1
00:00:04,033 --> 00:00:07,100
All right, good evening, everybody. I'm mayor mark mcgrayer, and because this is a

2
00:00:08,967 --> 00:00:10,633
scheduled city council meeting, I need first

3
00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,767
to call this meeting to order and gavel it in. So this meeting of the lubbock

4
00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:24,700
city council is now called to order. To be clear for everyone, there is no action item on our agenda for tonight. This council is not taking a

5
00:00:25,700 --> 00:00:29,133
vote on anything tonight at all. Instead, we are handling this like a normal city council meeting where we would have a work session a

6
00:00:30,433 --> 00:00:33,433
work session is usually where our staff come and make presentations on some subject that we need some more

7
00:00:34,500 --> 00:00:37,567
information on, and then we will always have that followed by a time of citizen comments. If you've

8
00:00:40,667 --> 00:00:43,000
come to any of our city council meetings, you know

9
00:00:45,433 --> 00:00:48,467
that's how we operate them. So we've moved this meeting here from city hall so we could accommodate the crowd we

10
00:00:49,633 --> 00:00:52,867
anticipated, and it's a good crowd tonight. We're glad that we're able to fit everyone

11
00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:56,867
in here that wanted to be present tonight. We are also live casting this. As well. And we're going to

12
00:01:00,500 --> 00:01:02,533
discuss some very important issues regarding data centers. I want

13
00:01:04,633 --> 00:01:07,867
to keep my comments short here to begin this meeting because the purpose of the meeting tonight is

14
00:01:09,067 --> 00:01:12,267
to hear from you. We want to know what your biggest concerns

15
00:01:14,300 --> 00:01:17,600
are and to hear different perspectives and maybe even hear some things tonight that

16
00:01:18,700 --> 00:01:22,467
we as a council have not yet thought about as we've dealt with this issue over the many months that we've been dealing

17
00:01:23,467 --> 00:01:27,433
with it. First, let me thank you for taking the time to come, and I want

18
00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,300
to thank you for taking the time to fill out the survey that we had online for a while. We compiled the

19
00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,100
results from those, from that survey, and when we discuss them further in a moment, I think

20
00:01:38,167 --> 00:01:38,167
you'll see that what the survey

21
00:01:42,733 --> 00:01:46,433
showed were your concerns are also our concerns as a council. Water use, electricity demand, utility costs, noise,

22
00:01:47,933 --> 00:01:50,733
environmental impacts. Those are our concerns as well. Now, we've seen how many other

23
00:01:52,133 --> 00:01:54,900
cities around this country have handled this issue and have

24
00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:56,200
voted oftentimes

25
00:02:01,067 --> 00:02:04,867
on data centers before actually having the public have an opportunity to speak on it.

26
00:02:07,633 --> 00:02:10,367
and this has led to a lot of frustration and distrust on the part of citizens. So we

27
00:02:11,733 --> 00:02:14,533
want to avoid that. That's why we're having this meeting before we have ever taken any

28
00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:17,667
action on any data center at all. We're in a much better

29
00:02:20,533 --> 00:02:24,467
position now than many other cities because we've been able to watch and learn from them

30
00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:28,333
and see what they have done well and what they've done wrong and what concerns perhaps

31
00:02:31,300 --> 00:02:34,467
they have failed to address along the way. So let me be clear. First of all, this

32
00:02:35,467 --> 00:02:36,667
city council has not approved any data centers at all.

33
00:02:40,033 --> 00:02:43,933
in fact, our planning and zoning commission has already voted one data center proposal down,

34
00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:47,900
and the proponent withdrew it before it ever came to the council for a vote. So

35
00:02:49,833 --> 00:02:52,900
no large-scale data centers have been voted on by this council. We're not

36
00:02:54,067 --> 00:02:56,900
currently, we don't currently have a proposal in front of us to vote on. We've not entered

37
00:02:58,300 --> 00:03:00,967
into any contracts with any developers or data center groups, and none of us have

38
00:03:02,567 --> 00:03:05,633
signed any nondisclosure agreements with anybody. What we have done, though, is

39
00:03:07,067 --> 00:03:10,900
instruct our city staff months ago to begin studying the impact that large-scale data centers will have on our water

40
00:03:14,133 --> 00:03:18,067
and our utilities and on nearby residents from noise, light, and emissions. Importantly, all these impacts would exist

41
00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,200
whether or not the city council ever actually approved a data center or not to be located inside the city. The only

42
00:03:23,333 --> 00:03:23,333
difference is that if a data

43
00:03:42,433 --> 00:03:44,633
center exists outside the city limits in the county, it's not subject

44
00:03:46,900 --> 00:03:49,500
to very many restrictions at all on what they can do, where the city has much more

45
00:03:50,967 --> 00:03:53,500
control through its zoning powers and our provision for utilities. So we've already

46
00:03:56,700 --> 00:03:59,867
asked our staff to look at ways available to us as a city to address

47
00:04:01,533 --> 00:04:05,500
those concerns that large-scale data centers raise. And we needed to do this because the

48
00:04:06,900 --> 00:04:09,367
reality is that large-scale data centers are already built, being built near us in

49
00:04:11,333 --> 00:04:13,667
abilene, in abernathy, in childress, and in dickens

50
00:04:15,500 --> 00:04:19,400
county. Before long, they'll come knocking on our front door wanting zoning

51
00:04:20,533 --> 00:04:21,700
approval so they can build inside our city limits.

52
00:04:24,833 --> 00:04:27,800
lubbock's in a great spot right now to be able to address your concerns,

53
00:04:28,900 --> 00:04:32,300
which are again our concerns too, before we consider any proposals for development

54
00:04:33,433 --> 00:04:37,067
within our city. Tonight's public meeting is not intended to convince anybody that a

55
00:04:38,433 --> 00:04:42,400
large-scale data center is either a net positive or a net negative for the city.

56
00:04:46,333 --> 00:04:49,200
instead, it's, our goal here tonight is aimed at helping you understand

57
00:04:50,700 --> 00:04:54,200
better how we, as your elected officials, are trying our best to address the issues and concerns that data centers

58
00:04:55,367 --> 00:04:56,800
raise for our city. We want to make sure we're not missing

59
00:05:01,900 --> 00:05:05,300
anything in our discussions, and we want to make sure we're not getting tunnel vision on this. We're not going

60
00:05:08,667 --> 00:05:12,300
to have all the answers for you tonight, but I think we will be able to provide some answers to the

61
00:05:13,733 --> 00:05:17,033
questions that have been raised. But the big part of tonight and the main goal

62
00:05:18,533 --> 00:05:21,200
of tonight is to listen to you and hear from you, which means you will be

63
00:05:22,767 --> 00:05:26,100
speaking to us after the presentation, but we will not be answering questions

64
00:05:27,267 --> 00:05:30,867
as a council. We will be noting your questions. Our staff here are writing them down, and we will follow up if there's

65
00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,200
something that we have not covered tonight and needs

66
00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,600
to be covered in additional meetings. So the goal tonight is to hear from as many of you as

67
00:05:41,867 --> 00:05:44,400
possible. I think I understand that 140 people have signed up to speak tonight. This meeting

68
00:05:48,700 --> 00:05:51,433
we intend to last for 3 hours. I don't know that we will get through all 140 people. So if

69
00:05:52,933 --> 00:05:56,933
we don't get to you tonight, hopefully you will write your question down or submit it.

70
00:05:58,367 --> 00:06:01,600
but I also would ask you, as we call you forward here

71
00:06:03,233 --> 00:06:05,967
in a little bit, that if someone has already asked your question, then you step aside

72
00:06:09,700 --> 00:06:13,033
and let somebody else come forward to see if they would raise their question. And that will allow more people to get

73
00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,100
their questions asked or their concerns presented tonight than if everybody presents the same

74
00:06:18,333 --> 00:06:22,033
issue over and over again. But you can ask questions, you can present information. That's all fine. Hopefully some

75
00:06:27,500 --> 00:06:30,633
of those questions will be addressed by our staff as we go through this so you see what we've

76
00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:35,967
already done. But if not, there will be opportunities to answer those questions at a later time.

77
00:06:37,300 --> 00:06:40,733
but we're not going to be responding to you tonight because that will eat into the time that people have

78
00:06:41,767 --> 00:06:44,500
to come forward and ask their questions. All right. This is how the meeting will go

79
00:06:46,633 --> 00:06:48,967
tonight. Our city manager, jared atkins, and our assistant city manager, eric rahino, are

80
00:06:52,167 --> 00:06:55,933
each going to give us a short presentation presenting the research that they have done up to this point, as well as

81
00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,767
discussing the surveys that many of you filled out. Then we're going to turn

82
00:07:02,267 --> 00:07:05,533
on the mic up front to hear from those of you who signed up to make comments, and we'll be

83
00:07:06,733 --> 00:07:09,000
up here taking notes along with our city secretary and other people here tonight. We're

84
00:07:12,233 --> 00:07:15,833
fortunate tonight to have abner, abner uresti as our moderator for the comments portion

85
00:07:17,033 --> 00:07:20,867
of our meeting. And he's not here on behalf of kcbd, but he will call on speakers. He will call you up to the mic

86
00:07:22,867 --> 00:07:26,833
in groups of 3 so that there's always someone on deck and someone then behind them waiting to come to

87
00:07:27,900 --> 00:07:30,800
the mic so we can do this as expeditiously as possible without wasting time. He's

88
00:07:36,733 --> 00:07:40,533
going to also, after calling up speakers, he will help us keep track of time and facilitate any

89
00:07:41,533 --> 00:07:44,667
discussions we might have to have. We scheduled 3 hours tonight to hear from you,

90
00:07:45,700 --> 00:07:48,867
and we're going to have a short break in the middle of it. And my request is that you remain

91
00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,733
on topic with your questions, the topic being large-scale

92
00:07:54,667 --> 00:07:58,667
data centers, and everybody respects the clock so we can hear from as many of you as possible tonight.

