In a continuation of debate on a potential data center, the Wiscasset Select Board heard several public comments related to the possible development at their Tuesday, Oct. 7 meeting.
Wiscasset town officials told the county commissioners they were in early talks to turn the former Maine Yankee site on Old Ferry Road into a data center at a Sept. 16 commissioners meeting. At the time, Wiscasset Economic Development Director Aaron Chrostowsky said the project could strengthen Wiscasset’s tax base and provide jobs for construction and tech workers.
During the Oct. 7 meeting, Westport Island and Wiscasset residents expressed concerns about a data center’s potential long-term impacts to the environment and community.
“I would ask yourselves not only what is good for Wiscasset but … what’s good for Midcoast Maine,” Westport island resident Parkinson Pino said at the meeting.
Before opening the floor for public comment, Wiscasset Select Board Chair Sarah Whitfield said no formal proposal for a data center has been submitted. She said the town and the project assessor are asking questions of each other to ensure there is a complete understanding of the possible development.
If a completed application does come to the table, she said there will be ample opportunity for public involvement and input.
“We will absolutely do our due diligence,” Whitfield said. “Everything from environmental concerns to traffic to sound, light, water community, all of that will be addressed … if this moves forward, and we don’t even know if it will.”
Attendees raised a number of concerns such as the power demands, water capacity, and environmental effects brought on by a data center. Above all, people said they hope Wiscasset will consider the impacts of the data center both within and beyond town lines.
“There are questions here that could have huge consequences not just for Wiscasset but for Westport, Edgecomb, Georgetown, Boothbay, and Southport,” Westport Island resident Sam Godin said, calling on the board to keep the public informed if the process continues.
Comparing the data center to the Maine Yankee nuclear plant, Pino said the town should consider the potential aftermath of buying into corporate interest in the site.
“There are many consequences with this technology,” he said. “I would be very concerned about making sure you know as much as you can know about that (proposal).”
The next Wiscasset Select Board meeting is at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21 in the meeting room at the town municipal building. For more information, go to wiscasset.gov or call 882-8200.
