Nathan Prewett
PINSON, Ala. — There may be some upsides to having a data center inside of an industrial zone but that time is not now for Pinson.
After holding a first reading on July 16 the Pinson City Council approved a one year moratorium on data centers during their first meeting of August, pausing anything until more can be known about their potential benefits or harms.
Councilor Brad Walker gave an overview of what data centers do and may entail for the public.
“So, the data centers that we normally refer to are just that: colocation facilities where you don’t have to spend extra money on real estate, brick and mortar to house your own equipment,” he said. “So, it’s a centralized place. They handle the power and AC and all that stuff so you don’t have to.”
Walker mentioned that they are common and have been noted in recent media coverage, particularly in the western part of Jefferson County.
“These are the hyper data centers that are geared towards artificial intelligence processing,” he explained further. “And they require tons of power, tons of water to keep them cool and that gets people up in arms because it affects the community around you.”
He stated that noise and the increase in power and water utilization are some of the drawbacks of having them in a community like the ones in the west, which are sizable.
“Knowing what our power and water system is today it would really take us decades to build that out to support a data center of that magnitude,” he said. “So, we just want to get ahead of that game and make sure we understand all of the things around that and understand what it means to our community should we entertain such a facility in our space.”
Mayor Hoyt Sanders reiterated his point from the previous meeting that there may be benefits from having a data center in the “right” industrial setting. He stated that the moratorium gives the council time to define what a “hyper or mega” data center is.
Speaking in place of City Attorney Shane Black were attorneys Ben Goldman and Lauren Brasher. Goldman said that the resolution will allow the council to research the appropriate zoning if they do decide to have a data center in the future.
“So, this would be a 12-month moratorium that would allow you the time to make sure that you have your regulations zipped up and in place,” he told the council. “And the fact of the matter is the world is changing very quickly now around us towards these larger facilities and communities all over the country but in Alabama specifically are finding applications coming in for development and so this gives you time to make sure you’re set should that ever happen here.”
In another matter the council approved a new mural for the Rock School Center. Sanders noted that the old mural featuring pairs of wings has begun to fade with age and so proposed a new picture from the same artist, Dewon Moton.
The council reviewed tentative designs featuring landmarks and familiar buildings of the city and approved $5,400 for it to be implemented.
Towards the end of the meeting Palmerdale Fire District Chief Taylor Hancock delivered a report for the month of July. During that time there were 176 calls, 138 of which were emergency medical calls. A number of them were calls for assistance and calls for downed trees due to weather. There was one structure fire in Emerald Valley.
The website can be found at www.palmerdalefire.org.
Hancock announced that the website for Palmerdale Fire now has a donation button for those who are interested in financially supporting the district.
Center Point Fire Chief Brandon Dahlen then gave a report for the month, stating that there were 958 calls. Six were structure fires. 496 were emergency medical calls, 386 of which were emergency transports.
Pinson City Council meets on the first and third Thursdays of every month at City Hall on 4410 Main Street. Live-streamed meetings can be seen on the city’s Facebook page.
Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com.
