KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. She's been covering data centers in the Kansas City metro for more than a year, as a part of the Data, Dollars and Demand series. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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Independence neighbors packed the city council meeting on Monday night, to express their opinions in favor and in opposition to a $156 billion, 400 acre data center.
The data center for AI would be built off of Little Blue Parkway and Missouri Highway 78. The Dutch company behind the proposal, Nebius, could be getting tax breaks from the city as a part of the incentives for the project.
Dawn Hahnfeld is one of the dozens of people living next door to the data center site and is concerned with what her currently quiet neighborhood could look like.
"See how close it's going to be to us?" Hahnfeld asked as she looked from her lawn to the proposed site. "This is going to totally affect our quality of life."
Her neighbor, Howard Hoff, shared the same sentiments.
"We didn't move out here for [a data center]," Hoff said. "We moved out here to be in the country."
Hahnfeld and Hoff aren't alone. They were joined by dozens of residents who are a part of the 'Stop the AI Data Center' group.
The group brought their concerns of data center noise, pollution, energy and water usage to the council meeting, hoping to change the views of city leaders about the project.
"We the citizens are tired of broken promises and being ignored by our city officials," Monica Engel, a resident said.
Many others spoke up at Monday night's meeting in favor of the project, hoping Independence takes advantage of an opportunity for new construction jobs.
"I don't know who in the world turned down 150 billion dollars worth of work," Damon Miles, a resident, said. "I know Kansas will take it, they took the Chiefs stadium. We have to fight for this, we have to make this happen."
On the table is an estimated $6.6 billion tax incentive package for revenue bonds. Nebius will get a break on real and personal property tax, in addition to not paying sales tax on the construction equipment.
Payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) to the city and local school districts are a part of the tax incentive agreement.
"Independence School District is projected to receive approximately nearly half a billion dollars," Interim Superintendent Dr. Cynthia Grant said. "That level of projected revenue represents a significant and transformative financial benefit for our schools."
An attorney representing the company, Nebius, explained they are listening to community feedback, and have incorporated existing community concerns into current designs.
"There was a lot of skepticism, obviously, there are a lot of bad actors in the data center field," Mark Coulter said. "That's one of the things we're looking to address."
According to the City of Independence, the tax revenue bonds are not providing funds to construct the project. The actual financing of the project will be provided by private sector lenders working with the company.
"There wouldn't be anything abated if the project wouldn't be coming here," Coulter said.
Independence city staff say there is no financial risk to the city or taxpayers with the incentive package to Nebius.
Monday night was the public hearing for the data center tax incentive package. City council is set to vote on the tax incentives at their meeting on March 2.
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