO ALL THIS. IT'S PART OF THE OVERALL DISCUSSION THAT HAS TO BE HAD. AND WE APPRECIATE YOU GUYS COMING BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SO MANY QUESTIONS AND MOVING FULL STEAM AHEAD ON SOMETHING WHERE EVEN THE EXPERTS DON'T KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS IS DEFINITELY CONCERNING. NO, IT NEEDS IT NEEDS A LOT OF TIME AND DELIBERATION, NO DOUBT. HOW IS FREDERICK COUNTY DATA CENTER PULLING POWER? ARE THEY PULLING FROM THE EXISTING. YOU SAID THERE WAS A SUBSTATION ON SITE, BUT DOES THAT SATISFY THE NEED FOR THE ENTIRE DATA CENTER? YES, MA'AM. OKAY. SO WHAT TYPICALLY HAPPENS, AND I'M SURE YOU KNOW, WITHIN YOUR PERMITTING OFFICES, RIGHT, YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE UTILITY PROVIDER TO GET THE LOAD RECOMMENDATION THAT THE UTILITY IS ABLE TO PROVIDE TO ANY DEVELOPMENT PROJECT, REGARDLESS OF THE TYPE OF PROJECT THAT IT IS. AND SO THEY HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED THROUGH THAT REQUEST WITH THE LOCAL UTILITY. OKAY. AND HOW MANY DATA CENTERS IS MARYLAND TRYING TO BUILD IN THE NEXT 5 TO 10 YEARS? YOU KNOW, I, I WISH I HAD A NUMBER FOR YOU, TOM. LOOKS LIKE TOM MIGHT HAVE NUMBERS FOR YOU, BUT MARYLAND IS VERY LOW ON THE LIST OF PROPOSED PROJECTS RIGHT NOW.
MARYLAND CURRENTLY HAS, DEPENDING ON WHO YOU TALK TO. AND BECAUSE THERE'S SKIFF TYPES OF DATA CENTERS THAT WE'VE MADE, THERE'S ABOUT 44. SO BETWEEN 40 AND 45 DATA CENTERS THAT CURRENTLY EXIST OUTSIDE OF THIS NEW CONSTRUCTION OPPORTUNITY IN THE STATE OF MARYLAND. AND I WOULD SAY THAT THERE MAY BE 19 OR 20. AM I THINKING OF THAT CORRECTLY? IT'S PER THIS, THE LATEST DATA FROM MARCH. I THINK THERE WERE 12 UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW. AND THOSE WOULD BE THOSE THAT ARE IN FREDERICK COUNTY. THAT IS, THOSE ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT HAVE BEEN APPROVED FOR CONSTRUCTION FOR VIRGINIA, BY CONTRAST. SORRY, JUST TO SHARE.
FUN FACT JUST SHY OF 500 G'S PROPOSED, THERE ARE 136 UNDER CONSTRUCTION. SO JUST BY. RIGHT.
SO WE ARE NOT TO SAY THAT WE NEED TO GO. WE'RE AT THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE LIST SO AS TO HOW MANY EXACTLY THERE WILL BE. I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE CHOSE COUNCIL MEMBER, TO YOUR QUESTION, TO CREATE THE DATA CENTER ALLIANCE WAS TO TALK TO LOCAL JURISDICTIONS AND TO COUNTIES, BECAUSE ALL OF YOU REALLY DO HAVE THE POWER TO DETERMINE WHAT THOSE REGULATORY PROCESSES ARE AND HOW TO BRING A POTENTIAL PROJECT INTO YOUR JURISDICTION, NOT HERE TO SUPPORT ONE OR ANY OF THE OF THE PROPOSED PROJECTS, BUT JUST TO SAY, I KNOW THAT THE QUESTIONS THAT COME UP AT THE COUNTY LEVEL ABOUT THE INCREASED LACK OF FUNDING THAT'S COMING FROM THE STATE TO HELP TO SUPPORT SOME OF THOSE CRITICAL PROGRAMS WITHIN THE LOCAL AREAS, IS SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO CONTINUE.
THAT'S JUST A FACT. AND WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO SEE HOW THERE CAN BE THIS COEXISTENCE BETWEEN AN INDUSTRY AND A COMMUNITY, SO THAT PEOPLE REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GETTING, AND THE COMMUNITY KNOWS THAT THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN EDUCATED. AND I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TRY TO HELP WITH THAT. THANK YOU. HI, ROBERT. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU BOTH FOR COMING AND PRESENTING. I SAW THE PRESENTATION AT THE LIBRARY, AND ACTUALLY I HAVE SPOKEN TO THE COUNCIL MEMBERS IN FREDERICK, AND I SPOKE TO THEM
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ABOUT HOW THEIR PROCESS WENT AND ABOUT HOW THEY TOOK THE PAUSE TO KIND OF LOOK, RETHINK, LOOK AT THE AREA IN WHICH THEY TOLD ME ABOUT EAST ALCO AND AND CHOOSING THAT LOCATION. IT SEEMS AS IF, THOUGH, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF UPROAR ABOUT SOME OF THE NOISE WHERE THE LOCATION IS TO THE RESIDENTS. EVEN WITH THAT 500FT. HAVE YOU HEARD SOME OF WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT? IS THERE YOU KNOW, I WAS EVEN REFERRED TO LOOK AT MONTGOMERY COUNTY DATA CENTER BECAUSE THEY'RE SAYING AS MUCH AS IT'S MORE EXPENSIVE, IT'S QUIETER, IT'S EFFICIENT, BUT IT'S EXPENSIVE. AND SO WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? SO THERE ARE NO DATA CENTERS THAT HAVE BEEN PLUGGED IN IN FREDERICK COUNTY SINCE THE CONSTRUCTION. SO IF YOU'RE TALKING TO FOLKS AND THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT NOISE FROM THE SITE, I'M ASSUMING IT WOULD BE CONSTRUCTION, WHICH YOU WOULD GET IN ANY LARGE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT. I CAN'T RESPOND TO THAT PART OF IT, BUT THERE THERE IS NO DATA CENTER NOISE FROM THE OPERATION OF A DATA CENTER AT THIS POINT IN TIME. SO, AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT A SPECIFIC MONTGOMERY PROJECT THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. I KNOW THAT THERE'S A PROPOSED FOR, AGAIN, AN OLD ENERGY GENERATING FACILITY IN DICKERSON, MARYLAND, WHICH IS AT THE NORTH PART OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY THAT IS CONSIDERING A DATA CENTER PROJECT THERE. BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT STANDS IN THE PERMITTING PROCESS. OKAY.YEAH, I THINK THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT, LOOKING AT THE COST DIFFERENCE AND WHAT WHAT THEIR DATA CENTER WAS. BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU KNEW. I'M NOT PAYING ANYBODY'S BILLS FOR THEM. SO I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH. AND IS IT RELATES TO LIKE THE WATER AND YOU TALKED ABOUT REUSABLE WATER. DOES ANY OF THAT AFFECT, YOU KNOW, THE COMMUNITY THAT THEY HAVE? ARE THEY GOING TO BE BILLED EXTRA FOR WATER? THAT QUESTION HAS COME TO ME FROM FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, THE ARRANGEMENT THAT FREDERICK COUNTY MADE WITH THE CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM FOR THE WATER SYSTEM, THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL COSTS BECAUSE THERE'S NO REAL ACTUAL WATER USAGE. SO THE WATER COMES FROM THE TREATMENT PLANT THROUGH THE FACILITY, AND THEN IT GOES BACK TO THE TREATMENT PLANT. AND THEN ANY INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES WOULD BE MADE BY THE DEVELOPER WITH THAT. OKAY. THANK YOU. OF COURSE. THANK YOU, MISS ROBERT. ANYONE ELSE, MR. RILEY? THANKS. KELLY AND TOM. WHO WHO WAS THE DEVELOPER? WHO WHO PUSHED IT IN FREDERICK COUNTY? I KNOW IT WASN'T THE COUNTY COUNCIL. THERE HAD TO BE SOMEBODY THAT SAID, HEY, WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A DATA CENTER HERE. THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. CURRENTLY, THE DEVELOPER IN FREDERICK COUNTY IS A COMPANY CALLED CATELLUS. AND IS CATELLUS GOING TO BE THE OWNER OF THAT DATA CENTER? NO, THE WAY THAT IT IS STRUCTURED COULD TELL US IS A LAND DEVELOPER. THEY DO LAND DEVELOPMENT. SO THEY'VE DONE ALL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE ACROSS THE NUMBERS OF ACRES, AND THEY ARE THE MAIN OWNERS OF THE OF THE PROPERTY RIGHT NOW.
AND SO WITH THE DIFFERENT DATA CENTER STRUCTURES THAT WILL BE BUILT ON THAT PROPERTY, NEW OWNER WILL PURCHASE THAT PIECE OF LAND. THINK KIND OF LIKE A CONDOMINIUM, KIND OF A PURCHASE AND THEY WILL BUILD THE STRUCTURE. SO THERE IS AN ORGANIZATION CALLED ROHAN THAT RIGHT NOW IS BUILDING A COUPLE OF THOSE. AND THEN WHAT ROHAN DOES IS LEASE OUT THOSE FACILITIES TO THE ULTIMATE END USER. SO YOU'LL HAVE MULTIPLE OWNERS IN A PARTICULAR SITE.
WELL, MULTIPLE TENANTS LIKE THERE'LL BE A DEVELOPER OF THE PARK AND THEN THEY'LL, THEY'LL LEASE AND OR SELL LIKE AN INDUSTRIAL PARK. YEAH, EXACTLY. EXACTLY. AND HAVE YOU THOUGHT OF WHEN YOU HAVE ISSUES, EVERYBODY'S POINTING THEIR FINGERS, THE OTHER GUY OR THE OTHER GUY OR IT'S THAT GUY. IT'S NOT US. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AT MY THANKSGIVING TABLE, AND I CAN TELL YOU EVERYBODY'S POINTING THE FINGER AT SOMEBODY ELSE, RIGHT. BUT BUT I THINK WHAT THE COUNTY HAS DONE TO THE TO I THINK YOUR OVERALL QUESTION, COUNCILMAN, IS THAT THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY IS NOT EVEN JUST THE END USER, THAT ALL USERS ARE RESPONSIBLE TO THE REGULATIONS, TO THE NOISE ORDINANCES AND TO HAVING TO FOLLOW THE REGULATORY SCHEME THAT, HONESTLY, THE COUNTY COUNCIL PUT YEARS OF WORK TO BE ABLE TO DEVELOP A PRODUCT THAT IS WORKING FOR EVERYONE CONCERNED. THANKS. THANK YOU, MR. RILEY. ANYONE ELSE? WELL, KELLY, TOM, THANK YOU BOTH FOR COMING TONIGHT. WE APPRECIATE THE INPUT AND INFORMATION, AND I'M SURE THAT THERE'LL BE MORE QUESTIONS COMING YOUR WAY DOWN THE ROAD AT SOME POINT IN TIME.