93
00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:04,533
abner will be watching the clock, and we've got 2 minutes. Some people have said, well,

94
00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:09,700
you normally have 3 minutes for people to speak. It's 2 minutes tonight so we can get

95
00:08:12,100 --> 00:08:15,367
as many people up to the mic as possible. So that's why we have limited that

96
00:08:17,267 --> 00:08:17,267
time. I will tell you that we,

97
00:08:24,500 --> 00:08:28,133
I expect this group of people to be respectful of the speakers. Citizens

98
00:08:29,800 --> 00:08:33,433
comment time always in our council is for the people at the mic

99
00:08:34,767 --> 00:08:37,833
to speak. It's not for just general comments from the crowd. So please be respectful of the person at the

100
00:08:38,800 --> 00:08:42,267
mic because any interruptions will eat into their time and it will also reduce the amount of time available for people

101
00:08:43,033 --> 00:08:46,467
to come and talk to us. So I hope that we don't have to deal with interruptions, but if interruptions occur,

102
00:08:48,300 --> 00:08:52,133
we'll give one warning and that's all, because the purpose tonight is for the people who signed up to come and address us. All

103
00:08:53,367 --> 00:08:57,367
right. I hope everybody understands that and will be respectful. And I expect this crowd, lubbock is a respectful

104
00:08:58,900 --> 00:09:02,033
place. So I'm hoping that everything goes well tonight. So thank you all very much.

105
00:09:03,267 --> 00:09:06,833
right now, I'm going to turn it over to our city manager, mr. Jared atkinson. Thank you.

106
00:09:08,900 --> 00:09:12,767
thank you, mayor, city council. And mayor, let me

107
00:09:13,933 --> 00:09:17,633
start off with an apology. I gave you the wrong number. We're a little over 60 signed up right now, so as that

108
00:09:19,267 --> 00:09:22,433
changes, we'll let the council know. But thank you for that,

109
00:09:24,067 --> 00:09:26,800
council. Thank you for being here. And okay, how's that? Whoa, how about halfway

110
00:09:40,967 --> 00:09:44,167
in between all those two? Okay, mayor, council, thank you

111
00:09:45,333 --> 00:09:48,533
for being here tonight, and certainly to all of those in the audience. Myself and

112
00:09:49,667 --> 00:09:52,400
mr. Eric regino, we're going to go through a couple of quick presentations here. I'm going

113
00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:57,100
to start by seeing if I'm smart enough to use the device. And apparently I am not. Lacey, how

114
00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:01,000
about this? We practiced twice.

115
00:10:14,367 --> 00:10:16,733
for my next trick, I'll ask miss lacey to hit the button for me. I promise I am not

116
00:10:24,867 --> 00:10:25,800
trying out for american idol tonight. There we go. Okay,

117
00:10:30,300 --> 00:10:31,533
matt, did you do that or did lacey? Okay, council, I'm not

118
00:10:35,300 --> 00:10:37,300
going to read my way through all of these, but I

119
00:10:39,967 --> 00:10:40,900
think it's important we mention large-scale data center. So

120
00:10:44,700 --> 00:10:48,233
what we have learned as we've worked on this, the staff and myself, and we've been at this for most of a year,

121
00:10:49,433 --> 00:10:53,333
we've done numerous site visits, other cities. We've done everything we can do. And we have learned there's not a

122
00:10:55,067 --> 00:10:57,833
common definition. So the first definition up there actually comes from ibm, and it just

123
00:10:59,367 --> 00:11:00,800
says, what is a data center? The next one,

124
00:11:03,433 --> 00:11:06,067
we hear hyperscale. And for a while, I thought hyperscale was somewhat

125
00:11:07,767 --> 00:11:10,700
of a unit of measurement, and it is not. It refers to the ability of one

126
00:11:12,133 --> 00:11:15,833
of these systems to scale and to grow and to meet demands. And that's not our definition.

127
00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,533
it comes from industry. So without there being a definition,

128
00:11:21,967 --> 00:11:25,600
we offer one tonight. And this is similar to what we've been working on when we talk

129
00:11:26,900 --> 00:11:29,733
about development standards. For today, we'll talk about it as a large-scale data center

130
00:11:30,933 --> 00:11:32,300
uses 100 megawatts or more of electricity per day and/or,

131
00:11:37,700 --> 00:11:40,500
either one will get you there, 100,000 gallons of water per day and primarily supplies

132
00:11:43,867 --> 00:11:45,167
information or does processing for offsite users. We're not

133
00:11:48,667 --> 00:11:51,200
talking about those data centers that are in a school or a hospital or a business.

134
00:11:53,967 --> 00:11:57,467
large-scale data centers. With that, let's go straight to this thing that still doesn't

135
00:11:58,933 --> 00:12:00,833
work and click to the next one,

136
00:12:05,300 --> 00:12:08,867
which will be the results of the survey if they'll come up. You really don't want me

137
00:12:20,933 --> 00:12:24,467
to sing. This is what a mayor's nightmares are made of. There

138
00:12:26,333 --> 00:12:28,033
we go. Thank you. Okay. We had nearly 1,550 people take the

139
00:12:35,467 --> 00:12:38,767
survey. So. To those that did that, thank you for doing so. 90% of those respondents indicated they

140
00:12:39,933 --> 00:12:43,833
lived in the city of lubbock. 10% did not. The chart on the screen shows you the 10 items that we put on the survey

141
00:12:45,500 --> 00:12:48,367
and asked those respondents to rank. As the mayor said,

142
00:12:51,100 --> 00:12:54,800
water number 1, electric items number 2, environment number 03, noise, light number 4,

143
00:12:56,933 --> 00:12:58,967
transparency of the government, and scaling

144
00:13:01,867 --> 00:13:04,533
on down. So we're going to hit a few of those points here, and eric

145
00:13:06,167 --> 00:13:09,333
will hit more as we go. Click. Click. If you could see

146
00:13:26,833 --> 00:13:28,000
the next slide. It would be about water. Lacey, can you

147
00:13:53,700 --> 00:13:54,633
just advance it on the computer? Need

148
00:13:58,500 --> 00:13:58,500
to go back one more. Try the

149
00:14:42,867 --> 00:14:44,800
clicker now. I switched to this one. Try this one.

150
00:14:51,167 --> 00:14:54,733
okay, jumping back on topic. What we've got in front of us right here,

151
00:14:56,167 --> 00:14:59,667
this is a description of what the daily capacity of the city of lubbock's water

152
00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:04,800
system looks like. We have 3 separate sources of water that supply the water system here

153
00:15:07,500 --> 00:15:10,600
in lubbock. As you see, none of those sources are from lubbock or lubbock county. We

154
00:15:14,100 --> 00:15:17,733
have our canadian river municipal water authority allocation of a little over 33

155
00:15:19,367 --> 00:15:23,000
million gallons a day. We have lake allen henry at 20 million

156
00:15:23,933 --> 00:15:27,100
a day and the bailey county well field at 18 million a day. Your point-in-time capacity

157
00:15:28,333 --> 00:15:32,200
of lubbock's water system today as we speak is 71.35 million gallons. In addition to the daily supply, you have

158
00:15:33,300 --> 00:15:33,300
about 565 million gallons

159
00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,733
of water that is held in 2 reservoirs. We call them terminal storage reservoirs. That is raw water that has

160
00:15:47,733 --> 00:15:50,600
already been delivered. It has been brought to lubbock and it is sitting at one of the 2

161
00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:55,133
treatment plants waiting to be used if needed. So point-in-time capacity, 71.35.

162
00:15:56,467 --> 00:15:59,033
here's what the usage looks like. And these are all 2025

163
00:16:01,267 --> 00:16:05,033
numbers. So last year, last year, the average day, the average day was 36.5

164
00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,933
million gallons compared to your capacity, nearly 35 million remaining

165
00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,467
on the peak day. So the day we hit the most usage ever in 2025, it was really relatively

166
00:16:21,133 --> 00:16:23,400
low, about 50.2 million gallons on that day. That left 21.6 6

167
00:16:30,300 --> 00:16:34,133
remaining. I think total usage is relevant and important because it highlights a lot of

168
00:16:35,733 --> 00:16:38,500
work that this council and this community have done. In '23, your total system use was right

169
00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,533
at 13.0 billion, with a b, gallons. 13.1 in 2024 and 13.3

170
00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,200
in 2025. Compare that to 2011. In 2011, your system had to produce 15.3 billion gallons. The difference

171
00:17:03,467 --> 00:17:06,433
in those numbers is largely, are largely the conservation measures that this community

172
00:17:07,667 --> 00:17:11,400
has adopted and put into place. We have dropped what we call gallons per capita

173
00:17:12,467 --> 00:17:15,400
per day, which is just a measure

174
00:17:16,533 --> 00:17:19,367
of what we use per person. We have dropped gallons per capita per day by nearly 50 gallons

175
00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,933
per person per day. To put that

176
00:17:25,733 --> 00:17:29,267
into another example, there are 40,000 more people in lubbock today than there

177
00:17:30,500 --> 00:17:33,867
were in 2011, and you're using 2 billion fewer gallons

178
00:17:35,967 --> 00:17:35,967
of water. So the question,

179
00:17:40,500 --> 00:17:43,267
what comes next? I mean, obviously the community will continue to grow. That is

