Residents were invited to an open house at Perry Elementary Thursday evening where they could talk one-on-one with Microsoft employees.
PERRY TOWNSHIP, OH (WLIO) - Perry Township residents met some Microsoft employees to learn what their proposed data center could mean for the community.
Residents were invited to an open house at Perry Elementary Thursday evening where they could talk one-on-one with Microsoft employees about their concerns, like increased traffic, water, and energy usage, and what the completed structure would look like to neighbors.
The company and their informational booths explained that they have several practices in place to be good influences on communities where they set up facilities. For example, in Licking County, they fund scholarships to get students into tech fields and donate money to natural habitat restoration projects. Perry Township has not yet been selected as the location for the data center, but if it is, the project could create over 300 jobs annually between construction and normal operations.
The company and their informational booths explained that they have several practices in place to be good influences on communities where they set up facilities.
"There's some that you might think of right away. So, if I work on network and computer systems, those kinds of jobs would come to a data center. People who work in industrial or building maintenance to keep the buildings running optimally, because you can't have rooms full of computer equipment and not have a climate-controlled, secure place," explained Dr. David Haus, the Dean of Technology and Liberal Studies at Rhodes State College. Haus attended the open house to help field questions about what a data center is and why it is important to every day internet functions like storing emails.
Residents say the Microsoft employees were very thorough in answering their questions. Some are excited for the project, but others do see potential problems among the upsides.
"Knowing that it's Microsoft, a well-respected company, it's going to be a good thing. The fact that they're going to do a good job of locating it so that it's not intrusive to the neighbors. They're recycling. The system that they use for cooling is not going to use a ton, a ton of water; they'll recycle the water throughout the building," said Sandy Hofacker, who is originally from Perry and returned to the area around 10 years ago.
Residents say the Microsoft employees were very thorough in answering their questions. Some are excited for the project, but others do see potential problems among the upsides.
"We still have questions. We want to make sure that it's community friendly, which it sounds like it's going to be, but we have a lot of questions as far as what this is going to do to our tax level. We don't want our taxes elevated. And if Microsoft were to come in, how many other industries are going to come in around that?" said Kathy Dickson, a Perry resident of 35 years.
If you were unable to attend the open house but would like to contact Microsoft with questions and concerns, you can contact them at PerryDC@microsoft.com or leave a voicemail at (513) 339-2874.