WE'RE HERE TO HELP. MR. PRESIDENT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LISTENING TO US THIS EVENING. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. AGENDA NUMBER SEVEN, APPROVAL OF MINUTES PUBLIC HEARING APRIL 7TH, 2026. LEGISLATIVE DAY 20 5-011. APRIL 7TH, 2026. ARE THERE ANY CORRECTIONS TO THE
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MINUTES? THERE BEING NO CORRECTIONS, THE MINUTES STAND APPROVED EIGHT. INTRODUCTION AND CONSIDERATIONS OF RESOLUTIONS RESOLUTION 007 26. MASTER WATER AND SEWER PLAN UPDATE SPRING 2026. MAY I HAVE A MOTION? COUNCIL PRESIDENT, I MOVE TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 007 DASH 26. THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU, MR. RILEY. IT'S BEEN A SECOND TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 007 26. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE, MISS DIXON. MR. PRESIDENT. HI, THIS IS ROBERT I. MRS. EMHOFF, I MR. GIORDANO, I MR. RILEY. HI. MRS. I MR. BENNETT, I BEING SEVEN VOTES IN AFFIRMATIVE. ZERO IN A NEGATIVE RESOLUTION 007 26 IS HEREBY APPROVED. MR. GINGER. BILL 20 6-004 CHARTER AMENDMENT QUALIFICATION OF COUNCIL MEMBERS AS INTRODUCED INTRODUCED BY COUNCIL MEMBER JAN GIORDANO. AN ACT TO PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE TWO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF THE HARTFORD COUNTY CHARTER, AS AMENDED BY REPEALING AND REENACTING WITH AMENDMENTS, SECTION 207 QUALIFICATIONS OF COUNCIL MEMBERS TO SET FORTH THAT DURING THE TERM OF OFFICE FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS SHALL NOT HOLD AN APPOINTMENT IN HARTFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION OR IN THE HARTFORD COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND TO REQUIRE THE SUBMISSION OF THIS AMENDMENT TO THE LEGALLY QUALIFIED VOTERS OF HARTFORD COUNTY FOR THEIR ADOPTION OR REJECTION. IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 905 OF THE HARTFORD COUNTY CHARTER. PUBLIC HEARING IS SCHEDULED ON TUESDAY, MAY 12TH, 2026 AT 6:45 P.M. IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS. COUNCIL PRESIDENT, I MAKE A MOTION TO REJECT BILL 20 6-004 ON ITS INTRODUCTION. WE HAVE A MOTION. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND? SECONDED TO REJECT.2604 ON INTRODUCTION, WHICH DOES NOT ALLOW FOR ANY DISCUSSION ACCORDING TO ROBERT'S RULES. SO, MISS DIXON, CALL THE VOTE. MR. PRESIDENT, I MRS. ROBERT I. MRS. EMHOFF, I.
MR. GIORDANO. NO. MR. RILEY, NO. MRS. I MR. BENNETT, I YOU'RE BEING FIVE VOTES IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. TWO IN THE NEGATIVE. BILL 26 004 IS REJECTED. TEN. INTRODUCTION AND CONSIDERATION OF AMENDMENTS. NONE. 11. CALL FOR FINAL READING OF BILLS. NONE. 12.
ENROLLMENT OF BILLS NONE. 13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS. NONE. 14. NEW BUSINESS COUNCIL CONTRACT.
ALTERNATE ZONING HEARING. EXAMINER. MAY I HAVE A MOTION? COUNCIL PRESIDENT, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE APPOINTMENT OF DAVID BEST. THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU, MR. RILEY. LET'S MOVE A SECOND TO APPROVE MR. BEST AS THE ALTERNATE ZONING HEARING EXAMINER. IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? I THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE, MISS ALLEGED, TO GIVE SOME BACKGROUND ON WHY WE'RE MAKING THIS APPOINTMENT. SURE. AS EVERYBODY KNOWS, WE DO HAVE A TURN YOUR MIC ON. IT'S ON. IT'S GOT TO BE CLOSER TO IT. I HAVE TO BE LOUDER. NO. YEAH.
NO, IT'S NOT GOOD. NO, IT'S NOT ON. OKAY. HOLD ON. IS THAT OKAY? OH WE DID HAVE ISSUES WITH THAT.
OKAY. UNDER OUR CHARTER, WE EMPLOY ONE OR MORE ZONING HEARING EXAMINERS. AS YOU KNOW, BOB KEHOE IS OUR REGULAR HEARING EXAMINER. BUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, WE NEED TO EMPLOY AN ALTERNATE. IF THERE'S A CONFLICT, WE. LAST YEAR IN JUNE, IF YOU GUYS WILL RECALL, YOU APPROVED A ONE YEAR CONTRACT FOR RETIRED JUDGE EMORY PLITT TO ACT AS OUR ALTERNATE HEARING EXAMINER. IN THE CASE OF A CONFLICT, WE DO HAVE A CASE WHERE MR. KEHOE HAS A CONFLICT THAT IS COMING UP ON A HEARING IN MAY. HOWEVER, UNFORTUNATELY, JUDGE PLITT ADVISED US THAT HE IS NO LONGER ABLE TO SERVE IN THE CAPACITY DUE TO HEALTH ISSUES. SO WE HAD TO EMPLOY AN ALTERNATE HEARING EXAMINER FOR ONE CASE ONLY. SO THE CONTRACT THAT'S BEFORE YOU IS FOR ONE PARTICULAR CASE IN WHICH MR. KEHOE HAS A CONFLICT. WE DO NOT HAVE ANYONE EMPLOYED ON A REGULAR BASIS AT THIS POINT. IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN, BUT WE'LL HANDLE IT AS NEEDED IF THERE ARE UPCOMING CONFLICTS. SO DAVID BEST IS THE ZONING ATTORNEY WHO YOU ARE LOOKING TO HIRE FOR THE CASE THAT'S SUPPOSED TO TAKE PLACE IN MAY. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER DISCUSSION, MISS DIXON? MR. PRESIDENT? HI. MRS. ROBERTS, I MRS. EMHOFF, I. MR. GIORDANO, I. MR. RILEY, I.
MRS. I MR. BENNETT, I FOR BEING SEVEN VOTES IN AFFIRMATIVE ZERO. NEGATIVE. THE APPOINTMENT IS
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HEREBY APPROVED. B RULES OF PROCEDURE OF HARFORD COUNTY COUNCIL. YOU HEARD SOME DISCUSSION LAST WEEK IN REFERENCE TO OUR CITIZENS GIVING THEIR NAME AND ADDRESS AS THEY STAND UP TO SPEAK. AND THIS IS A DISCUSSION THAT MR. GIORDANO AND MR. BENNETT AND I HAVE HAD OFF AND ON. AND I KNOW MISS EMHOFF IS PART OF THE DISCUSSION. MR. RILEY, MRS. MODELS AS WELL AS MISS ROBERT. EVERYONE HAS WEIGHED IN ON THIS, SO WE ARE GOING TO MAKE A CHANGE NEXT WEEK AT A VOTE TO CHANGE THE PROCESS TO WHERE WE WILL ASK FOR YOUR NAME AND ZIP CODE, NOT THE ADDRESS. AND I THINK IT WILL MAKE SOME OTHER PEOPLE FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE.AND THEN ALSO TONIGHT, YOU WILL STILL BE REQUIRED TO GIVE A NAME AND ADDRESS. IF YOU SPEAK, THAT WILL TAKE PLACE. THE CHANGE WON'T TAKE PLACE TILL NEXT WEEK AFTER VOTED UPON. SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO COUNCIL. LETTER OF REQUEST. SIR, MAY I HAVE YOU SIT DOWN, PLEASE? THANK YOU. COUNCIL LETTER REQUEST TO MARYLAND PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION, CASE NUMBER 90 748. REQUEST FOR FULL COMMISSION REVIEW. MISS EMHOFF, WOULD YOU LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION ON THAT? SURE. COUNCIL PRESIDENT, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE LETTER TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION. THANK YOU. MAY I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU, MR. GIORDANO. AND IT'S BEEN MOVED AND SECONDED. BUT, MISS EMHOFF, CAN YOU GIVE SOME BACKGROUND TO THAT? SURE. SO I SHORTLY AFTER COMING TO THE COUNCIL, I BEGAN WORKING WITH SEVERAL LOCAL CONSTITUENTS WHO ARE GREATLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE INCREASED POWER LINES FOR THE BRANDON SHORES MITIGATION PROJECT EXPANSION. THESE LINES RUN DIRECTLY THROUGH DISTRICT B, IN ADDITION TO SOME OTHER AREAS IN HARFORD COUNTY AND BALTIMORE COUNTY. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF BACK AND FORTH IN REGARDS TO IF BGE AND ITS MOTHER COMPANIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACTUALLY CONTINUE TO EXPAND THEIR THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE AT THIS TIME. THE LAST TIME THEY NEGOTIATED WITH ANY PROPERTY OWNERS WAS BACK IN THE 1920S. THEY RENEWED THEIR EASEMENTS IN THE 70S WITHOUT ACTUALLY NEGOTIATING WITH PROPERTY OWNERS. AND SO THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF PUSHBACK FROM THE PROPERTY OWNERS TO DETERMINE IF BGE AND ITS MOTHER COMPANY ACTUALLY HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACTUALLY EXPAND ON THEIR CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE. SO THE COUNCIL IS GOING TO BE PROVIDING ACTUALLY OUR SECOND LETTER TO THE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION IN THE LAST YEAR STATING THAT WE STAND BY THE PROPERTY OWNERS AND WE ARE HERE TO PROTECT THE PROPERTY OWNER'S RIGHTS. THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF CONCERNS RAISED, AND WE WANT TO WARRANT CAREFUL AND THOUGHTFUL, THOUGHTFUL CONSIDERATION TO ENSURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS ADVOCATED FOR. THANK YOU. AS LAST TIME, CAN WE CALL FOR A VOTE, PLEASE, MR. PRESIDENT, A MRS. ROBERT I, MRS. EMHOFF, I MR. GIORDANO I. MR. RILEY, I. MRS. I MR. BENNETT, I BEING SEVEN VOTES IN AFFIRMATIVE ZERO NEGATIVE. THE LETTER OF REQUEST IS HEREBY APPROVED. 15 COMMENTS AND INPUT FROM ATTENDING CITIZENS. DO WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP? WE DO, MR. PRESIDENT. WE HAVE 13 THIS EVENING. I WOULD JUST REMIND EVERYONE THAT YOU ARE REQUIRED TO GIVE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS AND THREE MINUTES CALL YOUR FIRST SPEAKER, HUNTER BAKER, FOLLOWED BY JEFF BECK AND RON STUCZYNSKI. GOOD EVENING SIR. NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE. 215 HEMLOCK LANE, ABERDEEN, MARYLAND. AND YOUR NAME? HUNTER BAKER. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE COUNTY COUNCIL TONIGHT. I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO SPEAK ABOUT DATA CENTERS. THE DATA CENTER ALLIANCE IS AN INTEREST GROUP THAT TELLS PEOPLE HOW SAFE DATA CENTERS ARE, OR RATHER, HOW SAFE THEY COULD BE IF THEY FOLLOW PROPER REGULATIONS FOR ENERGY USE AND WATER CONSUMPTION. DATA CENTERS, THOUGH, ARE NOTORIOUS FOR THEIR USE OF LOCAL RESOURCES AND HOW THAT IMPACTS WATER AND POWER BILLS FOR RESIDENTS, DRIVING UP COSTS WHEN THEY'RE ALREADY HIGH.