180
00:17:44,533 --> 00:17:48,500
everyone's goal. And you will need supplies as the community grows. Lubbock does have a 100-year water plan. I like

181
00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,533
to say it is fully funded. Funded means you have those sources available to you. They

182
00:17:55,133 --> 00:17:58,167
have not been developed. You don't develop until you need them and you bring them

183
00:17:59,900 --> 00:18:02,500
to town. That's what those 3 on the screen are. The first is lake 7. That is a 12 million

184
00:18:04,333 --> 00:18:07,767
gallon a day, what we call firm yield, which means it'll, it'll run

185
00:18:09,033 --> 00:18:12,600
that number all the time. And somebody is going to ask me, well, what about weather? And

186
00:18:13,567 --> 00:18:16,733
that's a great question for lakes. That is the most weather agnostic lake that you

187
00:18:19,700 --> 00:18:23,467
will see because it's a reuse lake. It has a guaranteed inflow which is greater than

188
00:18:25,167 --> 00:18:27,767
what you will take out. On a short-term basis, that lake would be able

189
00:18:29,267 --> 00:18:32,800
to produce 25 million gallons a day. You wouldn't do that for long,

190
00:18:33,933 --> 00:18:37,800
but if you have an issue with one of your others, that's what you would do. When that lake is built and done and

191
00:18:39,100 --> 00:18:42,500
it's online and us and our 10 partners in crmwa move forward in time, move forward

192
00:18:43,667 --> 00:18:46,767
in demand. The next project is crenshaw 2, very large project that originates in roberts

193
00:18:47,967 --> 00:18:50,633
county and makes its way down to all 11 member cities. 32 million gallons additional

194
00:18:54,967 --> 00:18:58,800
supply. The third is actually a lake allen henry project. It's what we call phase 2. A lot

195
00:19:00,833 --> 00:19:02,933
of the infrastructure for lake allen henry is meant

196
00:19:05,700 --> 00:19:09,533
to produce 30 if needed. We can produce it at 20 today. So with relatively simple improvements,

197
00:19:11,767 --> 00:19:13,600
simple in the world of water, you have another 10 million

198
00:19:16,333 --> 00:19:19,367
there. That is the farthest out project unless something changes and you need it sooner.

199
00:19:20,700 --> 00:19:24,133
that's the quickest one to bring online if it becomes necessary to do that.

200
00:19:29,233 --> 00:19:32,033
collectively, that's 50 years of your water future here in lubbock. So where's the water

201
00:19:34,933 --> 00:19:37,833
coming from? Today, a little over 61% of that 71.3 million

202
00:19:39,067 --> 00:19:42,033
gallons is groundwater, 2 different sources, roberts county and bailey county.

203
00:19:43,767 --> 00:19:46,533
about 39% is surface water. Largest surface water supply is lake allen henry, then lake

204
00:19:48,100 --> 00:19:50,733
meredith. After lake 7 comes online, those percentages almost reverse. So when lake 7

205
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,167
is up and running, your surface water portion will be 58% rather than 39%, and your groundwater will fall

206
00:20:10,267 --> 00:20:10,267
to 42% from 61%. Relatively

207
00:20:14,667 --> 00:20:17,500
unique in west texas that you're making moves more towards the renewable sources

208
00:20:18,733 --> 00:20:21,967
than what we've done historically with the groundwater. So

209
00:20:24,067 --> 00:20:27,000
questions on water, mayor and council, before I move into the next? Trying

210
00:20:28,467 --> 00:20:32,467
to speed up and get us back. Any questions? So by groundwater,

211
00:20:33,367 --> 00:20:35,633
you're referring to water we pump up out of the ogallala aquifer, right?

212
00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,633
yes, sir. Okay. All right. Okay. Let's kind of move

213
00:20:42,900 --> 00:20:45,467
into what we're going to call perspectives for the next couple

214
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:51,200
of slides. So any community needs growth, and it needs growth

215
00:20:52,267 --> 00:20:55,767
in all sectors. And that is the only way to have a healthy, thriving, and community. One part of your community does not

216
00:21:00,367 --> 00:21:03,600
grow if the others do not. So I'm talking residential, commercial, industrial, health,

217
00:21:04,967 --> 00:21:08,000
all of it. You need to see everything rise together. Thus, your city's goal,

218
00:21:11,500 --> 00:21:15,433
we want economic benefit for the entire community as a result of growth. Simple and

219
00:21:19,133 --> 00:21:22,667
obvious ways that occurs are through jobs, revenue for city services that comes

220
00:21:23,767 --> 00:21:26,900
from new growth rather than from those that are already here. And then it's economic

221
00:21:28,133 --> 00:21:31,533
opportunity for our residents and for our businesses and for all of the legs

222
00:21:33,100 --> 00:21:35,633
of the stool. A note to keep in mind, and you'll see this in a moment: $100 million

223
00:21:38,100 --> 00:21:39,500
of taxable value generates about $472,000 to provide

224
00:21:42,267 --> 00:21:42,267
for city services. Does not

225
00:21:47,433 --> 00:21:50,267
matter what sector that $100 million comes from. Just that

226
00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:56,400
amount of growth produces that amount of revenue for you to provide service

227
00:21:58,233 --> 00:22:01,367
to the community. So to try to illustrate water growth and a few other items,

228
00:22:04,267 --> 00:22:07,367
I've got a sequence of these charts here. So we've taken 3 pretty well-known

229
00:22:08,833 --> 00:22:10,767
neighborhoods in lubbock. Each of those are roughly 640 acres

230
00:22:14,567 --> 00:22:17,433
or 1 square mile. The lubbock business park is also roughly 1 square mile. I have doubled

231
00:22:19,267 --> 00:22:22,633
all of their numbers because it is not fully built out. We have created an imaginary data

232
00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:26,967
center, and it means what it says, I made it up. And then a 640-acre cotton farm. So let me

233
00:22:32,667 --> 00:22:34,633
go through my notes real quick, and then we'll look at the

234
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:37,900
numbers. A 640-acre cotton farm under pivot is not 640 wet or

235
00:22:42,033 --> 00:22:44,533
640 irrigated acres. It's more like 520. We've used again industry standard sources

236
00:22:46,667 --> 00:22:50,033
to figure out the applied irrigation.

237
00:22:51,100 --> 00:22:54,600
we've converted it back to an annual number. You don't irrigate year-round, you irrigate

238
00:22:55,900 --> 00:22:59,433
during the growing season. But we've brought it back to a common denominator, and again we've doubled the

239
00:23:01,533 --> 00:23:05,167
business part. But here's what you see: 2025 numbers for the first 4, the

240
00:23:06,433 --> 00:23:08,733
imaginary data center, and then industry numbers for that cotton farm. If you

241
00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:12,433
took a neighborhood such as bell farms, compared

242
00:23:16,167 --> 00:23:19,600
to your top 20 individual users, that one neighborhood would fall between the number 4 and

243
00:23:22,067 --> 00:23:25,033
the number 5 user today. Regal park would fall between the 3rd and the 4th largest.

244
00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,400
tech terrace, 6 to 7. The business park doesn't come

245
00:23:31,600 --> 00:23:34,667
anywhere close. If the data center was 110,000, note that that is bigger than the

246
00:23:36,300 --> 00:23:38,267
definition, trying to make this obvious, it'd be

247
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:44,367
between number 13 and number 14. The cotton farm with 520 irrigated acres would be up

248
00:23:45,500 --> 00:23:47,533
between the 4th and the 5th in terms of water use. So the

249
00:23:51,067 --> 00:23:54,467
illustration, while 100,000 or 110,000, that's a big number, in the scale of a 13 billion

250
00:23:57,100 --> 00:24:00,733
gallon water system, it's really not. So you can see

251
00:24:03,033 --> 00:24:05,833
those comparatives. Let's talk about infrastructure. So neighborhoods, residential,

252
00:24:07,700 --> 00:24:09,733
commercial, everything requires public infrastructure. The

253
00:24:12,867 --> 00:24:16,633
takeaway from this, those 3 neighborhoods, as they finish up full development, they're all going

254
00:24:17,933 --> 00:24:19,800
to have somewhere between 78 and 80 miles

255
00:24:22,167 --> 00:24:26,067
of city infrastructure inside of them. Why? Because we build streets and alleys and those things you need

256
00:24:27,133 --> 00:24:30,433
to be successful. The business park, large lots, larger users, not as many of them, about 33

257
00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:37,033
miles. If we stay on a 640-acre imaginary data center, it won't have public infrastructure

258
00:24:38,900 --> 00:24:38,900
on the inside of it. Another

259
00:24:44,233 --> 00:24:46,733
way to look at that. How about public services? So calls

260
00:24:49,833 --> 00:24:53,833
for service are what we used for this. So these are our dispatchable service. You call

261
00:24:54,933 --> 00:24:58,667
for the police. For fire, for animal control, for code enforcement. We pulled those and we put them

262
00:24:59,767 --> 00:25:02,867
on here. So again, this represents calendar year 2025. You can see the peak

263
00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:07,733
of just under 2,500 dispatchable calls for service down to a low of 300. I don't

264
00:25:11,467 --> 00:25:15,467
know what an imaginary data center would be, so we have question marks. All

265
00:25:19,467 --> 00:25:23,233
of these things wrap into that economic growth. What we want to see that is good

266
00:25:24,533 --> 00:25:28,033
for our community to be healthy and thriving and affordable. So we've only assigned a cost

267
00:25:29,267 --> 00:25:31,333
to those dispatched calls for service. And you see what

268
00:25:34,467 --> 00:25:37,333
we didn't put in there: street maintenance, alley maintenance, parks and

269
00:25:38,633 --> 00:25:42,133
recreation, libraries, senior centers. Only dispatchable services. You take those values, again,

270
00:25:45,867 --> 00:25:47,100
$100,472,000, produces the revenue, less the calls

271
00:25:50,333 --> 00:25:52,267
for service, and you see the net. There are

272
00:25:54,967 --> 00:25:58,667
numbers filled in for the imaginary data center. They're likely wrong, but what we've done is taken exactly

273
00:26:00,367 --> 00:26:03,433
what's going on in the business park and assigned it to that data center. They may

274
00:26:04,700 --> 00:26:07,567
well change, but you can see how those peaks and valleys trickle down

275
00:26:10,133 --> 00:26:14,133
through that chart. Moving on, nearly done with my part of this. Who in texas has the

276
00:26:18,167 --> 00:26:20,367
authority to do what if we talk about development standards?

