Who Should Decide Where Ohio's Data Centers Go?
Vol. III, No. 162 - Perhaps it's time the State take a more active role in these facilities
We Are Feeding our Neighbors here at Civic Capacity
Throughout November, this publication is giving our readers an opportunity where our readers can support local food pantries. Every dollar received from our “Buy Me a Coffee” Page will be given to New Path Food Pantries.
We started November with a modest goal to raise $750. After the eighth day our campaign, our community has raised $2,045! Thanks to Nancy, Di, Ryan, Marla, Tom, Deb and Doug for your generous donations over the past couple of days! Our new goal for November is to raise $2,500. You can be a part of this effort by making a donation here:
Is Ohio Becoming America’s Data Center Heartland?
Ohio is changing. Across the state, more than one hundred data centers of different sizes are already operating or being planned. Sidney just approved a tax deal for a new data center. Piqua recently passed a controversial tax increment financing agreement for the same purpose. Dayton is looking at similar projects. The growth is happening fast, and every community wants a piece of it.
But not every community sees it the same way. Jerome Township in Union County has pumped the brakes by putting in a nine month moratorium on these facilities. They expressed serious concerns about adding more data centers to their area. Lordstown went even further, adopting an ordinance to ban data centers altogether. These communities are exercising what many believe is their fundamental right: local control over what gets built in their own backyards.
Local control matters. After serving in local government in the city and township levels, I understand that argument better than most. But there is a bigger picture here, and it requires a hard look at where these decisions should actually be made. The answer might not be at the local level. Instead, it might be time to let a little known state agency, the Ohio Power Siting Board, handle data center locations across the state.
That might sound strange at first. The Ohio Power Siting Board has always been about electrical power plants and transmission lines. It has worked well for decades, making sure that big infrastructure projects meant to serve whole regions are placed where they make the most sense. The board looks beyond individual community interests. It considers the bigger regional picture. It has developed real expertise in balancing different needs and concerns.
Data centers are not exactly power plants, but they are getting closer to being treated like a traditional public utility. These facilities are not just helping out one town. The digital traffic flowing through them comes from all over the world. These centers support internet activities that serve education, business, and everyday life in communities everywhere. They are becoming more like public utilities with every passing year, even if we do not officially call them that.
Consider what data centers actually need. They require massive amounts of electricity. They need clean water for cooling systems. They demand reliable infrastructure that most small communities struggle to provide on their own, and even if a community can, the impacts on other neighboring communties may not be well known. When a data center is built in one place, it affects the power grid and water systems across a much wider area. The impact spreads far beyond the limits of any particular city or township or even county.
There is another reason to think regionally about data centers. The environmental concerns are real and they are not small. Long-term questions about water usage, energy consumption, and other impacts can affect entire regions, not just one community. These are questions that deserve expertise and careful analysis, not rushed decisions driven by economic development pressure.
Here is the real problem with leaving this to individual communities. When economic development officials see a potential data center project, they see jobs and tax revenue. That creates pressure to move fast and make deals, sometimes very generous deals. Communities might offer tax incentives or other benefits that seem great at first but hurt the area in the long run. Local officials have strong motivations to say yes. The Ohio Power Siting Board, on the other hand, would look at these projects with a cooler head and a broader perspective.
This does not mean shutting local communities out of the process. They should still have a voice. Their concerns about traffic, infrastructure, and community character still matter. But the final decision needs to belong to people who are thinking about the whole state, not just the next budget cycle.
Ohio’s data centers will keep growing. More facilities will be proposed. Communities are going to face this question again and again. It is time to bring real expertise and regional thinking into the conversation. The Ohio Power Siting Board is already here. It already has the tools and the experience. It should have the power to decide where these modern utilities actually belong.
Participate in our November Community Survey!
Back when this project was kicked off over two years ago, this newsletter was imagined as a helpful tool to not only help have our residents understand their community, but also to receive feedback and get ideas on how residents perceived where our hometowns was headed.
In order to achieve that goal, the decision was made to release a small survey that would ask residents their thoughts and feelings every two months. Every month seemed excessive, yet, once a quarter didn’t seem quite frequent enough. The idea was to help create a picture of the sentiment in the community and measure that sentiment over time.
So, throughout November, you can participate in our survey to give your thoughts and feelings on the direction of your hometown!
You can access the survey here:
Thanks for your time and your participation! It is greatly appreciated!
A New Handbook to grow Civic Capacity!
Recently, we created a new digital handbook, “The Citizen’s Guide to Public Records”. This handbook is designed to help residents have a better understanding of public meetings and meeting records. It’s filled with templates, ideas and other information that will open a new world of public affairs.
Also, if you have ideas for future handbooks, please let us know at pinnaclestrategiesltd@gmail.com.
Want to Learn More About Troy’s Businesses?
Our publication has recently released our September 2025 Economic Abstract, the most comprehensive and up-to-date report on the businesses and industries in the City of Troy. For those that want to understand our community’s business and industries, this is a must-have report.
Thank you to our New Media Partners!
Recently, many of our stories has been showing up on the local news website, www.mymiamicounty.com. We are grateful for the good folks for sharing our work with their audience and we would encourage our readers to check them out at their website!
Our publication would also like to recognize the good work being done at www.piquanewsnow.com. Piqua News Now is a new web-based news and information site for the Miami County area, with a specific focus on Piqua!
In addition, the good folks at Piqua News Now have started a new, 24-hour streaming YouTube channel. This channel is awesome with continuous weather updates and more importanly, it provides a 24-hour audio feed from county wide dispatch. Check it out here!
Also, thanks for reading today’s Civic Capacity Newsletter! Please feel free to share this information with your friends and neighbors.
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