DATA CENTERS ARE ALSO USUALLY PLACED IN LOCATIONS THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACT PEOPLE OF COLOR. I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE RESIDENTS WHO LIVE ALONG ROUTE 40, WHERE THE COUNTY LIKES TO BUILD THINGS LIKE THIS. 15% OF MARYLAND HOUSEHOLDS ALREADY HAVE UNAFFORDABLE ENERGY BURDENS. THAT'S OVER 6% OF THEIR INCOME, AND DATA CENTERS MAY EXACERBATE THIS ISSUE. IF DATA CENTERS ARE PAYING DIFFERENT RATES AS DEMAND FOR POWER INCREASES,
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METHODS OF SELF-GENERATING POWER LIKE AT THE X I DATA CENTER IN MEMPHIS, USE METHANE GAS TURBINES, WHICH EMIT HARMFUL POLLUTANTS LIKE NITROGEN OXIDES AND FORMALDEHYDE. THESE ARE LINKED TO ASTHMA, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, AND CANCER. DATA CENTERS ARE ALSO. THEY OVERPROMISE AND UNDER-DELIVER WHEN IT COMES TO JOBS IN ABILENE, TEXAS, OPEN AI CLAIMED ITS DATA CENTERS WOULD CREATE THOUSANDS OF JOBS, BUT WILL ONLY HAVE 100 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES ON SITE AFTER CONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETE. JOHN JOHNSON, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF DATA CENTER OPERATOR PATMOS HOUSING, TOLD THE WALL STREET JOURNAL THAT DATA CENTERS CREATE THE LOWEST NUMBER OF JOBS PER SQUARE FOOT IN THEIR FACILITIES. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND MUNICIPALITIES OFTEN USE TAX BREAKS AND OTHER INCENTIVES TO INVITE DATA CENTERS INTO THEIR COUNTIES AND AREAS AND RECEIVE SCANT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND LITTLE ECONOMIC BENEFIT ONCE TAX BREAKS ARE CALCULATED. AND I DON'T RECOMMEND THAT WE DO THAT. HARFORD COUNTY SHOULD BE VERY SKEPTICAL OF DATA CENTERS AND THEIR IMPACTS ON OUR RESIDENTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT. AND I PLEAD WITH THE COUNCIL TO PASS A MORATORIUM TO TAKE THE NEXT SIX MONTHS TO CONSIDER THE RISKS OF THE DATA CENTERS AND THE OPINIONS OF THE PEOPLE HERE IN THE COUNTY BEFORE SELLING US OUT TO BIG TECH. THANK YOU.THANK YOU SIR. GOOD EVENING SIR. NAME AND ADDRESS PLEASE. JEFF BECK, CAN I USE 220 SOUTH BOND STREETS, THE PEOPLE'S CHAMBERS? NO, SIR. YOU CAN'T. UNFORTUNATELY, IT IS YOUR CHAMBERS. THOUGH I WILL TELL YOU THAT 1 OR 2 SHELL ROAD JOPPATOWNE, MARYLAND. YOU GUYS SHOULD HAVE THAT MEMORIZED BY NOW. I HAVE A LOT OF NOTES. THEY'RE NOT ORGANIZED, SO BEAR WITH ME, PLEASE. HERE IS PROBABLY THE OTHER 12 PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT DATA CENTERS. DATA CENTERS IN 2024 ACROSS THE COUNTRY USED 183 TERAWATT HOURS OF ELECTRICITY. THAT EQUATED TO 4% OF THE ENTIRE US ELECTRICAL CONSUMPTION. THAT IS ALSO EQUAL TO THE TOTAL ELECTRICAL DEMAND OF THE COUNTRY OF PAKISTAN THAT IS PROJECTED TO GROW BY 2030 BY 133% TO 426 TERAWATT HOURS. WE IN MARYLAND NOR IN THE COUNTRY, WE DO NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY OF GENERATION TO SUPPORT THAT. IN 2023, DATA CENTERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY CONSUMED 17 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER. THAT IS, DIRECT CONSUMPTION. THAT EXCLUDES WATER USED IN ELECTRICITY GENERATION AND OR CHIP MANUFACTURING. CURRENTLY, DATA CENTERS ARE POWERED 55% BY NON RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS AND COAL. THAT DOESN'T REALLY JIVE WITH MARYLAND'S GREEN ENERGY PLAN. IT DOES HAVE EFFECTS ON CONSUMER RATES. THE CARDINAL NEWS OUT OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA, WHERE THE LOUDOUN COUNTY DATA CENTERS ARE SPREADING TO. PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CENTRAL VIRGINIA ELECTRIC CO-OP EXPECTS ROLLING BLACKOUTS IN HIS AREA IN THE NEXT 3 TO 5 YEARS, SPECIFICALLY CITING BECAUSE OF THE PJM GRID NOT HAVING SUFFICIENT GENERATION. MULTIPLE STUDIES ESTIMATE DEMAND WILL FAR OUTPACE SUPPLY IN THE COMING YEARS, AND THAT DATA CENTERS ARE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN THAT ELECTRICITY BECOMES A REGIONAL CONCERN. OBVIOUSLY, AS MENTIONED, DUE TO THE REGIONAL PJM GRID, ENERGY USAGE IN ONE STATE CAN BE SUBSIDIZED BY GENERATION SOMEWHERE ELSE, WHICH IS WHAT MARYLAND'S BEEN DOING FOR YEARS NOW, BUYING MOST OF OUR ENERGY FROM PENNSYLVANIA. I GOT A MINUTE. I'M GOOD. SO A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION FOR ANYBODY WATCHING THAT MAY NOT HAVE DONE THE RESEARCH. THE DATA CENTER ALLIANCE IS A THEY ARE 500 1C6 NONPROFIT. THEIR BOARD IS FULL OF DEVELOPERS, BIG PHARMA EXECS OUT OF COUNTY POLICY MAKERS AND EXECUTIVES IN THE TECH AND FINTECH SECTORS AS WELL. THEY'RE NOT FARMERS. THEY'RE NOT HARFORD COUNTY RESIDENTS. AND THEY DON'T SPEAK FOR HARFORD COUNTY RESIDENTS. THE UTILITY RELIEF ACT AND THE BRING YOUR OWN POWER GENERATION. SHE MENTIONED NUCLEAR. MARYLAND STILL DOESN'T WANT NUCLEAR. THEY DRAG THEIR HEELS ON EVERY NUCLEAR PROPOSAL, INCLUDING THE SMRS, THAT ARE BUILT HERE IN MARYLAND, THAT WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO USE HERE IN MARYLAND.
I'M OUT OF TIME. SO UNTIL NEXT TIME, GUYS. THANK YOU SIR. GOOD EVENING SIR. NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE. GOOD EVENING. ROSHCHINSKY 319 MARINA AVENUE, PERRYMAN, MARYLAND. I'D LIKE TO
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SPEAK TONIGHT ABOUT DATA CENTERS AND THE NEXT ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS HAS ALREADY STARTED AND WILL CONTINUE TO IMPOSE ON ALL OF US. MOST CASES OF DATA CENTERS ACROSS THE WORLD, THE SAME COMMUNITIES ALREADY OVERBURDENED BY OVERDEVELOPMENT AND POLLUTION, ARE NOW BEING TARGETED FOR THESE FACILITIES. AI MAY BE THE FUTURE, BUT THE INFRASTRUCTURE BEHIND IT IS ANYTHING BUT CLEAN. THESE FACILITIES CONSUME STAGGERING AMOUNTS OF ELECTRICITY AND WATER, RELY ON TOXIC CHEMICALS, RUN FLEETS OF DIESEL GENERATORS AND INCREASINGLY REQUIRE NEW FOSSIL FUEL POWER PLANTS JUST TO KEEP THEIR SERVERS RUNNING.ACROSS THE COUNTRY, COMMUNITIES ARE STARTING TO REALIZE THAT THE AI BOOM ISN'T JUST ABOUT TECHNOLOGY, IT'S ABOUT LAND USE, POLLUTION, ENERGY DEMAND AND CORPORATE SUBSIDIES. AS I STATED, IN MOST CASES, THE SAME COMMUNITIES ALREADY OVERBURDENED BY OVERDEVELOPMENT AND POLLUTION ARE NOW BEING TARGETED ONCE AGAIN AS LOCATIONS FOR THESE MASSIVE FACILITIES. DEVELOPERS AND TECH COMPANIES ARE RACING TO BUILD THESE MASSIVE FACILITIES AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, OFTEN WITH LITTLE TRANSPARENCY AND VERY MINIMAL ENVIRONMENTAL OVERSIGHT.
SOUNDS VERY FAMILIAR TO MANY OF US IN THIS ROOM. MEANWHILE, POLICY MAKERS SUCH AS YOURSELVES ARE SCRAMBLING TO UNDERSTAND THE SCALE OF THE MANY IMPACT THESE DATA CENTERS BRING TO THE COMMUNITIES. WITHOUT STRONG SAFEGUARDS AND REGULATIONS, THE PUSH TO BUILD AI INFRASTRUCTURE COULD REPEAT THE SAME MISTAKES WE CONTINUE TO SEE WITH THE WAREHOUSE SPRAWL, OVERBURDENED COMMUNITIES, AND WEAKENING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONS IN THE NAME OF ECONOMIC GROWTH, COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE STARTING TO PUSH BACK IN MAJOR WAYS, AND THEY HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO DO SO. ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE FROM DATA CENTERS IS REAL. IT'S GROWING AT AN ALARMING PACE, AND IT'S HAPPENING FASTER WITHOUT LAWS AND RULES TO CONTROL IT. DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE DATA CENTERS OUT THERE THAT CONSUME MORE ENERGY THAN 350,000 HOMES? THAT'S MORE THAN FOUR TIMES THE AMOUNT OF HOMES WE HAVE JUST IN OUR COUNTY. CONCERNS I'LL BE SPEAKING ON OVER THE UPCOMING WEEKS WILL BE ENERGY DEMAND AND GRID STRAIN, WATER CONSUMPTION AND RESOURCE DEPLETION, TOXIC CHEMICAL AND POLLUTION RISKS, COOLING SYSTEM CHEMICALS AND POISONS, MASSIVE TOWERS THAT HAVE TO BE BUILT FOR THESE FUNGICIDES AND ALGICIDES REFRIGERANTS AND FOREVER CHEMICALS, WHICH MANY OF US KNOW ARE ALREADY BEING EXPOSED TO CLEANING AND FIRE SUPPRESSANT CHEMICALS THAT ARE NEEDED AIR POLLUTION, NOISE POLLUTION, WHICH IF YOU READ SIMPLY BY A GOOGLE SEARCH, I DON'T KNOW IF SHE'S TALKING ABOUT, BUT YOU CAN HEAR THESE DATA CENTERS UP TO THREE MILES AWAY. THE HUMMING SOUND, CONSTANT LOSS OF OPEN SPACE AND FARMLAND, AND MAYBE MOST IMPORTANT FOR HARFORD COUNTY, THE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONCERNS THAT IT WILL BRING.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE. I MISS YOU GUYS. I HOPE EVERYONE'S DOING WELL. THAT'S IT. THANK YOU GUYS.
GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN. RICO. ALBICANS FOLLOWED BY DAN OR DIANE. ALVAREZ. ALVAREZ AND GARY JOHNSON. EXCUSE ME. GOOD EVENING SIR. NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE. RICO AL-BUKHARI, 601 HARVEST COURT, BEL AIR, MARYLAND. THANK YOU. MR. COUNCIL PRESIDENT, COUNCIL MEMBERS. I AM AN IBEW MEMBER. I'M HERE REPRESENTING IBEW LOCAL 24. I DO LIVE HERE IN HARFORD COUNTY. SECRETARY SHULTZ NUMBERS ARE A LITTLE BIT OUT OF DATE. WE HAVE ROUGHLY A THOUSAND MEMBERS WORKING IN FREDERICK COUNTY RIGHT NOW, ABOUT 150 OF THEM IN A PREFABRICATION SHOP, WHICH IS, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, A PERMANENT JOB. AND TO COUNCILMAN BENNETT'S EARLIER POINT, I GOT MY OPPORTUNITY TO START AS AN ELECTRICIAN BECAUSE OF A MAJOR PROJECT THAT WAS HAPPENING AT APG. IT'S THE ONLY REASON THAT I. THAT I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO START. AND I'VE HAD OVER A 15 YEAR CAREER IN THE IBEW BECAUSE OF THAT. SO MAJOR PROJECTS DO CREATE A DEMAND FOR WORKERS NEARBY THAT THEY WILL HAVE A LIFELONG CAREER. I WANT TO TOUCH BASE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE THE FACT THAT OFTENTIMES CONSTRUCTION JOBS ARE CONSIDERED TEMPORARY. ANY TRADESPERSON HERE, I'M NOT SURE IF THERE ARE ANY. ALL OF OUR WORK IS ALWAYS TEMPORARY, BUT WHO HERE IS IN A JOB FOR TEN, 15, 20 YEARS? I MEAN, SOME FOLKS ARE. BUT EVERYONE UP THERE. GOD BLESS YOU. ALL OF YOUR JOBS ARE TEMPORARY, ESSENTIALLY. AND SO I DO THINK IT FEELS LIKE THE THE WORK THAT WE DO AS CRAFTSPEOPLE IS MINIMIZED WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONLY A TEMPORARY JOB. SO THERE IN HARFORD COUNTY, I AS A RESIDENT, I WANT TO RAISE TAX REVENUE AND I WANT TO FIND A WAY TO CREATE JOBS. AND I DO THINK THE DATA CENTER INDUSTRY CAN BE A WAY TO DO THAT. AND IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AND TAKEN SERIOUSLY INTO ACCOUNT. AND A LOT OF THE MYTHS THAT YOU HEARD SECRETARY SHULTZ TALK ABOUT AND SOME OF THE THINGS PEOPLE HAVE SAID HERE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE AVERAGE DATA CENTER USES AS MUCH WATER ANNUALLY AS THE AVERAGE GOLF COURSE. THINGS LIKE THAT ARE ACCURATE AND SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. THE LAST THING THAT I WOULD SAY, IF IT'S AN INDUSTRIAL ZONE AND WE WANT TO RAISE TAX REVENUE, WHAT TYPE OF FACILITIES DO WE WANT THERE?
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RIGHT. WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT IF WE DON'T WANT DATA CENTERS THAT THAT DO CREATE A LOT OF JOBS FOR, FOR FOLKS LIKE ME AND DO CREATE A LOT OF TAX REVENUE, WHAT IS THE OTHER INDUSTRIAL SETTING FACILITY THAT, THAT YOU DO WANT BUILT IN THAT AREA? AND I THINK THAT SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT AS WELL. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, RICO. BEFORE YOU STEP AWAY, WHAT'S THE AVERAGE PAY OF ONE OF YOUR WORKERS? SO AVERAGE IS HARD TO SAY. OUR JOURNEY LEVEL WORKERS, WHICH OUR GRADUATES TODAY MAKE $50.50 AN HOUR. WE'RE GOING TO GET A RAISE AT THE END OF MAY. SO IT'LL BE 5250. AND THEN ALL OF OUR BENEFITS ARE ON TOP OF THAT. SO OUR RETIREMENT IS ON TOP OF THAT. HEALTH CARE FOR MY WIFE, MY THREE CHILDREN IS ON TOP OF THAT. I DON'T PAY FOR THAT OUT OF MY POCKET. AND THEN I HAVE AN ANNUITY, WHICH IS SIMILAR TO A 401 K THAT'S ON TOP OF THAT, OUR APPRENTICESHIP IS COMPLETELY FREE. I DON'T HAVE TO PAY TO GO TO SCHOOL. SO IT'S A FANTASTIC, FANTASTIC CAREER THAT, YOU KNOW, I WE BUILD DATA CENTERS IN HARFORD COUNTY. IF IT WERE TO HAPPEN, YOU GUYS COME SEE ME ABOUT A JOB AND WE'LL MAKE SURE YOU GET TO WORK ON THOSE PROJECTS. THANK YOU SIR. CALL YOUR NEXT SPEAKER. OH. GOOD EVENING MA'AM. NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE. DIANE ALVAREZ, 109 1109 REVOLUTION STREET, HAVRE DE GRACE. GOOD EVENING, PRESIDENT VINCENTE AND MEMBERS OF THE COUNTY COUNCIL. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU TONIGHT. I'D LIKE TO BEGIN BY EXPRESSING OUR SINCERE GRATITUDE FOR THE COUNCIL'S CONTINUED SUPPORT OF OUR PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM, YOUR COMMITMENT TO ENSURING OUR SCHOOLS HAVE THE RESOURCES THEY NEED HAS NOT GONE UNNOTICED. AND IT IS IN THAT SPIRIT OF PARTNERSHIP THAT I STAND BEFORE YOU TODAY. AS WE LOOK TOWARD THE FUTURE OF HARFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, WE FIND OURSELVES AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION IS CURRENTLY OPERATING A MAN DOWN WITH EIGHT MEMBERS AND A SYSTEM BUILT ON COLLABORATIVE, COLLABORATIVE DECISION MAKING AND EVEN NUMBERED BOARD IS A RECIPE FOR GRIDLOCK, LEAVING ESSENTIAL WORK UNFINISHED AND VITAL DECISIONS IN LIMBO. AT THIS MOMENT, WE TRULY NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK. THE BOARD IS CURRENTLY TASKED WITH ONE OF ITS MOST IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITIES THE SELECTION OF A SUPERINTENDENT WHO WILL LEAD OUR DISTRICT FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. THIS IS A FOUNDATIONAL DECISION. ONLY ONE OF OUR CURRENT ELECTED MEMBERS IS SEEKING A NEW TERM. THIS MEANS THE INDIVIDUAL APPOINTED TO THE VACANCY. THIS VACANCY WILL BE AMONG THOSE WHO WILL HAVE THE MOST TO GAIN AND THE MOST TO CONTRIBUTE BY BEING PART OF THE SELECTION PROCESS FROM THE BEGINNING, THEY WILL BE THE ONES WORKING SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE NEW LEADER TO SHAPE THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION. MR. JOHN STREET HAS STEPPED FORWARD TO MEET THIS CHALLENGE. HE HAS SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATED THE APPLICATION AND INTERVIEW PROCESS, PROVIDING HIMSELF TO BE EXCEPTIONALLY QUALIFIED AS A MASTER MARINER WITH DECADES OF EXPERIENCING EXPERIENCE MANAGING GLOBAL OPERATIONS AND COMPLEX NEGOTIATION NEGOTIATIONS, HE BRINGS THE TYPE OF LOGISTICAL AND LEADERSHIP PRECISION THE BOARD REQUIRES. FURTHERMORE, AS AN 11TH GENERATION RESIDENT AND CPS PARENT, HIS HEART IS FIRMLY ROOTED IN THIS COMMUNITY. MR. STREET HAS MADE HIMSELF AVAILABLE TO THE COUNCIL AND SOME HAVE MET WITH HIM. THERE IS NO REASON TO DELAY HIS APPOINTMENT. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO ENSURE OUR BOARD OF EDUCATION HAS FULL MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED TO DO THEIR JOBS THE TAXPAYERS EXPECT OF US. I IMPLORE YOU TO CONFIRM MR. STREET'S APPOINTMENT BEFORE THE END OF APRIL SO THAT HE CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE INTERVIEW PROCESS, AND WE MAY RETURN TO FULL CAPACITY AND CONTINUE THE URGENT WORK OF SERVING OUR STUDENTS. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU MA'AM. GOOD EVENING SIR. NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE. GARY JOHNSON, 704 PLEASANT HILL CIRCLE, KINGSVILLE, MARYLAND. THERE APPEARS TO BE A BELIEF BY THIS COUNCIL WITH THAT, WITH THE DEPARTURE OF THE FORMER SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT. THE SCANDAL OF WHAT HAPPENED IN NEW ORLEANS OF 2024 HAS ENDED. JUST MOVE ALONG.THERE'S NOTHING MORE TO SEE HERE. WELL, AS LONG AS HARFORD COUNTY, AS A HARFORD COUNTY TAXPAYER AND GRANDPARENT OF STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM, I THINK THERE'S A LOT MORE TO SEE. WE UNDERSTAND WHY THE SUPERINTENDENT IS GONE. HE WAS APPARENTLY AN IMMORAL MAN. WHAT WE DON'T UNDERSTAND IS WHY, WITH THE EVIDENCE THAT HE VIOLATED THE MORALS CLAUSE OF HIS CONTRACT, HE HAD TO BE BOUGHT OUT. THIS MAY HAVE BEEN EXPEDIENT TO SOMEONE, BUT IT SURELY WAS NOT JUSTICE. SHOULDN'T WE BE TEACHING OUR CHILDREN ABOUT JUSTICE? WE HAD