277
00:26:23,667 --> 00:26:27,067
we're here tonight to talk about large-scale data centers. I think it's important to understand this would apply

278
00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,767
to any type of development. But in that vein, we talk

279
00:26:32,733 --> 00:26:35,400
about water use. That lies within the authority of cities

280
00:26:38,533 --> 00:26:41,600
in texas. It really does not with counties. And it really does not with the state. Yes,

281
00:26:43,833 --> 00:26:46,533
the state regulates public water systems, but the state does not provide water. Same

282
00:26:50,067 --> 00:26:53,667
thing is true with wastewater. Zoning authority, zoning authority resides

283
00:26:54,933 --> 00:26:58,100
with cities. It does not with counties. It does not with the state. That may change

284
00:27:00,100 --> 00:27:01,300
in the future, but that's where it stands today. The ability

285
00:27:04,133 --> 00:27:07,667
to regulate noise, you have a check mark for the city. That means yes. You see the kind of sort

286
00:27:08,933 --> 00:27:11,467
of lines on the county and on the state. That's because there is a state law that has a

287
00:27:15,067 --> 00:27:16,467
noise number, a decibel number in it, but it's a large, large

288
00:27:19,367 --> 00:27:23,133
number, and cities have the authority to have it lower. The others

289
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:27,367
don't unless state law changes. Light. Regulating light

290
00:27:28,900 --> 00:27:32,533
on a development. That's a city authority. It's not a county or a state. It goes the other

291
00:27:34,033 --> 00:27:38,000
direction, though, when we talk about air. So cities and counties do not

292
00:27:39,267 --> 00:27:42,033
regulate air, air quality, air permits, those things you hear. The

293
00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:47,267
state does, and that is primarily regulated through the texas commission

294
00:27:48,900 --> 00:27:51,933
on environmental quality, the tceq. Economic incentives, and this is again for anything

295
00:27:53,300 --> 00:27:56,467
that you might choose to do, any of the cities can do that.

296
00:27:57,833 --> 00:28:01,233
electric turns around the other direction,

297
00:28:02,667 --> 00:28:06,500
though. We put the maybe lines on the city, and that's only unique to the city of lubbock.

298
00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,467
but it's important to note that that's only there because lubbock owns the distribution

299
00:28:12,100 --> 00:28:15,600
utility. We don't control or mandate how much electricity could come

300
00:28:16,967 --> 00:28:18,933
in or could get used. We can just deliver it. Counties do

301
00:28:21,500 --> 00:28:24,433
not. State does. So when we talk about electric, electric

302
00:28:25,700 --> 00:28:29,333
use, the grid, the cost of the grid, that is entirely the state, and it's

303
00:28:30,833 --> 00:28:34,467
through the public utility commission, puc, and ercot, the electric reliability

304
00:28:36,267 --> 00:28:38,133
council of texas. That leads me right into my next slide,

305
00:28:40,700 --> 00:28:41,800
though. This is a june 10th, 2026 letter from governor

306
00:28:46,900 --> 00:28:48,300
abbott to the chairs of both the puc and to ercot.

307
00:28:51,633 --> 00:28:55,633
obviously, it's a small piece of that, but I've highlighted 2 that I think are very relevant

308
00:28:56,867 --> 00:29:00,633
for tonight's discussion. The governor has instructed both of the leads of those agencies to take action

309
00:29:02,567 --> 00:29:04,533
to require data centers to pay all of their electric

310
00:29:07,767 --> 00:29:10,700
infrastructure costs so that the residential ratepayer is not. Traditional ways that you

311
00:29:15,167 --> 00:29:18,100
expanded the grid in ercot, some portion of that cost did get passed

312
00:29:19,433 --> 00:29:22,400
down to all ratepayers. Not all of it, but a portion. The governor has said no. Data

313
00:29:24,067 --> 00:29:27,567
centers pay all their costs so that the residential ratepayer

314
00:29:29,067 --> 00:29:32,267
does not. The final one, he's asked the puc or instructed

315
00:29:34,367 --> 00:29:37,733
both the puc and ercot to look at those existing authorities they have today,

316
00:29:39,100 --> 00:29:41,833
not authority they may get in the next legislative session, but what they have today, to

317
00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:46,867
review their existing authority and to identify those actions that can be taken

318
00:29:48,233 --> 00:29:50,867
to safeguard texans, our property, and our resources. It's a pretty bold statement,

319
00:29:52,267 --> 00:29:55,800
and it is directed right at the 2 state agencies that do have the ability to do what,

320
00:29:57,167 --> 00:29:59,667
in this case, a city or a county really does not. So,

321
00:30:02,433 --> 00:30:02,433
council, this is my last one.

322
00:30:08,233 --> 00:30:11,300
I'll take any questions before I hand it over, and if not, we'll bring up mr. Regino. Any questions

323
00:30:13,267 --> 00:30:16,933
from the council? If you don't mind going back to the one that showed who regulates what. So a

324
00:30:20,767 --> 00:30:24,267
hypothetical data center located in the city would be subject to our water, wastewater,

325
00:30:25,500 --> 00:30:28,400
zoning, noise, light, and any incentives, be subject to our regulations on that. If

326
00:30:31,667 --> 00:30:35,500
it was located in the county, it would not be subject to any of those limitations in the county except

327
00:30:36,633 --> 00:30:40,467
for a very high noise level. Is that correct? Yes, sir. All

328
00:30:41,500 --> 00:30:45,400
right. And again, the state overrides county and city, so the state does mainly

329
00:30:46,900 --> 00:30:49,000
control air incentives and electricity. Okay. Yes. All right. All right. Thank you.

330
00:30:50,933 --> 00:30:54,867
any other questions? Mr. Atkinson, can you hear me?

331
00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:59,867
yes, sir. Something I've been very interested in is potential noise and light pollution

332
00:31:01,733 --> 00:31:05,000
from data centers. In a lot of ways, data centers are like warehouses

333
00:31:06,300 --> 00:31:08,833
from what I've seen, having driven across the state, state,

334
00:31:10,600 --> 00:31:12,400
looking at several. I know we've got existing policies

335
00:31:14,933 --> 00:31:18,300
whereby we regulate noise and light right now. Can you go into some detail

336
00:31:19,600 --> 00:31:22,933
on what we've done to date to regulate these issues at similar projects? Yes, and I

337
00:31:24,067 --> 00:31:28,067
think possibly you and I have seen some of those same currently operating data centers. So I'm going

338
00:31:29,333 --> 00:31:32,267
to steal a little bit of eric's thunder. I'm going to leave some of the detail

339
00:31:33,733 --> 00:31:36,667
for him, but today, we do regulate what type of use can go

340
00:31:37,933 --> 00:31:41,800
in what particular zone. It's land use regulation. We already have noise standards, light standards. All

341
00:31:43,333 --> 00:31:46,633
of that already exists today. The counterpoint to that, the way the zoning code stands

342
00:31:48,167 --> 00:31:48,167
today,

343
00:31:53,967 --> 00:31:56,633
a data center can be built in lubbock, and it can be built in a wider range of zones than

344
00:31:59,100 --> 00:32:02,700
what staff is going to recommend to you here in the next presentation.

345
00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:08,267
we're going to recommend things like on the zoning, limit the districts even

346
00:32:09,467 --> 00:32:12,700
tighter, expand setbacks, require certain screening and/or berms. I mean, things

347
00:32:13,900 --> 00:32:16,467
that will all directly affect that, as well as establishing a noise limit that is less than

348
00:32:21,333 --> 00:32:24,133
what we currently have today. And the light, the lighting, what we call the spillover

349
00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:29,100
today we do regulate that. We think there's a way to make that even more particular to these unique types

350
00:32:30,333 --> 00:32:33,000
of uses. Thank you. I have a quick question. First of all,

351
00:32:35,233 --> 00:32:38,533
thank you for that information. I do want to thank the public

352
00:32:39,667 --> 00:32:43,600
for being here, for making the time to come and let us hear your perspective.

353
00:32:45,133 --> 00:32:48,033
it's very important. Mr. Atkinson, underwater use, you selected different

354
00:32:49,500 --> 00:32:52,800
neighborhoods and whatnot. I noticed that, and maybe I'm overlooking this,

355
00:32:54,867 --> 00:32:56,967
but you didn't have any of the neighborhoods from

356
00:32:59,633 --> 00:33:03,133
district 1 or 2, like actual neighborhoods. Can, do you have any of those

357
00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,700
numbers that you can share with me on water usage? I do not tonight. I,

358
00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,067
I can run those on any. I didn't want that chart to have one per district.

