Clinton residents split over planned data center as mayor promises revenue

Clinton residents expressed mixed reactions Monday night to a newly announced data center planned for a long-unused facility, with city officials saying the project will generate revenue and create jobs while some residents raised concerns about limited information and energy demand.

Mayor Will Purdie told the meeting he expects to release more details “in the next few weeks,” and said the center is set to move into a facility on Industrial Road Drive, just north of Interstate 20 and west of downtown Clinton. The property was a Milwaukee Tool facility from 2021 to 2023 and had been a wiring plant that closed in 2009, Purdie said.

Clinton leaders have not publicly named the new owner. WLBT reported March 4 that Amazon would own the data center, citing records it obtained. Purdie said the facility will be “air cooled,” limiting its need for large amounts of water, and that it will connect to the Entergy grid, which he said should avoid some air and noise concerns seen at other sites.

Purdie provided revenue projections tied to a fee-in-lieu of taxes, or FILOT, agreement, saying the Clinton Public School District could receive $3 million in the first year and the city $2 million. He also said the project would create about 50 permanent jobs and 800 to 1,000 temporary construction positions, and that annual revenue gains would dip over the next decade before rising again in year 11.

Speakers at the meeting voiced a range of reactions. Shea Whitfield said he was “cautiously optimistic” and noted his family has lived in Hinds County for six generations. Jill Hiers warned the center’s energy needs could “tank” the local power grid if more transmission lines are not built and said the project would not bring the kind of community engagement other businesses might. Tia McArthur said the center could bring an “exponential” increase to local tax collections but urged transparency, telling the mayor and Board of Aldermen, “When you can and what you can, please disclose with the public.” Greg Dreaper asked what studies city officials had conducted before approving the FILOT agreement in January and requested those numbers so residents could make “educated decisions.”

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