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AN ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT. HE WAS WELL PAID AND EXPERIENCED. SHOULDN'T HE HAVE BEEN APPOINTED TO THE POSITION OF THE NEW SUPERINTENDENT? WE HAVE NO SALACIOUS TAPE RECORDINGS.HE'S NOT BEEN CHARGED WITH ANY CRIME. SO WHY WAS HE NOT SELECTED? IF HE HAS DONE SOMETHING WRONG, SHOULDN'T THE TAXPAYERS WHO PAID HIS SALARY KNOW ABOUT IT? HE WAS REMOVED IN THE DARK BACK ROOMS OF HARFORD COUNTY POLITICS OUT OF VIEW. WHERE IS THAT TRANSPARENCY THAT YOU FOLKS ARE ALWAYS BRAGGING ABOUT? THE SAME FOR MISS MAK, SHE SEEMS TO BE A CLONE OF THE FORMER SUPERINTENDENT. FROM WHAT I HAVE OBSERVED, SHE IS AS SUPPORTIVE OF THE WOKE POLICIES OF DI WHITE SUPREMACY, VICTIMHOOD, AND THE CELEBRATION OF TRANS PEOPLE AS HE WAS. AND YET SHE WAS NEVER SUBJECT TO ANY PUBLIC SCRUTINY WITH THE HARFORD COUNTY COUNCIL OR THE PUBLIC AT LARGE COULD SEE WHAT KIND OF LEADERSHIP SHE WOULD PROVIDE. WHY WAS THAT? WHEN ASKING SUCH QUESTIONS, WE ARE OFTEN TOLD THAT PERSONNEL ISSUES ARE NOT TO BE DISCUSSED IN PUBLIC FORUMS. WHY THERE ARE PERSONNEL, NOT THE SCHOOL BOARDS, NOT THE COUNTY COUNCILS. WE HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW IF THEY ARE CAPABLE OF BRINGING ABOUT THE CHANGES SO DESPERATELY NEEDED IN OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM, SO THAT OUR CHILDREN ARE TO BE LITERATE AND ABLE TO FUNCTION IN OUR SOCIETY. WE ALSO HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW IF THEY ARE GUILTY OF MALFEASANCE OR CORRUPTION. MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE FAILED TO PROPERLY EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN WERE APPOINTED TO THEIR POSITIONS BY THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, BUT NO APPOINTEE GETS THAT POSITION. AS I WELL KNOW, WITHOUT THIS COUNCIL'S APPROVAL. SO YOU ARE AS RESPONSIBLE AS THE EXECUTIVE FOR WHAT HAS HAPPENED THUS FAR. TESTING HAS PROVEN THAT IN THE MAIN, OUR CHILDREN CAN'T READ, CAN'T WRITE AND CAN'T DO MATH AT GRADE LEVEL. IF THE FUTURE IS NO DIFFERENT THAN THE PAST, I FEAR FOR OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURE AND THE FUTURE OF HARFORD COUNTY AND THE UNITED STATES. P.S. THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS DO NOT BENEFIT THE EDUCATION OF OUR CHILDREN BY ADDING BABYSITTING SERVICES THAT DISTRACT TIME AND RESOURCES FROM THEIR MISSION, WHICH IS TEACHING PS DATA CENTERS SHOULD GO ELSEWHERE. THEY WILL BE DETRIMENTAL TO HARFORD COUNTY'S RURAL CULTURE. WE DON'T HAVE THE ENERGY THAT WOULD BE NEEDED TO SUPPORT THEM. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, SIR. DIANA SADOWSKI, FOLLOWED BY GREGORY THOMAS AND LINDA STEIN. FLINT. GOOD EVENING MA'AM. NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE. DIANA SADOWSKI, 1113 STROM DRIVE, FALLSTON, MARYLAND. THERE ARE MANY THREATS TO THE WELL-BEING OF OUR COUNTY. MANY COME FROM INTERNAL SOURCES AND MANY ARE EXTERNAL TO THE COUNTY. TONIGHT, WE LISTEN TO THE WONDERS OF DATA CENTERS AND HOW OUR COUNTY CAN REAP THEIR BENEFITS. MY INITIAL THOUGHT WAS WHY IS THIS EVEN ON THE AGENDA? WHO INVITED THIS? AS IF NOTHING IS IN THE WORKS FOR HARFORD COUNTY? WELL, LET ME TELL YOU, I'VE DONE SOME RESEARCH. I'VE GOT A BACKGROUND IN IT. I RETIRED AS AN IT MANAGER FOR STATE GOVERNMENT. I KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DATA CENTERS, PROBABLY ABOUT THE SIZE OF THIS ROOM. I CAN'T IMAGINE THE UTILITIES REQUIRED FOR THE 800,000 SQUARE FOOT DATA CENTERS, RURAL COMMUNITIES INCREASINGLY OPPOSE DATA CENTERS DUE TO CONCERNS OVER HIGH WATER CONSUMPTION, INCREASED NOISE AND LOSS OF FARMLAND. RESIDENTS RIGHTFULLY FEAR THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF RURAL LANDSCAPES, AND THAT PROMISED TAX REVENUES DO NOT OUTWEIGH ENVIRONMENTAL, ENERGY, GRID AND COMMUNITY IMPACTS.
WITH REGARD TO WATER, DATA CENTERS REQUIRE IMMENSE WATER FOR COOLING AND CREATE SIGNIFICANT ENERGY DEMAND, OFTEN RAISING UTILITY COSTS FOR LOCALS. MANY PEOPLE HAVE PRIVATE WATER SOURCES. THAT'S GOING TO CREATE A PROBLEM. I DID SOME RESEARCH REAL QUICK WHILE THEY WERE TALKING, AND SHE MENTIONED SPECIFICALLY THAT DATA CENTERS ARE EXPERIENCING RISING. OH NO. SHE SAID THAT THE COSTS WERE DECLINING. AND THAT'S NOT TRUE. THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY STUDY INSTITUTE SAID THAT THE GENERAL TREND IS THAT STATES WITH A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF DATA CENTERS ARE EXPERIENCING RISING, NOT DECLINING UTILITY COSTS AND UTILITY COSTS. WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? US, THE TAXPAYERS? WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT NOISE, THE CONSTANT LOW PITCHED NOISE FROM COOLING FANS. THEY CAN REACH 55 TO 85DB. 70 TO 80DB IS RECOGNIZED BY THE EPA AND THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA AS POTENTIALLY CAUSING HEARING DAMAGE, SHE SAID. THEY THEY'RE THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE AROUND THERE, BUT READING DOES OTHERWISE, INDUSTRIALIZATION, LARGE CONCRETE BUILDINGS AND SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE CAN
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REPLACE FARMLAND AND OTHER GREEN SPACES AND ALTER THE CHARACTER OF A COMMUNITY.LIMITED BENEFITS THESE FACILITIES OFTEN CREATE FEW LONG TERM LOCAL JOBS. CONTRARY TO THE BELIEF DURING CONSTRUCTION, IT'S ALL WONDERFUL. BUT THEN WHEN THINGS SETTLES, THE DUST SETTLES. YOU DON'T NEED ALL OF THOSE JOBS. WHILE TAX INCENTIVES TYPICALLY FAVOR DEVELOPERS OVER THE COMMUNITY, OTHER STATES ARE RESISTING THIS. NORTH CAROLINA, TEXAS, OUR NEIGHBORS IN PENNSYLVANIA, WEST VIRGINIA. AND I'LL STAND HERE TO ARGUE THAT MAINTAINING OUR AGRICULTURAL AND NATURAL CHARACTER OF HARFORD COUNTY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOSTING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT.
THANK YOU MA'AM, I'M NOT. OH, I'LL BE BACK NEXT WEEK. GOOD NIGHT. YOU'LL GET MORE TIME NEXT WEEK. DIANA. WE UNDERSTAND YOUR PASSION. WE TRULY DO. LISTEN, I LOVE HARFORD COUNTY.
WE ALL DO. WE ALL DO. GOOD EVENING, SIR. NAME AND ADDRESS. HELLO, I'M GREGORY THOMAS. I LIVE AT 3908 MADONNA ROAD, JARRETTSVILLE, MARYLAND. OH, ARE WE STARTING? ALL RIGHT. I AM AN ENGINEERING STUDENT AT HARVARD COMMUNITY COUNCIL. AND BEFORE I GET STARTED, I JUST REALLY WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FOR STICKING AROUND TO LISTEN TO ME. YAP. I DON'T STAND HERE AS AN ENEMY OF TECHNOLOGY. I LOVE TECHNOLOGY. IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, I WAS FIDDLING WITH COMPUTERS, AND IN HIGH SCHOOL I SAW THE RISE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. THEREIN LIES MY PROBLEM. WE ARE SOLD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND THE ACCOMPANYING DATA CENTERS AS PROGRESS INCARNATE. WE'RE TOLD THAT THEY WILL LEAD US INTO THE FUTURE. BUT WHEN I LOOK INTO THESE DATA CENTERS, I'M NOT SEEING THE FUTURE. I'M SEEING A HEIST OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES SO THAT SOME CORPORATE PROFIT MARGIN CAN GO UP BY A FRACTION OF A CENT. BIG TECH STANDS TO MAKE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM THESE DATA CENTERS. WHILE WE'RE PICKING UP THEIR PENNIES. THEY THEY PROMISED US. HOLD ON ONE SECOND. I HAVE A NOTE. $775 MILLION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.