359
00:33:14,900 --> 00:33:18,300
I would have had 6 neighborhoods. I mean, I know you put the lubbock business park. It is in

360
00:33:19,433 --> 00:33:23,033
district 1. But I want to see my neighborhoods, at least 1 or 2, just so I can

361
00:33:24,267 --> 00:33:26,933
compare water usage. And I know that the public's done a really

362
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,500
great job of conserving, but I want to know the use of neighborhoods in district 1 and 2. Yeah, I'd be glad to

363
00:33:34,700 --> 00:33:37,533
give me the ones that you want. Now that we've got the formats filled out,

364
00:33:39,333 --> 00:33:42,500
I can plug any neighborhood into them. Just takes a few days to pull the data. Okay.

365
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,200
and is it, am I correct that the greatest use of water in homes, residences, is

366
00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:55,300
for watering lawns? Is that correct? Generally speaking,

367
00:33:56,633 --> 00:33:59,633
yes, it is. Generally speaking, during the summer, more than half

368
00:34:00,867 --> 00:34:04,267
of all the water that comes into our potable water system ends up as outdoor use. It's

369
00:34:06,867 --> 00:34:10,033
going onto lawns, it's going onto gardens. Washing cars, those types

370
00:34:11,900 --> 00:34:14,800
of things. And that's usually what it becomes, our peak use time

371
00:34:18,067 --> 00:34:22,033
of the year, right? That'll generally hit in august. And in winter, it's usually a

372
00:34:23,167 --> 00:34:26,433
lower, in winter, we can have days down in the mid-20s. So

373
00:34:28,033 --> 00:34:31,567
significantly less than average. All right. Any other questions? All right. Thank

374
00:34:33,267 --> 00:34:36,967
you. Okay. Thank you. With that, we're going

375
00:34:37,867 --> 00:34:41,067
to turn it over to mr. Eric regino, he is going to present a set of draft

376
00:34:42,933 --> 00:34:45,400
standards. I think they speak to councilman bruegel's questions pretty directly

377
00:34:47,867 --> 00:34:50,500
on a few of those. Again, it's not what you have today. It's staff suggestions for what you

378
00:34:52,133 --> 00:34:55,533
could do if you really want to kind of tighten some of this up. All subject

379
00:34:56,833 --> 00:35:00,400
to change. None of it has been done. It's presented for discussion. So, eric. Thank you, mr. Atkinson.

380
00:35:05,733 --> 00:35:09,067
mayor, council, I'm going to take the next few minutes to go over some draft standards,

381
00:35:10,433 --> 00:35:13,400
proposed standards for large-scale data centers that my staff and I have been

382
00:35:14,533 --> 00:35:18,133
working on. We've looked at several cities, have been studying data centers, and initially we have

383
00:35:20,433 --> 00:35:24,267
a draft concept for you that we wanted to really get some feedback from, from you all as well as the

384
00:35:25,533 --> 00:35:28,600
general public. Just to touch on this, the concept we've come up

385
00:35:30,033 --> 00:35:33,567
with is that of establishing a specific use permit within your zoning code. Mr. Atkins touched

386
00:35:34,967 --> 00:35:37,267
on it. I'm going to expand on it just a little bit more. So currently, large-scale data

387
00:35:39,933 --> 00:35:43,600
centers are allowed by right in several districts. There's 4 districts. And what we're proposing in this is to

388
00:35:45,100 --> 00:35:47,933
establish a specific use permit, require public input, require public hearings,

389
00:35:49,267 --> 00:35:52,833
and limit it to just a couple of districts, which I'll touch on here in a little bit. All this is

390
00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:57,933
within your authority. And again, going over the water usage, wastewater,

391
00:35:59,333 --> 00:36:03,267
zoning and land use. And within that, you've got setback requirements that are existing that we're going

392
00:36:04,567 --> 00:36:07,300
to propose that if you choose to move forward, to add to those, as well as

393
00:36:08,633 --> 00:36:12,067
landscaping, screening, noise mitigation, and lighting. Those are things that you deal

394
00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:17,433
with within your current code. And again, we would propose a specific use permit which would require additional public

395
00:36:18,433 --> 00:36:21,900
hearings, public input, and limit it to a couple of your districts versus having

396
00:36:22,867 --> 00:36:26,367
the broader districts that you have now for large-scale data centers. So let's, let's touch

397
00:36:29,167 --> 00:36:32,333
on this. So what is a large-scale data center for purposes of today? Mr. Atkins, one quick question,

398
00:36:33,333 --> 00:36:36,300
eric. The specific use is different from a by-right. Yes, yes. Explain the difference between them. So a

399
00:36:37,467 --> 00:36:40,700
specific use is basically an additional criteria within a zoning district. So you have your base district

400
00:36:41,700 --> 00:36:45,400
requirements and a specific use, which is a whole other set of criteria that's on top

401
00:36:46,533 --> 00:36:49,833
of that. And again, that also triggers a public hearing in addition to a zoning,

402
00:36:51,300 --> 00:36:55,233
a traditional zoning case. So good question. Thank you. So what is a large-scale data

403
00:36:57,300 --> 00:36:57,300
center? Again, for purposes

404
00:37:01,567 --> 00:37:03,667
of today, as we've touched on, it's a large-scale data center that either is 100 megawatts

405
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,400
per day of power usage and/or 100,000 gallons of water, as well as primarily supplying information or processing to

406
00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:14,867
one or more offsite end users. They're primarily used to, again, house real and personal property consisting

407
00:37:16,300 --> 00:37:17,900
of buildings, network computer servers,

408
00:37:20,400 --> 00:37:21,400
data and transaction processing equipment, as well as the

409
00:37:28,100 --> 00:37:31,800
related infrastructure to support the operation. They're there for the purpose

410
00:37:33,100 --> 00:37:36,967
of storing, remote storage, providing data and transaction processing services, outsourcing information

411
00:37:38,233 --> 00:37:41,167
technology, as well as distributing large amounts of data. As far as city of

412
00:37:46,133 --> 00:37:49,767
lubbock's role, your authority, the city's role in that, I'm going to touch on what we can do and what we cannot

413
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:54,433
control. First of all, again, you have access and you have control over annexation,

414
00:37:55,633 --> 00:37:56,833
zoning, noise mitigation, lighting infrastructure

415
00:38:01,667 --> 00:38:05,167
requirements, utility service agreements, as well as any other enforceable contracts that the council chooses

416
00:38:06,333 --> 00:38:09,100
to enter into. That's within your authority as it sits today. The city does not

417
00:38:10,400 --> 00:38:13,867
control ercot, state electric policy, state tax incentives, as well as broader property rights. So really what I'm

418
00:38:14,933 --> 00:38:18,867
going to focus my next several slides are on the next, here in the next few minutes is really based on what the council has

419
00:38:20,033 --> 00:38:22,433
authority to do. Would you explain for everyone what ercot is if they don't know? The

420
00:38:25,567 --> 00:38:26,700
electric reliability council of texas. And what does ercot

421
00:38:36,533 --> 00:38:38,800
do? Ercot, I'm actually going to hand over to mr. Atkinson to touch on. He's far more of an expert than I am

422
00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:51,567
at ercot. So ercot, or the electric reliability council of texas, is the body that manages and controls the

423
00:38:52,933 --> 00:38:56,867
entirety of the state electric grid. Does not include the grid that's the panhandle

424
00:38:57,900 --> 00:39:01,067
in the very far side of west texas, or really even what is south plains electric co-op,

425
00:39:02,400 --> 00:39:03,900
but almost all the rest of texas is in ercot. The giant

426
00:39:06,700 --> 00:39:10,567
power lines that you see, the big power plants, the nuclear plants that texas has, wind farms, solar farms,

427
00:39:12,033 --> 00:39:14,867
all of that puts stuff into the grid. Ercot manages what is

428
00:39:17,500 --> 00:39:21,133
coming in, thus what is available to go out. They don't own or

429
00:39:22,667 --> 00:39:25,700
sell it, but I've heard it described as they are air traffic control

430
00:39:27,067 --> 00:39:28,733
for electricity for about 90% of the state. They are

431
00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:35,400
state-chartered, state-mandated. The regulator is the public utility council. They work hand

432
00:39:37,300 --> 00:39:40,533
in hand. Public utility council does the projects, approves them,

433
00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:44,567
vets them. Ercot is the one that says, yes, this is okay on the grid because we have

434
00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:48,900
transmission from a to b, thus you have supply available for a new load. Thank you. So

435
00:39:59,133 --> 00:40:01,933
going into water, one of the proposals in the specific use permit we're recommending as a proposed

436
00:40:03,300 --> 00:40:06,367
standard would be to only allow large-scale data centers that are using a closed-loop cooling

437
00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:11,300
system or an air dry cooling system, which significantly reduces water usage on a daily basis. In addition

438
00:40:14,467 --> 00:40:18,267
to that, as part of that as part of the specific use application, we would propose that council require

439
00:40:19,567 --> 00:40:22,167
not only what your initial water consumption is going to be, but what your total bill

440
00:40:23,633 --> 00:40:26,400
that's going to be. So what do you use on day 1 and what's the buildout look like. And it

441
00:40:27,700 --> 00:40:31,633
allows us as a city to plan for that accordingly. And as well as, I think it's an appropriate

442
00:40:33,067 --> 00:40:36,800
item for the planning and zoning commission to consider, as well as city council to consider

443
00:40:38,333 --> 00:40:41,733
in making decisions on any particular project, large-scale data center. And

444
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:46,467
staying along those lines of water, the other item we've discussed is let's just use a hypothetical 100,000 gallons a

445
00:40:47,567 --> 00:40:51,233
day. You have a large-scale data center, or in fact just any other business that's going to use 100,000 gallons

446
00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:56,467
of water. We reserve that 100,000 gallons of water as the project's being developed.

