Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
To the editor: Similar centers of this size consume huge amounts of power and cooling water. Based on published industry data, even with the best available technology in water recycling, this facility would require around 720,000 gallons per day, not the 20,000 to 30,000 gallons per day that the developer claims.
Then there is power. At 600 MW, this facility alone will consume enough power for over 400,000 homes with the second facility projected to consume another 700,000 homes. Oregon only has 20,000 residents!
The mayor and others would like to paint a rosy picture of this project, but other communities faced with the same opportunity have rejected them as unsuitable for their community, citing quality of life, poor water pressure or quality, power outages and increased electric rates as reasons.
The city has committed over $17 million to acquire the land and hundreds of thousands of dollars in other improvements in support of this project. This figure represents over 20 percent of the entire operating budget of the city.
The mayor will claim that all of this is public knowledge and that all decisions were made in public view, yet none of this has been subject to a dedicated public hearing with proper notice given. In fact, they have stated that the developer offered this and yet, given that opportunity, they are moving forward with the purchase and rezoning without such a hearing taking place.
The citizens of Oregon deserve and should demand an opportunity to vote on a project that will impact our community for years into the future.
Jim Davis
Project Engineer, PE, MBA
Oregon, Ohio