THAT'S VERY NICE. BUT MY QUESTION IS, WHERE IS THAT COMING FROM? SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE. SO THEY SPOKE TO THE VIRTUES OF A CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM. AND IN A LABORATORY THAT'S GREAT. THEY WORK GREAT. BUT WE'RE NOT LIVING IN A LAB. WE ARE IN HARFORD COUNTY. AND I WILL TELL YOU FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AS DATA CENTER CHIPS GET SMALLER, FASTER, THEY GET HOTTER, AND WHEN THEY GET HOTTER, THE CLOSED LOOP BREAKS DOWN. SO HOW DO THEY KEEP THEIR OH SO PRECIOUS DATA CENTERS FROM GOING SUPERNOVA? I'LL TELL YOU. THEY PURGED THEIR WATER INTO OUR LAND, OUR AQUIFERS. I'M SURE MANY OF US HAVE WELLS. WE ARE DRINKING THESE PFAS, THESE FOREVER CHEMICALS THAT THEY'RE TELLING US WE'RE NOT. AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU. I DON'T WANT TO BE ANOTHER HINKLEY, CALIFORNIA. AND THAT'S NOT EVEN MENTIONING THE RATE HIKES, THE DRONE, THE FANS, EVERYTHING YOU'VE HEARD ALREADY. AND WE'RE TOLD THAT THESE WILL BRING US JOBS. BUT AGAIN, AS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED WILL THEY IS 120 ON SITE JOBS WORTH. HOW MANY POISONED CHILDREN. LOOK AROUND. PLEASE ASK YOURSELVES, HOW MUCH MONEY WOULD IT TAKE IF I OFFER YOU $1 MILLION? WOULD YOU DRINK A CUP OF POISON? WOULD YOU DRAIN YOUR WELL? WOULD YOU LOSE YOUR HOME SO THAT SOME SHAREHOLDER YOU'VE NEVER MET CAN FEAST? WE'RE BEING OFFERED VERY VAGUE PROMISES OF FUTURE PROSPERITY, AND WE'RE IGNORING THAT. VERY REAL PEOPLE OUR NEIGHBORS, OUR FRIENDS, OUR LOVED ONES, OUR FAMILIES ARE SUFFERING. I THINK WE NEED TO CHOOSE OURSELVES. WE NEED TO CHOOSE AGAIN OUR HOMES, OUR COMMUNITIES. AND I'M NOT HERE TO FIGHT AGAINST PROGRESS. PANDORA'S BOX HAS BEEN OPENED. WE CAN'T WRESTLE IT SHUT. BUT WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE CAN TRY TO FIGHT AS LONG AS WE CAN, UNTIL WE FULLY UNDERSTAND THE RAMIFICATIONS OF WHAT WE'RE AGREEING TO. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THANK YOU SIR. GOOD EVENING MA'AM. NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE. YES. LINDA STEIN FLINT. I LIVE AT 403 WINSLOW DRIVE IN BEL AIR, TWO 1015. SO FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU TO CONSIDER SUPPORTING THE STATE
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TRANSPORTATION. I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY. THE FUNDING PLAN, THAT IS BRING IN FEDERAL GRANT MONEY TO TAKE CARE OF THE HARTFORD LINK, THE BUS SHELTER. YOU KNOW, THAT HOUSES THE BUSSES. THAT HARTFORD LINK IS VERY IMPORTANT IN OUR COUNTY. IT'S A IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT SERVICE FOR THOSE IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO TRANSPORTATION. THEY USE THOSE BUSSES TO GET TO THEIR MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS, JOBS, SHOPPING, SCHOOL AND MORE. THAT STATION IS WHERE THOSE BUSSES GET SERVICED. THEY GET FUEL AND THEY CAN. EMPLOYEES CAN PARK THEIR CARS THERE. EVERYTHING. BUT THESE BUSSES ARE ON THE ROAD ALL DAY, EVERY DAY, AND THEY NEED TO BE SERVICED AND REFUELED SO THAT THEY CAN DO WHAT THEY WERE MEANT TO, WHICH IS TO GET HARTFORD COUNTY CITIZENS WHO DO NOT HAVE TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM WHERE THEY NEED TO BE. IN HARTFORD COUNTY. THIS IS THE SAME PLAN THAT WAS SUPPORTED PREVIOUSLY AT MUCH HIGHER PRICE. AND I KNOW MANY PEOPLE THAT USE THIS SERVICE AND THE STRUGGLES THAT THEY GO THROUGH, AND WE NEED TO DO WHAT WE CAN TO SUPPORT THEM IN THE COMMUNITY.THESE ARE THE BUSSES, YOU SEE, THAT ARE PULLING IN AND OUT OF UPPER CHESAPEAKE, THE GROCERY STORES THAT GO INTO THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AND THEY GO TO THE EDGEWOOD SHOPPING CENTER.
THIS IS WHAT THAT GRANT MONEY IS FOR, IS TO TAKE CARE OF OUR CITIZENS. AND SO I WOULD ASK THAT YOU CAN SUPPORT THAT PLAN. MY OTHER ISSUE THAT I'M HERE WITH IS, YOU KNOW, AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND EVEN STATE EMPLOYEES, WE HAVE RESTRICTIONS THAT WE CANNOT RUN FOR A COUNTY OFFICE LIKE THE COUNTY COUNCIL, YOU CAN RUN FOR THE CITY OF ABERDEEN, CITY OF GRACE AND THE TOWN OF BEL AIR, BUT IT IS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST AS A GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE TO BE WORKING IN AN OFFICE LIKE THIS. AND THERE'S AN ETHICAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST WHICH HAS BEEN SHOWN MANY TIMES OVER AND OUR CHARTER HAS BEEN HAS DONE JUST FINE FOR MANY YEARS UNTIL THE LAST ELECTION. AND, YOU KNOW, AND I'M A FIRM BELIEVER THAT ANYBODY THAT WORKS FOR THE COUNTY, ESPECIALLY TEACHERS AND DEPUTIES, THEY IF THEY WANT TO SERVE ON THE COUNCIL, FINE, YOU GO AHEAD AND RUN. BUT YOU MUST RETIRE BECAUSE IT IS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST. YOU KNOW, PEOPLE THAT THAT VOTED FOR THE PREVIOUS COUNCILMEN, THEY DIDN'T THINK THAT HE WAS GOING TO DO POORLY. A DOUBLE DIP OPPORTUNITY. AND AND MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT VOTED FOR HIM DON'T SUPPORT THAT. WHAT HE WANTS TO DO TO COME BACK ONTO THE COUNCIL WHILE WORKING AS A DEPUTY. AND IT DOES CREATE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST, ESPECIALLY EVEN IN THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT MAKES YOU WONDER IF THAT CONFLICT OF INTEREST IS WHY THE BOARD OF EDUCATION HAS NOT COMPLETED AN INVESTIGATION OF A OF A TEACHER THAT HAS BEEN SUSPENDED FROM THEIR JOB FOR FIVE MONTHS AND IS ALSO AN ELECTED OFFICIAL. SO I'M WONDERING IF THAT'S PART OF THE CONFLICT OF WHY IT'S NOT GETTING TIMELY DONE. THANK YOU.
ELLIOT, FOLLOWED BY JESSICA RILEY HAMMOND AND TRACY LAWRENCE. GOOD EVENING SIR.
NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS ELLIOT HONECKER AND I LIVE AT TWO 519 HANSON ROAD, EDGEWOOD, MARYLAND. I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION TONIGHT, AND I ALSO APPRECIATE THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN RAISED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL. BUT EVEN AFTER HEARING THE PRESENTATION AND THE DISCUSSION, I'M STILL NOT CONVINCED. I DON'T THINK MANY OF US ARE. THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR HARFORD COUNTY AT ALL. TOO OFTEN PROJECTS LIKE THIS ARE PRESENTED AS PROGRESS FIRST, WHILE THE REAL CONSEQUENCES ARE SORTED OUT LATER AND THOSE CONSEQUENCES MATTER. WHAT WILL THIS MEAN FOR OUR POWER GRID, OUR LAND USE, OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE HAVE TO LIVE NEAR THESE FACILITIES? WHAT WILL IT MEAN FOR THE CHARACTER OF HARFORD COUNTY FIVE, 10 OR 20 YEARS FROM NOW? THIS IS WHY I BELIEVE THE BURDEN SHOULD NOT BE ON RESIDENTS TO PROVE WHY THIS IS A BAD IDEA. THE BURDEN SHOULD BE ON THE PEOPLE PROMOTING IT TO PROVE CLEARLY AND PUBLICLY THAT THE LONG TERM BENEFITS OUTWEIGH THE LONG TERM COSTS.
HARFORD COUNTY SHOULD NOT BE PRESSURED INTO FOLLOWING A DEVELOPMENT TREND JUST BECAUSE IT IS POPULAR SOMEWHERE ELSE. WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE WHO ALREADY LIVE HERE, PROTECT OUR COMMUNITIES AND THINK BEYOND THE SALES PITCH. GROWTH IS THE ONLY WORK. GROWTH IS ONLY WORTH IT IF IT TRULY SERVES THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTY. AND IN
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MY VIEW, THIS IS. THIS PROPOSAL RAISES TOO MANY SERIOUS QUESTIONS TO BE WELCOMED WITHOUT MUCH MORE SCRUTINY, MUCH MORE TRANSPARENCY, AND MUCH MORE PUBLIC INPUT. HARFORD COUNTY SHOULD NOT BECOME THE NEXT PLACE THAT SAYS YES FIRST AND ASK QUESTIONS LATER. THANK YOU SO MUCH, I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING MA'AM. NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE.JESSICA RILEY HAMMOND, 2503 FAIRWAY DRIVE, BEL AIR, MARYLAND. TWO 1015. GOOD EVENING, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT. WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT WE DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT DATA CENTERS. PRESENTATIONS CAN BE INCREDIBLY PERSUASIVE. WE SEE IN THIS BEFORE THERE WAS A TIME WHEN MARLBORO CIGARETTES WERE MARKETED AS A WAY TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH, AND WE KNOW HOW THAT TURNED OUT. I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO WATCH TWO WEBINARS THAT I'VE SEEN RECENTLY FROM PURDUE UNIVERSITY. THE EXPERTS WHO PRESENTED THIS YEAR WOULD DISAGREE WITH MUCH OF WHAT WE'VE HEARD TONIGHT. I URGE THE COUNCIL TO FOCUS NOT ON SHORT TERM PROMISES, BUT ON THE LONG TERM BEST INTERESTS AND HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITY, OUR ENVIRONMENT, OUR ENERGY GRID AND OUR FINANCIAL, FINANCIAL STABILITY. JOBS AND MONEY DEFINITELY ARE IMPORTANT, AND SO IS TECHNOLOGY. I BELIEVE THAT OVER TIME MANY OF THESE QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED, BUT UNTIL THEN, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEAD BY BEING THOUGHTFUL, CAUTIOUS, AND WILLING TO SLOW DOWN. SOMETIMES THE MOST SORRY, SOMETIMES THE SMARTEST MOVE FORWARD IS TO PAUSE. THANK YOU. THANK YOU MA'AM. EVENING, EVERYONE. GOOD EVENING MA'AM, NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE. TRACY LAWRENCE, 3161 STRAUSS DRIVE, BEL AIR, MARYLAND, 21015. THANK YOU. YOU'RE VERY WELCOME. THANK YOU. WHERE DO MY NOTES GO? SO I DID WANT TO THANK YOU GUYS. AND I ALSO WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE COUNCILMAN JACOB, WHICH WHICH REPRESENTS MY AREA, HE ANSWERED A LOT. AND YOU GUYS ASKED A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I REALLY WANTED ANSWERS TO, AND I APPRECIATE THAT DISCUSSION. IT WAS HELPFUL IN UNDERSTANDING MORE ABOUT THIS FULLY. SO I ALSO AM THANKFUL, THANKFUL AND CONFIDENT THAT THE COUNCIL IS TAKING THOUGHTFUL AND MEASURED APPROACH TO THIS ISSUE. THAT SAID, I DO HAVE A FEW REMAINING CONCERNS. MUCH OF THE PRESENTATION FOCUSED ON THE BENEFITS. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ALSO REVIEW INDEPENDENT DATA THAT ADDRESSES POTENTIAL RISKS AND LONG TERM IMPACTS. AND I SAY THAT AS A PERSON THAT WORKS IN IT AND CALL THE DATA NAZI BEFORE, AND I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, AS THE DATE, THE DATA THAT'S SHOWN, I THINK SOMETIMES IS SHOWN TO SHOW A CERTAIN PERSPECTIVE AND POINT OF VIEW. AND IT DID NOT REALLY HAVE UNDERLYING SOURCES OF WHAT THAT DATA WAS AND WHERE IT CAME FROM. TO UNDERSTAND REALLY THE MOTIVATION OF THAT DATA, RIGHT? GIVEN THAT WE AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT A TEACHER THE WORK WAS THE CEO OF THE CENSUS BUREAU WHO ACTUALLY HELPED EXPLAIN KIND OF HOW YOU DRILL IN AND GET THOSE, THOSE TYPE OF THINGS IMPACT CORRECTLY. AND SO I JUST FOUND IT A, IT WAS WELL PRESENTED, BUT A LITTLE FLAKY UNDERNEATH FOR ME, GIVEN THAT WE OPERATE WITHIN A MULTI-STATE GRID THROUGH PJM, THE BENEFITS ARE REGIONAL. WHILE MANY OF THE IMPACTS, SUCH AS THE LAND USE, PROXIMITY TO NEIGHBORHOODS, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ARE LOCAL TO OUR COMMUNITY. AND SO FOR ME, I FEEL LIKE THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT WE MAKE A DECISION AND IT IMPACTS US. WE MAKE A DECISION. IT DOESN'T IMPACT US. THERE'S STILL MAY BE AN IMPACT ON US.