447
00:40:57,633 --> 00:40:59,967
that water can then not be used for any other economic benefits. So we're having

448
00:41:02,133 --> 00:41:05,700
to set it aside for if and when that project comes into fruition. And what we're proposing

449
00:41:06,733 --> 00:41:10,533
in this water reservation fee, very similar to an option contract where you pay for the option

450
00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:14,633
to basically buy land at a later time, we would collect a fee based on

451
00:41:15,833 --> 00:41:19,200
estimated water consumption collected on a monthly basis. And when that project comes

452
00:41:20,533 --> 00:41:23,167
into fruition, that fee that would then be credited back to that particular development

453
00:41:24,733 --> 00:41:27,467
for water usage. If that project does not come into fruition, then the city

454
00:41:28,967 --> 00:41:32,567
council, the city benefits from it and keeps that and is able to invest that in additional water-related infrastructure

455
00:41:36,033 --> 00:41:38,267
in the future. So it's a, it's a fee, it's a benefit for lubbock. If the project

456
00:41:40,567 --> 00:41:44,100
doesn't come, again, there's a cost for it, and the citizens ultimately end up benefiting from that,

457
00:41:45,233 --> 00:41:49,233
that fee. We would assess it at the time of the execution of a development agreement. And again, only

458
00:41:50,467 --> 00:41:54,100
for your really large users. And again, that 100,000 gallons is one we've discussed. That's, that's still really up

459
00:41:55,500 --> 00:41:59,433
in the air and we would like some feedback on that as well. 100,000 gallons is right,

460
00:42:00,567 --> 00:42:04,267
would be right at our 14th largest water user in lubbock today based on the 2025 numbers. So let's talk

461
00:42:10,033 --> 00:42:13,767
more about specific districts. You know, we're proposing a specific use permit. That is an

462
00:42:14,733 --> 00:42:18,667
additional set of regulations, requirements, standards that fall within any district that you set. We're

463
00:42:21,633 --> 00:42:24,933
recommending that you scale back what you have now and limit it to your light

464
00:42:26,100 --> 00:42:26,100
industrial and your general

465
00:42:30,533 --> 00:42:33,867
industrial district. So if there's a proposed data center, large-scale data center, that is appropriately zoned

466
00:42:35,067 --> 00:42:38,700
for light industrial, general industrial, they would still have to get that specific use permit. It

467
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,833
would still trigger public hearings. It would still take the city council taking those

468
00:42:45,567 --> 00:42:49,233
on a case-by-case basis. I'm going to go to the next slide and just touch on this. It would require a public hearing, number one,

469
00:42:50,600 --> 00:42:53,567
in front of the planning and zoning commission. They would then make a recommendation to the council. That

470
00:42:54,867 --> 00:42:58,467
recommendation goes to the council during a regularly scheduled meeting. There's a second public

471
00:42:59,767 --> 00:43:03,200
hearing. And again, any particular specific use or zone change must be approved by council with 2 reads

472
00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:08,067
of an ordinance. So you're looking at 2 public hearings and 3 public meetings for that in order to do that. And doing

473
00:43:09,367 --> 00:43:12,900
it with a specific use, that's the benefit of using specific use, is it

474
00:43:14,033 --> 00:43:16,933
requires that additional public input and additional consideration

475
00:43:18,233 --> 00:43:19,633
by the pnz and the council. Another item built

476
00:43:24,967 --> 00:43:28,100
in that we're proposing within the specific use permit would be to require a power usage study

477
00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:32,500
to provided by a licensed engineer including the type

478
00:43:33,700 --> 00:43:36,867
of generation. So we want to know how much power, and number 2, what type

479
00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:41,767
of generation. You're going to purchase it off the grid, or you're going to have generation on-site? Is

480
00:43:42,933 --> 00:43:46,567
that gas turbines, wind turbines, solar? So we want to know that up front as you all consider every specific use

481
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:48,000
on a case-by-case basis. Such

482
00:43:52,067 --> 00:43:54,733
on setbacks your current general industrial and light industrial districts currently

483
00:43:56,133 --> 00:43:59,033
have existing setbacks. So I'm going to touch on these and what you have existing today in

484
00:44:00,467 --> 00:44:01,533
the code and then what we're proposing. So for starters,

485
00:44:04,633 --> 00:44:08,200
your minimum front, side, and rear setback, if it's not adjacent to residential,

486
00:44:09,333 --> 00:44:13,100
in your general industrial it's 50 feet, in your light industrial it's 40 feet. If it's adjacent

487
00:44:14,233 --> 00:44:17,633
to residential, your minimum front, front, side, and rear setback for general industrial is 150

488
00:44:18,900 --> 00:44:20,133
feet and 100 in light industrial. What we're

489
00:44:23,033 --> 00:44:26,767
proposing in again, the specific use permit would be to increase that if it's not adjacent, if, I'm sorry,

490
00:44:27,967 --> 00:44:30,933
if it's adjacent to anything but light industrial and general industrial, we would

491
00:44:33,333 --> 00:44:33,333
propose that you increase that

492
00:44:37,867 --> 00:44:41,600
to 300 feet. If there's generation on site, so you've got gas turbines, wind turbines, solar,

493
00:44:42,833 --> 00:44:46,467
an additional 500 feet or combined 500 feet. So going up from your 150 and 100 to, in essence, 300 and 500 feet

494
00:44:47,700 --> 00:44:51,167
depending on whether they have self-generation on site. So an additional setback, which helps

495
00:44:52,433 --> 00:44:55,933
with the concerns related to noise lighting, in addition to some of the other items and concerns. Not all data centers

496
00:44:57,067 --> 00:44:58,167
produce their power on-site, is that correct? That's

497
00:45:05,367 --> 00:45:05,367
correct. So if they didn't

498
00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:12,933
produce it on-site, they'd be at 300, right? That's correct, yes, sir. But if they did produce it on-site,

499
00:45:13,933 --> 00:45:16,900
they would be at 500? They'd be at 500. Okay. Yeah. All right.

500
00:45:18,067 --> 00:45:21,033
and if they're adjacent to another light industrial or general industrial district,

501
00:45:22,633 --> 00:45:26,167
then it would just be the traditional, the traditional numbers, setbacks as they're

502
00:45:27,100 --> 00:45:30,933
written today. Okay. Mr. Rienow, a question I've gotten from a number of people and a

503
00:45:32,167 --> 00:45:35,633
question I've often found myself what do we see these data centers used for? We've seen them in fort worth.

504
00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:40,667
there's one going up by dickens and abernathy. What's the purpose of these, the industrial purpose? The

505
00:45:41,833 --> 00:45:45,267
industrial purpose, I mean, process data. Um they're used as ai hubs crypto mining you

506
00:45:48,333 --> 00:45:52,267
know, they're used for a combination of things. You know, one thing staying along the lines

507
00:45:54,333 --> 00:45:56,300
of existing setbacks, the other thing we've seen is related

508
00:45:58,500 --> 00:46:01,567
to setbacks is that of additional screening requirements. You know,

509
00:46:03,533 --> 00:46:06,867
minimum of a 6-foot berm is what we're proposing. I've seen berms work quite well based on some

510
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:11,200
of the pictures I've seen from some of the site visits that our team has taken there. In addition

511
00:46:12,933 --> 00:46:16,667
to having a minimum of a 7-foot solid screening fence around the actual infrastructure around the

512
00:46:18,033 --> 00:46:20,967
buildings if there's onsite generation, any of the other, any of the other items.

513
00:46:22,200 --> 00:46:22,200
staying along the lines of

514
00:46:29,733 --> 00:46:33,267
screening and buffering the current code in your gi and li, and I'm thinking a general industrial

515
00:46:34,567 --> 00:46:38,467
district you have to have a minimum of 10% landscaping on the property. We would

516
00:46:40,767 --> 00:46:44,300
propose that you have additional buffering, additional landscaping. And

517
00:46:45,800 --> 00:46:49,433
what we're proposing here is to have additional trees, 4 canopy trees per 100 feet, in addition

518
00:46:50,033 --> 00:46:53,100
to what you already have in your general industrial and light industrial districts, to continue to help with that

519
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:57,600
buffering when adjacent to other non-light industrial and general industrial districts. Let's touch on noise. So what

520
00:47:04,333 --> 00:47:07,400
we regulate today is at the 80 decibels. The 80 decibels, it's between a truck and a hair

521
00:47:09,433 --> 00:47:12,467
dryer, between that 80 and 90 there. What we're proposing in the specific use permit would

522
00:47:13,567 --> 00:47:17,467
be to go to 57. A 57-decibel read would be just shy of a, of

523
00:47:19,467 --> 00:47:19,467
a conversation and a little

524
00:47:25,500 --> 00:47:28,467
louder than a refrigerator running. So that, that would be

525
00:47:29,600 --> 00:47:32,567
at all property lines. We would require a sound study, sound absorption barriers,

526
00:47:33,733 --> 00:47:36,967
as well as let us know what type of acoustic materials and construction you're going

527
00:47:38,033 --> 00:47:42,033
to be using to build and as well as if you have generators for just routine exercising of your generators on site

528
00:47:43,367 --> 00:47:46,100
for backup power, we would require that they only be run monday through friday, 8 to 5.

529
00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:48,000
again, that's just your

530
00:47:53,067 --> 00:47:55,433
generator routine exercises for maintenance that those of us that have generators

531
00:47:57,800 --> 00:47:57,800
for those purposes do. So, mr.

