HANFORD, Calif. – The California-based company Global Stack LLC is proposing to build what it calls "emergency-resilience systems" at county fairgrounds.
The company says the systems would help local emergency services — such as fire, police, and medical — stay better connected if communications fail.
Global Stack LLC wants to build these centers at more than 50 fairground sites in the state – a feat that would cost roughly $20 million per site, according to one presentation by the company.
The proposal, according to the company, includes using between two and five acres on fairground sites to build out the system – which would “process critical information locally.”
The fairground would retain full ownership of its property. Due to this, Global Stack describes it as a "fairground win.”
But a flood of questions and concerns have arisen among residents in Tulare and Kings counties amid revelations that the company has inquired about their local fairground sites for its plans.
The backlash is not isolated. Despite Global Stack LLC stating they do not intend to build traditional data centers, across the nation, frustration is growing over the increasing construction of data centers by tech firms.
The primary concern for communities has been the use of local resources like energy and water to power the centers.
In recent weeks, residents have shown up in the dozens to public meetings in Tulare and Kings counties, urging officials to push back on any plans to build data centers locally.
At a city council meeting in Hanford in June, a man who identified himself as the father of a 6 year old with autism, spoke out about concerns he has for her health.
"She can't speak for herself," he said. "I don't want my little girl to be breathing in those toxic airs."
Others had issues with the use of local resources, such as water.
The company describes its units as “compact, self-contained appliances” roughly the size of a shipping container. It says every unit uses “a closed-loop cooling system in which coolant recirculates continuously inside the enclosure.”
The company says the system would consume very little water and would connect to an existing utility for electricity.
Residents also showed up last week at public meetings such as the Tulare and Kings county fair boards to voice their questions and concerns.
Public officials in Hanford said they did not have a lot of information readily available about the proposals. They also told residents the city does not have oversight of the fairgrounds. Any action by the city would be limited.
"We as a city have not been consulted . . . on this potential or proposed data center," Mark Kairis, mayor of Hanford, said.
But some residents who spoke to city council members from the podium told city officials the city should be creative.
"You pay for lobbyists in the city . . . Put it to work for you," one Hanford resident said.
Other residents asked for a local ordinance to keep data centers away from city limits, and proposed the city of Hanford join other cities to form a coalition against data centers.
Francisco Ramirez, the former mayor of Hanford, says lobbyists are feasible in order to take any action.
“They can represent us [Hanford residents] at the same time they’re representing other cities,” he said.
But even if the city hires a lobbyist or not, Ramirez said the city council should find a solution based on the residents' concerns.
"I hope they do this within a month or two because then we can see if [the city] really trying to be transparent or just trying to give people a thing to basically go away," Ramirez said.