AND SO I THINK IT WOULD BE NICE. I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU GUYS WORK, BUT IF IT'S MULTIPLE STATES IMPACTED, I THINK THAT IT SHOULD BE DISCUSSIONS OUTSIDE OF JUST OUR COUNTY BECAUSE DELAWARE MAKES A DECISION THAT CAN STILL HAVE IMPACT ON US AS CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTY. RIGHT.
AND JUST TO GIVE AN EXAMPLE, I, I ALSO WOULD LIKE MORE CLARITY ON THE SOURCES OF DATA PRESENTED, WHICH IS KIND OF MENTIONED. THE AS WELL AS THE FINANCIAL BACKING OF THE ALLIANCE. THEY TALKED A LOT ABOUT LIKE WHO WAS PART OF THEIR GROUP MEMBERS, BUT THEY DIDN'T SAY WHO'S FUNDING THEM. RIGHT. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE MONEY IS COMING FROM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT TELLS A LOT OF THE STORY ABOUT THEIR PRESENTATION. ALONG WITH THE SAME LINE FIGURES, SUCH AS THE PROJECTED 775 MILLION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANT. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY. IT'S IT SOUNDS
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SIGNIFICANT, BUT WITHOUT CLEAR SOURCING OR METHODOLOGY, IT'S DIFFICULT TO FULLY EVALUATE WHAT NUMBERS REPRESENT, HOW MUCH OF THAT WOULD ACTUALLY BE REALIZED LOCALLY. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS BEHIND THOSE PROJECTIONS. AND I THINK YOU GUYS ALREADY GET THAT. I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR, RIGHT. MISS LAWRENCE, IF I MAY, I'D LIKE TO STOP YOU THERE. YOUR TIME'S UP. OKAY. BUT I WOULD TELL YOU THAT I APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS AND YOUR INSIGHT. AND THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WE NEED TO LEARN, POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE. THERE'S NO QUESTION ABOUT THAT. I THINK WE SHOULD LOOK AT A A NORTH STAR. WHAT IS THE TEN YEAR VISION WE HAVE. RIGHT. AND AND NOT AND BE PROACTIVE, NOT REACTIVE. I WANT TO SAY THAT MY SON'S COMING AFTER ME TO SPEAK AND THIS IS FOR HIS CITIZENSHIP.THANK YOU. MA'AM. HEY. GABRIEL. WOODEN. GOOD EVENING, YOUNG MAN. NAME AND ADDRESS, PLEASE.
ADDRESS IS WHAT MY MOM SAID. MY. GABRIEL WOODEN AND I WOULD LIKE TO TESTIFY. OKAY. MARYLAND HAS 44 TO 50 AI DATA CENTERS. AI, AI DATA CENTERS ARE INCREASING PRICE OF PCS BY 70% AT THE END OF THIS YEAR. A STICK OF 16 GIG DDR5 RAM WAS O A. DID YOU NOTICE A STICK OF DDR OF GABRIEL? OH, TAKE YOUR TIME. OKAY. A STICK OF 16 GIG DDR5 RAM WAS 40 TO $60, 2024 AND 2026 A STICK OF 16 DDR5 RAM IS FIVE IS 150 TO 200 AND $200, AND I FIND IT CRITICAL THAT WAS MADE TO TAKE SOME WEIGHT OFF THE POWER GRID. WHILE IN MARYLAND RELIES ON THE SAME POWER GRID THAT IT WAS MADE TO SOLVE. ALSO, I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT NUCLEAR ENERGY IS, IN MY OPINION, THE ENERGY OF THE FUTURE, AND I FEEL THAT MOST PEOPLE ARE STILL SCARED OF THE.
STILL SCARED OF CHERNOBYL AND WHAT HAPPENED THERE. AND IT'S MAINLY IMPACTING WHY PEOPLE ARE NOT SO KEEN ON GETTING NUCLEAR POWER. NOW, I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT BECAUSE THERE WAS A BIG EVENT, BUT IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO. ON TOP OF THAT, ONE GRAM OF URANIUM IS EQUIVALENT TO 400 TO 400KG OF OF COAL. AND THAT'S KIND OF IT. THANK YOU. THERE ARE NO MORE SPEAKERS, MR. PRESIDENT. THANK YOU, MISS DIXON. WITH NO MORE SPEAKERS, WE'LL MOVE ON TO 16 BUSINESS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS. MR. RILEY, I'M GOING TO START WITH YOU THIS EVENING. I'M GLAD YOU'RE STARTING WITH ME BECAUSE I HAVE NONE. MISS SADDLES. THANK YOU. LAST NIGHT AT THE ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL MEETING. ERIC DIXON WAS APPOINTED TO THE NEW DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS THIS THURSDAY AT 630 IS THE CHURCHVILLE CRESSWELL FOUNTAIN GREEN, DUBLIN DARLINGTON COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING AT THE CHURCHVILLE REC CENTER. THERE IS A SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY AVAILABLE FOR ABERDEEN HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS, OFFERING 1002 $500 SCHOLARSHIPS, AND IT'S THROUGH THE ABERDEEN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. IF YOU VISIT THE CHAMBER'S WEBSITE, THERE WILL BE MORE DETAILS AND AN APPLICATION FOR THAT. I'LL ALSO SHARE THAT ON MY FACEBOOK PAGE.
AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE THIS EVENING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS SALES. MR. BENNETT. HELLO.
GOOD EVENING. GOOD TO BE WITH EVERYONE THIS EVENING. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO CAME OUT TO BOTH. LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION AND SHARE YOUR FEEDBACK AFTER. IN THE COMING WEEKS, I HOPE TO INTRODUCE A MORATORIUM ON DATA CENTERS IN OUR COUNTY TO MAKE SURE THAT NOTHING MOVES UNTIL WE SET UP WHAT OUR COMMUNITY SAYS ARE THE APPROPRIATE SAFEGUARDS, AND IT WILL BE A LOT MORE THAN 500FT ON DISTANCE FROM YOUR FROM YOUR HOUSE. THAT'S ONE THING I DEFINITELY PICKED UP FROM TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION. MISS LAWRENCE, I REALLY LOVED YOUR QUOTE ABOUT HOW THE BENEFITS HAVE FAR REACH, BUT THE HARMS ARE LOCAL AND WE HAVE TO REALLY CONTEND WITH THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE, IF THIS IS TO COME, THAT THE BENEFITS OUTMATCH THE HARMS. AND WE KNOW THERE ARE TREMENDOUS RISKS OF HARM. AND THEN ALSO TO YOUR SON, GABRIEL, I JUST WANT TO SAY, BACK IN 2006, I ATTENDED MY FIRST COUNCIL MEETING FOR MY CITIZENSHIP IN THE COMMUNITY MERIT BADGE. AND NOW HERE I AM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THINGS. SO
[02:05:01]
THANK YOU FOR COMING AND SPEAKING. I JUST LED THE PLEDGE. IT WAS A LOT EASIER ON ME. THIS PAST WEEK I ATTENDED THE ABINGDON CAB MEETING WHERE THE CAB CAME AND SPOKE ABOUT DATA CENTERS AND THE RESEARCH THEY'RE DOING. I ENCOURAGE MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES TO PLUG INTO THE CAB AND TO HEAR ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE LEARNING, AND USE THEM AS A RESOURCE THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND THIS CONVERSATION, AND I HOPE THAT THEY CAN BE A PART OF WHATEVER COMES NEXT. I WAS ABLE TO ATTEND THE EAGLE SCOUT COURT OF HONOR FOR MATTHEW RINGSAKER, WHICH IS A REALLY SPECIAL EXPERIENCE. I'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE HIM GROW THE PAST FEW YEARS THROUGH HIS DAD, WHO SERVES ON THE CITY COUNCIL, AND HE'S AN EXCELLENT YOUNG MAN GETTING READY TO GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL. AND AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT COMES NEXT FOR HIM. AND I WAS ALSO ABLE TO ATTEND THE SUSQUEHANNA HOSE COMPANY AWARDS BANQUET, WHICH IS A WONDERFUL EVENT.SUSQUEHANNA HOSE COMPANY THIS YEAR CELEBRATES 124 YEARS OF SERVING OUR COMMUNITY. THEY'RE ONE OF THE ONLY VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES TO HAVE AN ISO RANKING OF ONE ISO CLASS ONE, WHICH IS TREMENDOUS. IT'S SUCH A BENEFIT TO OUR COMMUNITY, AND THEY'VE BEEN AROUND FOR HALF OF OUR NATION'S HISTORY. AND THAT'S WHY I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT. AS THE BUDGET COMES OUT TOMORROW, THAT THEIR CAPITAL PROJECTS ARE FUNDED, BUT WE ALSO ARE ESTABLISHING A FUTURE TO PAY FOR THE THE FUTURE OF VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO EMBRACE THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE FACING CAREER FIRE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. AND, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT A DATA CENTER AND THE AMOUNT OF LITHIUM ION BATTERIES THAT WOULD BE ON SITE.