532
00:48:02,500 --> 00:48:05,633
reno, would you say the loudest part of a data center typically would be the power generation

533
00:48:07,067 --> 00:48:10,733
similar to the plant we've got on the slayton highway? Yes, sir. Thank you. And that's, this really ties back also to

534
00:48:12,533 --> 00:48:15,267
that additional setback requirement. Again, if it doesn't have on-site

535
00:48:17,067 --> 00:48:20,100
generation, 300 feet. If it has on-site generation, the 500 feet. So that, I think that

536
00:48:22,500 --> 00:48:26,367
would help also address the noise concern. So that's why we're proposing the additional footage on generation for on-site generation. And

537
00:48:29,633 --> 00:48:32,167
these decibel levels are measured

538
00:48:34,667 --> 00:48:38,100
at the property line? That is correct. Yes, sir. So air quality, again,

539
00:48:38,900 --> 00:48:42,300
is not something that is within the city's authority, the city council's authority. But one thing we could do that

540
00:48:43,533 --> 00:48:46,367
you could consider in that specific use permit is to require that those permits

541
00:48:47,667 --> 00:48:51,167
be provided, the compliance documents be provided to the city. And if you find that there's an issue, that

542
00:48:53,000 --> 00:48:56,567
they're not compliant or that they don't have the permit, then you, we could then work with the texas commission on

543
00:48:58,067 --> 00:49:00,867
environmental quality at that point. And hand it over and work

544
00:49:02,133 --> 00:49:05,333
with our state partners. Even though it's not within your authority, it is within your authority to ask

545
00:49:06,500 --> 00:49:09,033
for those documents if you set that as a criteria for your specific use permit.

546
00:49:10,633 --> 00:49:14,067
and again, air quality regulated by federal and state. At the state level, it's the

547
00:49:15,133 --> 00:49:16,900
texas commission on environmental quality. That's

548
00:49:20,367 --> 00:49:24,367
who, who regulates that and issues those permits. So the next couple slides related

549
00:49:25,233 --> 00:49:28,767
to lighting these are already within your existing code. We already have this in the unified development code. So

550
00:49:30,367 --> 00:49:33,000
all luminaries with initial lamp output of over 1,500 lumens shall be face

551
00:49:35,300 --> 00:49:38,100
down, as the pictures show. Again, this also ties back to the setback requirements.

552
00:49:40,133 --> 00:49:42,900
in addition to this, you would have your additional setbacks that will help with lighting.

553
00:49:44,433 --> 00:49:47,833
so 1,500 lumens is the threshold to require that lighting

554
00:49:49,500 --> 00:49:53,200
to be shielded. In addition to that, we also have vertical illuminance. This is specific by district and it varies

555
00:49:55,100 --> 00:49:58,300
by district. But in your light industrial and general industrial district, it's 2

556
00:49:59,733 --> 00:50:02,400
foot candles. And you can see the visual there of about how far a foot candle would go out.

557
00:50:03,767 --> 00:50:06,633
and this would be in addition to facing the light down as well as your setback

558
00:50:07,867 --> 00:50:10,800
requirements. But these are in your current code today as they sit today,

559
00:50:12,100 --> 00:50:14,800
and they're specific to your light industrial and general industrial districts. There's

560
00:50:20,867 --> 00:50:24,767
been a lot of discussion about what if a data center comes and at some point in time they cease to exist?

561
00:50:26,233 --> 00:50:30,067
the concern I think here is really more related to the on-site generation,

562
00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:34,433
the gas turbines, wind turbines, solar. So what we're proposing is that you have the

563
00:50:35,800 --> 00:50:39,300
applicant of the specific use permit provide a decommissioning plan as well as

564
00:50:42,967 --> 00:50:45,867
a letter of credit. So if and when the facility, the operation ceases

565
00:50:47,167 --> 00:50:50,633
to exist and council wants to address the decommissioning of the you know, of the, say,

566
00:50:52,000 --> 00:50:54,933
call it the on-site generation, if the applicant does not do that, you have a letter

567
00:50:56,367 --> 00:50:59,700
of credit that you can go claim on and then address that yourself and decommission as

568
00:51:00,933 --> 00:51:04,900
appropriate depending on the type of generation that it is. So

569
00:51:05,933 --> 00:51:08,967
right now we're recommending that you consider that really for only on-site generation as you know, obviously buildings

570
00:51:10,067 --> 00:51:13,767
can always be repurposed, but this is we obviously have letters of credit throughout the development code

571
00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:17,967
in other areas. So this is not a, not a new theme, but it would be again,

572
00:51:19,667 --> 00:51:22,000
this would be specific for on-site generation decommissioning. Councilman

573
00:51:24,900 --> 00:51:28,400
erica, can you hear me? I don't know if it's on. Can you hear

574
00:51:30,033 --> 00:51:32,833
me? Yes, sir. Okay. In layman's terms, I know there's a lot of people here that want

575
00:51:34,067 --> 00:51:36,200
to know what is the benefit of this data center? I know

576
00:51:38,833 --> 00:51:41,233
it's for cell phones. I know that it's for the internet.

577
00:51:43,800 --> 00:51:46,567
but in layman's terms, what real purpose does the data center serve as far as getting

578
00:51:48,033 --> 00:51:51,900
a plant? Because we already have those services now. So what is the purpose? You know,

579
00:51:53,133 --> 00:51:56,700
data processing is becoming more and more, and I think there's a lot

580
00:51:59,100 --> 00:52:01,133
of folks here that probably, including myself,

581
00:52:03,433 --> 00:52:07,033
that use some form of ai related

582
00:52:08,467 --> 00:52:12,300
to just processing data, finding information. That is becoming more and more of a demand that I think is

583
00:52:13,200 --> 00:52:16,467
requiring the additional storage of these data centers. That, I

584
00:52:18,033 --> 00:52:21,133
think, is an everyday use that I think a lot of folks are using now. So we

585
00:52:22,133 --> 00:52:25,933
need more now, or is this just getting things ready for the future? I think both. I think there's obviously a higher need

586
00:52:27,667 --> 00:52:30,367
now you know, there's a for it as well as future demand for it that they're trying

587
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:34,000
to plan for. So, thank you. So

588
00:52:39,700 --> 00:52:43,667
let's touch on power generation, transmission, and distribution. Again, when a data center has onsite power

589
00:52:44,633 --> 00:52:48,400
generation, all the standards we've talked about will apply. There's some additional setback requirements

590
00:52:49,467 --> 00:52:52,500
we would recommend. It's really important to note though, set the data center aside just

591
00:52:53,733 --> 00:52:57,633
for minute. The current code requires that on-site power generation, transmission,

592
00:52:59,167 --> 00:53:02,933
and distribution today in your current code have a specific use permit. We saw one of those that pnc voted

593
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:07,167
down that got pulled out, but that's in your code today. So that's a requirement today. There's

594
00:53:08,567 --> 00:53:12,333
nothing you need to do to require a specific use permit for on-site generation. This,

595
00:53:13,633 --> 00:53:16,633
this is in your code today as it relates to wind turbines, solar panels, simple cycle

596
00:53:18,067 --> 00:53:19,833
turbines, and on-site generation.

597
00:53:23,500 --> 00:53:26,933
parrish, I mean, mr. Regineo. Yes, ma'am. Going back

598
00:53:28,167 --> 00:53:29,700
to that particular, just for clarification, a data

599
00:53:32,767 --> 00:53:35,267
center could potentially also have wind turbines and then the simple cycle, I mean,

600
00:53:37,867 --> 00:53:41,033
the solar panels, and then it could have a combination of all of, of all

601
00:53:42,367 --> 00:53:43,367
of the above, right? Yes, ma'am. Okay, that really wraps

602
00:53:53,667 --> 00:53:56,667
up the presentation that I have. Going back through these are all standards

603
00:53:58,800 --> 00:54:02,567
within your authority, council. And going back to water usage, wastewater,

604
00:54:04,067 --> 00:54:07,833
zoning and land use, setback requirements, landscaping, noise mitigation, and lighting,

605
00:54:09,200 --> 00:54:12,000
those are all items. Some of it's already in your code now,

606
00:54:13,233 --> 00:54:16,633
but you do have the ability to be cut to add to those. Again, the concept we presented

607
00:54:17,800 --> 00:54:21,200
to you today is really tied to a specific use permit, which is a set of regulations within a current zoning code.

608
00:54:22,800 --> 00:54:26,033
and again, we're proposing that you consider the lead

609
00:54:27,067 --> 00:54:29,500
industrial and general industrial. And again, today it's, it's allowed

610
00:54:31,500 --> 00:54:34,467
in a broader, broader spectrum of districts. So we would recommend that you consider

611
00:54:35,800 --> 00:54:38,700
scaling that down to your districts. And then number 2, adding a specific use

612
00:54:40,067 --> 00:54:43,100
on top of that to require that public input, that additional consideration

613
00:54:44,500 --> 00:54:47,900
by the pnz, the council, and the general public. So with that, mayor, I'm going to turn it back over

614
00:54:49,067 --> 00:54:52,600
to you. I'll be happy to take any questions or comments. I'd like to take you back to,

615
00:54:56,300 --> 00:54:59,067
I think it's number 4. Let's look

616
00:55:00,767 --> 00:55:03,300
at that particular slide. 4 slide. What we can and can't do? No, it's not about what we

617
00:55:04,867 --> 00:55:04,867
can and cannot control. This is

618
00:55:12,333 --> 00:55:13,133
what my question is. So basically,

619
00:55:16,800 --> 00:55:19,167
when we're discussing ercot, where do the ercot lines, where do they lie right now

620
00:55:22,233 --> 00:55:25,233
in the city of lubbock? Are they all over the city? Are they in district 1 and 2? 3,

621
00:55:26,567 --> 00:55:29,267
04, 5, 6, where are they located right now? How does that work?

