BUTTE -Several commissioners and economic leaders in Butte decided to get behind the wheel and take a road trip to Washington to tour a data center that is thinking about locating in Butte. Well, they’ve since returned, and I’m going to find out what they’ve learned.
“I definitely learned more going out there and being able to actually see, touch, and feel it, and I felt really good about what it would do for the community,” District 7 Commissioner Josh O’Neill said.
WATCH: Butte leaders tour a Washington data center ahead of a major decision
Eleven representatives from Butte toured the Sabey Data Center and visited with people in nearby Quincy, Washington, in late March. Sabey is considering building a data center on 600 acres south of Butte at the Montana Connection industrial park.
Some returning from the tour believe Butte would benefit from a facility like the one in Quincy.
“The benefit will be jobs, taxes, you know, with the jobs just growing our community,” O’Neill said.
Commissioner Russ O’Leary, who has expressed concerns about a data center in Butte in the past, said he received mainly positive feedback from the people of Quincy.
“The main thing people talked about was kind of traffic, more people in the community, more construction people in the community, but they didn’t necessarily see it as a super negative thing,” O’Leary said.
Some reported they were impressed with the data center, saying it wasn’t too loud or created too much light pollution.
“It’s helped with community development, such as a new fire station, a new high school, and renovation of the junior high school,” Butte Local Development Corp. Director Kelly Sullivan said.
Sabey has until August to decide if it will build near Butte. O’Leary wants the company to provide more details about the project.
“It’s really important for us to know what we can expect from a tax revenue standpoint, so we can do future budgeting,” he said.
