The City of Pekin will no longer consider having a data center built in the community.
Mayor Mary Burress made the announcement Monday in a statement she read just before the beginning of public comment at the city council meeting.
Her announcement elicited thunderous applause from the audience that filled the council meeting room at City Hall and spilled into the lobby.
The Pekin City Council is expected to vote on a legal end to its proposed agreement with data center developer Western Hospitality Partners [WHP] at its next meeting March 23.
"That should kill this project," said council member Rick Hilst.
A town hall meeting on the data center project scheduled for March 24 at Pekin Community High School has been canceled.
"There's no point in holding the town hall now," said City Manager John Dossey.
The data center, which would have been built on about one-third of the 1,000-acre Lutticken Farm property purchased by the city for $14 million last year, has faced vigorous opposition in Pekin and surrounding communities.
Burress said she gathered input from community, city council and city staff members, and had conversations with the proposed developer before making her "difficult decision."
"I truly believe there were aspects of this proposal that could have brought opportunity," she said. "But it has become clear that, at this time, it's not the right project for Pekin.
"When a project creates this level of uncertainty and division, it's important to step back and carefully consider whether moving forward is truly the right path.
"Instead [of the data center project], we'll continue focusing on opportunities that best align with the long-term interests of the community."
Later in the meeting, Burress said she was nervous delivering her statement because it was such a tough decision regarding the data center, but everything went "better than expected."
'At this time'
Hilst questioned Burress on why she used the words "at this time" regarding her data center decision twice in her statement.
There also was social media chatter during the meeting about Burress' choice of words.
"'At this time' is just a phrase. I wasn't saying this could happen one, two or five years down the road," Burress responded. "Some people are upset I used those words, but they shouldn't [be]."
Two more 'no' votes
It appears the data center project was dead in the water without Burress' statement because it did not have the support of the seven-member council.
Hilst and council member Peg Phillips announced Monday that they were against the project.
Fellow council members Dave Nutter and Jake Fletcher had previously announced their opposition.
With at least those four "no" votes, any council vote about the data center would have failed.
"I haven't supported this project since day one," Hilst said. "I didn't vote for the purchase of the Lutticken property or selling 321 acres to WHP."
Phillips said she'd like to see the Tazewell County Data Center Opposition Facebook group, now a not-for-profit organization, continue working to stop a data center from being built "next door."
Phillips also encouraged the group and residents to support a two-year moratorium on data centers proposed by Gov. JB Pritzker.
$4.5 million for data center property
WHP offered nearly a year ago to pay $4.5 million [$14,000 per acre] for its portion of the Litticken Farm property to build a data center.
There was talk of the city eventually taking in $20 million annually in property tax revenue from the data center and more than 100 full-time jobs being created.
Opponents questioned those numbers and expressed concerns about noise pollution, environmental problems, higher energy costs for residents and water supply issues that could be caused by the data center.
On Monday, those opponents cheered the city's decision to end the data center debate and a few offered to help the city find a better and revenue-producing use for the land.
"You have restored my faith in humanity," said Dave Milam.
"God answered our prayers," said Terry Johnson.
"A lot of us will sleep easier tonight," said Facebook opposition group founder Julianne McGlaughlin.
"There's a difference between hearing versus listening," said Mark Stevens, who thanked the mayor, council and city staff for listening to the community instead of giving it lip service.
Untrue accusations
In her statement, Burress also addressed what she called untrue accusations made about city staff and elected officials during the data center debate.
The accusations included payoffs and backroom deals.
"I want to be very clear: The individuals who serve this community ... care deeply about Pekin and work every day to act in the best interest of our residents," Burress said.
"Disagreement and debate are part of a healthy community, but it's important that we treat one another with fairness and respect."