YOU KNOW, OUR VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANIES ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH AN ELECTRIC CAR FIRE AND IN MANY CASES NOW STACK 1000 ELECTRIC CARS ON TOP OF EACH OTHER. SO I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING OUR FIRE COMPANIES TO PREPARE THEM FOR THE FUTURE.
PALMERSTOWN IN DOWNTOWN HAVERTY GRACE WILL BE HAVING A SCULPTURE DEDICATION SOON. IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN TO PALMERSTOWN, IT IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PROJECT. ALLEN HAS BEEN A BIG LEADER IN THAT, ALONG WITH HIS BOARD. IT'S ONE OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS TO WALK THROUGH ON OUR DAILY WALKS. BUT THAT'S ALL I HAVE THIS EVENING. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. BENNETT. MISS ROBERT, THANK YOU. JUST HAVE A COUPLE THINGS. I WENT TO THE GRAND OPENING ON APRIL 9TH OF WONDER, AND THAT WAS AN INTERESTING CONCEPT ABOUT HOW YOU CAN ORDER MICHELIN STAR FOOD AND GET IT DELIVERED FOR FREE, OR GO IN, WALK IN AND KIND OF GRAB WHATEVER YOU WANTED. IF SOMEONE WANTED TACOS, IF SOMEONE WANTED STEAK, EVERYONE GET WHAT THEY WANT. IT'S REALLY NICELY SET UP.
ON APRIL 10TH, I WENT TO THE FAMILY AND TRAUMA INSTITUTE. THAT'S A USUAL THING FOR ME.
AND PRETTY MUCH IT'S A LOT OF SOCIAL WORKERS AND THERAPISTS THERE LEARNING ABOUT NEW INFORMATION REGARDING EITHER CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE OR TRAUMA RELATED THINGS THAT CAN COME ABOUT WITH FAMILIES. ON APRIL 11TH, I WENT TO THE EMPOWERED EXPO. THEY HAD TONS AND TONS OF RESOURCES THERE. FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO GET IEPS AND 504 PLANS TO KIND OF TRANSITION THEM INTO ADULTHOOD AND PROVIDING ADDITIONAL SERVICES FOR WHAT THEY NEED. IT WAS GREAT TO SEE ALL THE LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS AND NONPROFITS THERE AS WELL. AND THEN I TOO WENT TO THE SUSQUEHANNA HOSE ANNUAL AWARDS. IT'S JUST AMAZING THE AMOUNT OF YEARS OF SERVICE SOME OF THOSE FIREMEN HAVE. I THINK ONE GENTLEMAN WAS UP TO LIKE 75, AND THAT'S JUST STARTING AS A, AS A YOUTH. SO AND THEN THE EDGEWOOD FARMERS MARKET, WE HAD FOR OUR FIRST ONE FOR THE SEASON, WE HAD MORE VENDORS. IT WAS NICELY ATTENDED AND LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THAT.
IT WILL BE NOW THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH UNTIL NOVEMBER. WE JUST HAD IT THE SECOND ONE BECAUSE OF EASTER THIS YEAR. AND THEN I WENT TO SUPPORT OUR LOCAL ARTS BALLET CHESAPEAKE, PUT ON CINDERELLA AT TOWSON, AND THAT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SHOW. AND THEN THIS SATURDAY IS SARK'S WALK A MILE IN OUR SHOES. SO I WILL BE STOPPING BY TO THAT. AND AS I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING AMERICAN IDOL, I'LL JUST SAY KUDOS TO BROOKE ROSNER, WHO MADE IT INTO THE TOP NINE.
THANK YOU, MISS ROBERT. MISS EMHOFF, GOOD EVENING. FIRST, I WANT TO GIVE AN UPDATE. AS MANY OF YOU HEARD, MY PREDECESSOR, AARON PENMAN'S APPEAL CASE WAS RETURNED BACK TO THE CIRCUIT COURT. WE ARE WAITING TO HEAR WHAT THAT MEANS AS FAR AS A POSSIBLE REINSTATEMENT FOR THE REMAINING ELECTION CYCLE TERM, BUT WE RESPECT DUE PROCESS AND WE WILL PREPARE AS WE PREPARE
[02:10:02]
FOR THE NEXT ELECTION CYCLE. WITH THAT BEING SAID, AS I WAS APPOINTED TO DISTRICT B AND AS I CONTINUE TO WORK, I KEEP STATING THAT I WILL CONTINUE TO SHOW UP AND CONTINUE TO DO THE WORK FOR AS LONG AS I AM NEEDED. AND THAT IS AT LEAST THROUGH THIS EVENING AS WELL. SO EVENTS THAT I'VE ATTENDED THIS PAST WEEK. ON THURSDAY, APRIL 9TH, I ATTENDED THE ABERDEEN ABINGDON EDMONTON COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING ON FRIDAY, APRIL 10TH. I ALSO ATTENDED THE HARTFORD CHILD AND FAMILY TRAUMA CONFERENCE ON SATURDAY, APRIL 11TH. I ALSO ATTENDED THE SUSQUEHANNA HOSE COMPANY ANNUAL AWARDS BANQUET AND THEN TODAY I WAS ABLE TO PARTICIPATE AS A GUEST READER AT THE HIGHLAND SCHOOL READATHON, AND I WAS ABLE TO HELP SOME OF THEIR STUDENTS MEET SOME OF THEIR READING GOALS FOR THIS WEEK. UPCOMING EVENTS. ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15TH AT 9 A.M. THERE WILL BE A DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE OR DAC MEETING AS WE KNOW IT. MEETING AT 220 SOUTH MAIN STREET. SO THIS IS TOMORROW MORNING AT NINE. ONE OF THE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA IS THE HARFORD HILL FARM IN FALLSTON.THEY WILL BE REQUESTING APPROVAL FOR A 74,000FT■!S TO BE USED FOR PRIVATE EVENTS AND RECEPTIONS. THE PROPERTY IS ZONED AGRICULTURAL AND SPANS ABOUT 246 ACRES AND IS A HISTORICAL PROPERTY IN FALLSTON. THURSDAY, APRIL 16TH FROM 430 TO 8:30 P.M. THE FALLSTON VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY, FIRE AND AMBULANCE COMPANY WILL BE HOSTING THEIR FIRST FOOD TRUCK FOR THE THURSDAY SEASON. IF YOU HAVEN'T ATTENDED THE FALLSTON FOOD TRUCKS, IT'S A GREAT EVENT.
LIVE MUSIC, INDEPENDENT BREWERY ALWAYS HAS A TENT, AND THERE'S TYPICALLY ANYWHERE FROM, YOU KNOW, 4 TO 8 DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOOD TRUCKS. SO EVERYONE IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD WILL BE HAPPY TO HAVE SOMETHING IN THEIR BELLY. AND THEN ON FRIDAY, APRIL 17TH, THE ABINGDON FIRE COMPANY IS HOSTING A CASH BINGO AND DOORS OPEN AT 530 AND GAMES. GAMES WILL BEGIN AT SEVEN. THAT'S ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU, MISS EMHOFF. MR. SO GRAND OPENING OF WONDER. ALLEN TALKED ALL ABOUT IT, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY IN THE HARTFORD MALL WITH OLD HARFORD MALL AT THE END. SO INTERESTING CONCEPT.
LIKE YOU SAID, I THINK THEY EVEN HAVE SOME GLUTEN FREE PRODUCTS. BUT I DID TRY THEIR DETROIT STYLE PIZZA, WHICH WAS PRETTY GOOD. SO WISH THEM CONGRATULATIONS ON THAT. THIS SATURDAY WAS THE FIRST DAY OPEN OF THE BEL AIR FARMER'S MARKET. IT WAS PACKED AND THAT'S GOING TO BE EVERY SATURDAY, PROBABLY THROUGH NOVEMBER. AND THEN LAST WEEK, MICHAEL BEYER WAS APPOINTED AS THE PLANNING DIRECTOR. DEFINITELY DISAPPOINTED TONIGHT THAT MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES DIDN'T LET THE BILL BE INTRODUCED. SO WE CAN BRING IT TO PUBLIC HEARING IN TWO WEEKS. LET THE CITIZENS TALK ABOUT WHETHER THEY WANT THE CHARTER, THAT TWO PAYCHECKS THAT FUNDS THE MAJORITY OF THE THE POSITIONS BUDGET IS NOT WHAT OUR CHARTER OR OUR FOUNDERS INTENDED. IT CREATES A CLEAR CONFLICT, OPENS THE DOOR TO INFLUENCING LAWS AND BUDGETS FOR PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL BENEFITS. THAT CHARTER HAS BEEN THERE SINCE 1972. IT'S THE SAME CHARTER THAT WE GOT SIMILAR TO BALTIMORE COUNTY. HOWARD COUNTY'S IS MUCH STRICTER, BUT WE CAN GO AND GET 10,000 VOTES AND PUT THAT ON THE BALLOT, WHICH WILL BE WORKING FOR. I'VE HAD PEOPLE TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT, AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO LET THE COUNTY BE UNDER SIEGE FROM A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. DENNIS. WE'LL MOVE ON TO 17 BUSINESS FROM THE PRESIDENT. WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO RECEIVING THE BUDGET TOMORROW.
I'M ASSUMING BY END OF BUSINESS, AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO START GOING THROUGH THAT THE BUDGET WITH OUR BUDGET ADVISORS AND TAKE A LOOK AND SEE WHERE WE STAND. BUT THAT THIS PAST WEEK I WAS OUT OF TOWN, AWAY ON BUSINESS. AND AS ALWAYS, MY WIFE AND MISS BERRY STOOD UP TO ATTEND DIFFERENT EVENTS FOR US. ABERDEEN TASTE OF CHEER, EAGLE SCOUT, COURT OF HONOR FOR MATTHEW RINGSAKER SUSQUEHANNA HOSE COMPANY AWARDS BANQUET. THE SIAB GALA. THE CELEBRATION OF LIFE FOR LARSON SAYRE. I WAS THERE FOR THAT AND THEN MET WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT TODAY.
MY FIRST FIRST MEETING WITH THE SUPERINTENDENT, AND THEN WE FINALIZED OUR LAST MEETING WITH THE ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES ORDINANCE IN REFERENCE TO EDUCATION, AND I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION OVER THE LAST 9 OR 10 MONTHS. I GUESS IT'S BEEN.
AND WITH THAT, JEANNIE AND I WISH TO EXPRESS OUR DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO THE FORMER COUNTY EXECUTIVE, BARRY GLASSMAN, HIS WIFE, OR, EXCUSE ME, HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS. DUE TO THE RECENT PASSING OF HIS BROTHER, MARK, WE ASK THAT YOU KEEP THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.