UD/TDC Update: Coverage Of Tuesday's Town Hall

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(WDEL) Tom Lehman reports ~ Newark residents discuss proposal data center at meeting

Click here to watch video of this story.

More than 200 local residents turned out Tuesday night for a town hall meeting soliciting comments on a proposal from Data Centers LLC to construct a 900,000 square foot facility that includes a 248-megawatt generating facility. Many of those residents took turns speaking about the matter in the Newark High School auditorium, with the large majority of them expressing displeasure over the plan because of its controversial power supply.

........Among those who spoke during the meeting was Amy Roe, a Siera Club member who also lives less than a mile from where the $1 billion facility would be located.  Roe is worried about noise and environmental pollution created by the power generating facility, which would be powered with natural gas. "This is a project that would emit fine particulates. It would emit ammonia, a lot of things into the environment that haven't yet been talked about," 

........The university also announced on Tuesday that it had created a working group including several college deans to review the proposal.  The committee plans to "engage independent third-party engineering consultants, who will review the technical plans," according to a news release on the university's website. [Data Centers working group:  Campus committee to review proposed project for The Data Centers]

And here is the podcast link for Markell on WDEL ~ Read the story HERE 

Governor Jack Markell Discusses His Support of the Newark Data Center with Rick Jensen(09/23/2013)

Also, (News Journal) Melissa Nann Burke reports ~ University of Delaware project draws 250 to town hall meeting

Resident Anne Murray, who worked in the information-technology sector for a decade, cautioned the crowd about counting on those extra positions. “That data center is going to be a ghost town. Someone across the world can log in remotely and maintain those servers from far way,” Murray said. 

Murray also said it would be likely that TDC LLC would contract with a firm like Hewlett Packard to maintain the servers locally - the work would not be done by TDC employees. So what would TDC hire people on site to do, exactly? Find clients for cloud computing? 

(Newark Post) Karie Simmons reports ~ Discussion, protests continue over proposed power plant

Tuesday night at a town-hall meeting on the power plant at Newark High School, Morehead said that council received new legal advice on Tuesday that TDC does not have the authority to sell excess electricity to its tenants unless the city gives the company permission. Possible tenants of the data center include banks, websites such as Google and Facebook and universities like UD.
“Yesterday I would have said we have a 20 percent of stopping this,” Morehead said. “Today, based on the legal advice, I’m pretty sure we’ve got a 99 percent chance of getting their attention.” He said the information is so new that council has not been having the conversation long enough for him to know what the next steps are, adding that they are in “uncharted territory. This gives us leverage,” Morehead said. “It is so new we don’t know how to use that leverage.”
Neither City Solicitor Bruce Herron nor City Manager Carol Houck could be reached for comment.
Morehead made it clear to the crowd Tuesday night that those who oppose the project are not fighting an uphill battle, to which many residents erupted with applause.
“I think we’ve managed to even the playing field,” he said. “What I’m saying is, you’re back in the game.”

With a comment rescue ~

The university under the new administration continues to try to run rough shod over the city. Traffic is horrendous from student cars and university vehicles. Do they pay their fair share toward maintnenance and improvements. They forced lower electric rates by threatening to sue the city and as a result my rates went up 17%. UD's rates were the lowest in the county and now they are lower. Now they want to build a power plant and I guarantee you that UD will be a major customer of excess power, if not the only one. What happened to the City's charter regulation that all entities within the City must buy their electricity from the City. Electricity sales are a major source of revenue and capital funds. I wuold love to see the sweet heart deal they have ready to go. Of course UD is not subject to FOIA. How many of UD's highly paid administrators live in Newark? Not many.

And from nonewarkpowerplant.org ~ Rep. Kowalko responds to DEDO Secretary’s Levin’s attack on concerned residents

In a News Journal article Sept 25, 2013 entitled “Gov. Markell, Alan Levin defend efforts to create jobs in Delaware” by Johnathan Starkey, Alan Levin, the Secretary of the Delaware Economic Development Office, “opposition to the data center project, saying that”

“We have had to battle in some ways citizens who are waiting to fight these opportunities, these growth opportunities.”

In response, State Representative John Kowalko wrote the following:

From: Kowalko, John (LegHall) 

Subject: Quote in todays paper - News Journal

Mr. Loudell,

    Please note the following quote attributed to Secretary Levin:

Levin said there is evidence of economic growth throughout the state, pointing to the Korean poultry firm Allen Harim’s plans to invest $100 million to reopen a Millsboro plant; Kraft’s expansion in Dover and the planned data center at the former Chrysler site in Newark. He addressed opposition to the data center project, saying that “We have had to battle in some ways citizens who are waiting to fight these opportunities, these growth opportunities.
Mr. Levin's dismissive atitude toward the legitimate concerns of those residents surrounding the proposed power plant is painfully apparent in Mr. Levins words. The cavalier attitude and the snide and suspicious assumption that "citizens are waiting to fight these opportunities" implies a total lack of respect for the property rights and property values and quality of life that may be disaffected by this project. My biggest objection, however, is to the insensitivity and utter lack of tact expressed toward my constituents by Secretary Levin. His presumption that there is some sort of organized 'sconspiracy to thwart economic growth should either be accompanied by factual evidence or seen as what it is; "a sublime touch of paranoia". Regardless I believe Mr. Levin owes my constituents either an apology or rebuttal of his quote.
I have shared this email with Secretary Levin and as always I remain willing to discuss this on the air if you choose.
Respectfully,
John Kowalko

Meanwhile, (Newark Post) Josh Shannon reports ~ Six candidate emerge for mayor of Newark - likely late November election.

WE NEED NEW REPRESENTATION IN NEWARK CITY GOVERNMENT!

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