622
00:55:33,300 --> 00:55:37,167
we'll let mr. Atkinson take this one. Yeah so the, the

623
00:55:42,767 --> 00:55:46,067
very, very large lines, there's a set that comes in kind of from north to the,

624
00:55:48,833 --> 00:55:52,100
to the center part of the north central part of lubbock. There's a large set

625
00:55:53,700 --> 00:55:56,833
that kind of runs from south to north, kind

626
00:55:58,933 --> 00:56:02,567
of south-central of it. They don't actually come

627
00:56:03,667 --> 00:56:06,133
into town. Well, the north one does a little bit, but they generally don't. And

628
00:56:08,333 --> 00:56:12,300
then the one that ties the grid from south to north, north to south, is over

629
00:56:13,867 --> 00:56:17,067
on the east, to the east side of town. It's actually outside the east loop. So what I'm

630
00:56:20,433 --> 00:56:24,133
understanding then is that these, since what you're saying,

631
00:56:25,300 --> 00:56:28,300
the location then would be in areas like district 1 and district 2, what other district

632
00:56:30,067 --> 00:56:31,700
would that also lie in? It depends on where,

633
00:56:34,333 --> 00:56:38,033
how far they want to pull that power. It's, I don't see it coming

634
00:56:39,267 --> 00:56:42,133
into the center part of town because you would have to have some pretty good-sized

635
00:56:44,100 --> 00:56:48,067
lines. So it wouldn't go into district 3, 4, 5 or 6 because we don't have the lines

636
00:56:49,333 --> 00:56:51,867
to support it. The southern end of district 3, I'm sorry, of 04, is not very far removed.

637
00:56:53,400 --> 00:56:53,400
but would it be impacted? Are

638
00:56:58,633 --> 00:57:01,100
those electrical lines in any other district other than district 1 and 2? Where they

639
00:57:02,700 --> 00:57:02,700
touch the city limits,

640
00:57:06,767 --> 00:57:09,333
they're largely in district 1 and 2. They're not all in the city. So

641
00:57:12,267 --> 00:57:15,233
in other words, if we were going to place or approve data centers and they

642
00:57:16,533 --> 00:57:19,633
would be located in districts 1 and district 2. Is that what I'm understanding? Generally,

643
00:57:22,967 --> 00:57:25,200
the large ones want to be close to a big power line. How big,

644
00:57:27,900 --> 00:57:30,867
I don't know. But with the specific use process that's being proposed, the location

645
00:57:32,400 --> 00:57:35,933
criteria is general industrial or light industrial. And the

646
00:57:37,100 --> 00:57:40,667
specific use permit. All right, I'm not gonna say this again.

647
00:57:44,700 --> 00:57:47,833
any comments like that, you will be asked

648
00:57:50,167 --> 00:57:54,167
to leave the room. We've got a time schedule we're working on. We've already gone over a little bit because

649
00:57:55,333 --> 00:57:58,633
of our problems, so let's stick to what we're doing. If you want to make a comment,

650
00:58:00,167 --> 00:58:04,033
you have to have signed up and come forward. But if you make a comment from the audience, I won't tolerate it because you're

651
00:58:07,933 --> 00:58:11,200
imposing yourself on other people who signed up and followed the rules. So we're going

652
00:58:12,900 --> 00:58:16,833
to follow the rules tonight in this meeting. This is the last time I'll say that. Thank you, mr. Can I finish though?

653
00:58:19,567 --> 00:58:22,900
because so what we've clarified is that data centers, because of where the ercot electrical

654
00:58:24,200 --> 00:58:27,333
lines to support the data centers would then be located in districts 1 and district 2.

655
00:58:35,500 --> 00:58:39,333
that is confirmed, right? That's where a lot of the larger lines are. Now,

656
00:58:40,433 --> 00:58:43,600
one thing to keep in mind, and this goes back to the governor's letter and demand,

657
00:58:44,767 --> 00:58:47,733
some of that generation that's going to be required by these data

658
00:58:49,467 --> 00:58:52,500
centers has not been built yet. So there will have to be an expansion

659
00:58:54,867 --> 00:58:58,833
at some point of some of that additional infrastructure that hasn't been into account. I think the other part of,

660
00:58:59,800 --> 00:58:59,800
it's not really a question,

661
00:59:04,767 --> 00:59:08,533
it's more of a comment, is that district 1 and district 2 already have all of and most of the industrial companies as it stands. So now

662
00:59:12,367 --> 00:59:13,867
we could potentially have all of the industrial,

663
00:59:19,367 --> 00:59:23,200
and now we're going to add all of the data centers. Somehow that just is a little bit

664
00:59:25,100 --> 00:59:28,667
concerning to me. And but this is about the public input, so I

665
00:59:30,433 --> 00:59:33,767
think that I'm gonna just step back and let the public give their input. All right. All

666
00:59:36,667 --> 00:59:36,667
right, eric, are you finished?

667
00:59:41,867 --> 00:59:44,767
are you done? Yeah, I don't have anything else unless y'all have any more questions.

668
00:59:46,333 --> 00:59:49,900
okay, any other questions for eric from the council? All right, thank you, eric. Thank

669
00:59:51,067 --> 00:59:54,967
you. All right, now we're going to move on to our next part of the meeting. And let me

670
00:59:56,067 --> 00:59:58,833
remind you, it's going to be moderated by abner uresti tonight. He's going to

671
01:00:00,133 --> 01:00:03,467
announce and call the speakers up. He's going to call 3 at a time. And so when he calls

672
01:00:04,667 --> 01:00:08,233
your name, if you're one of those first 3 he calls, please come up and take your

673
01:00:09,600 --> 01:00:13,100
seat here to my right, to your left, those 3 seats. You'll step to this mic here. Here. You have 2 minutes

674
01:00:14,433 --> 01:00:18,200
to make your comment. There's a timer over here which you can see. And then be prepared,

675
01:00:19,433 --> 01:00:23,400
when number 1 is done, number 2 will step forward to the mic. Make your comments or ask your question. Then

676
01:00:24,500 --> 01:00:27,433
between number 2 and 3, mr. Uresti will call an additional 3 people forward. All right?

677
01:00:28,533 --> 01:00:31,667
so you will take your seat here and you'll be ready. That way

678
01:00:32,767 --> 01:00:36,267
we can keep moving through and not waste a lot of time in between people wishing

679
01:00:37,567 --> 01:00:40,400
to speak. We want to get, if we have 60 people, we might be able to get

680
01:00:41,767 --> 01:00:45,567
through all of them tonight. That's about what I estimated for 3 hours. We will be here for 3 hours

681
01:00:46,900 --> 01:00:50,000
from when we begin, including a break right in the middle.

682
01:00:51,200 --> 01:00:54,100
but I think we can get through the 60 who have signed up tonight, and that's going

683
01:00:56,033 --> 01:00:58,100
to be our goal. But the only way we can meet that goal is if you are respectful

684
01:01:03,267 --> 01:01:07,267
to the people and we don't have to pause, or I don't have to stop them to get control of comments from the audience. Okay, so please be respectful

685
01:01:08,133 --> 01:01:11,233
to everybody. So mr. Uresti, would you please come forward? And we will take a 20-minute break. You're free

686
01:01:12,300 --> 01:01:15,467
to come and go during the meeting if you want to through the back doors. And we're happy to have mr. Uresti

687
01:01:16,633 --> 01:01:19,433
here, and he will take over from this point. Thank you, mayor, and thank you all

688
01:01:21,200 --> 01:01:21,200
for being here today. I want

689
01:01:27,367 --> 01:01:27,367
to introduce lacey rose. She is

690
01:01:33,567 --> 01:01:36,967
the director of communications and public engagement

691
01:01:40,600 --> 01:01:43,067
for the city, so she is helping me out. Everyone has

692
01:01:44,667 --> 01:01:48,367
to have an assistant in case things go wrong, and you can blame the assistant. Now, I do want

693
01:01:55,833 --> 01:01:59,733
to say this out loud. By the way, the time, the 3-hour time, doesn't start

694
01:02:01,467 --> 01:02:03,367
until I'm finished, so don't worry,

695
01:02:07,133 --> 01:02:10,233
I'm not taking up your time. In the interest of allowing as many people as possible the opportunity to speak within the

696
01:02:11,367 --> 01:02:15,067
time we have available, we respectfully ask everyone to refrain from applause, cheering, booing,

697
01:02:16,167 --> 01:02:18,700
or other audible reactions to speakers' comments. We appreciate your cooperation in

698
01:02:20,433 --> 01:02:24,300
helping us maintain a respectful and efficient hearing. We have a 2-minute timer here on the right side,

699
01:02:26,300 --> 01:02:26,300
the 2-minute timer. We also

700
01:02:37,667 --> 01:02:39,800
have, is this working? Is this going to work? We have the red

701
01:02:43,967 --> 01:02:46,867
light that will come on once it is 2 minutes. Folks, I'm going

702
01:02:48,033 --> 01:02:51,867
to be pretty strict about the 2 minutes. I know that's not a lot of time. I hope some of you have rehearsed your speech

703
01:02:53,333 --> 01:02:57,000
because it's going to go by fast, and I am going to make sure that we stay at 2

704
01:03:00,733 --> 01:03:03,933
minutes per person. So please understand that going

705
01:03:05,467 --> 01:03:09,100
in so that I won't have to apologize and you won't think I am rude. I've only lost control of an event that I've emceed or

706
01:03:10,267 --> 01:03:13,267
moderated one time, and I quickly regained control when I

707
01:03:16,400 --> 01:03:17,367
said, let us pray. And I said a really long prayer,

708
01:03:27,533 --> 01:03:30,867
so be forewarned. But I don't think that's going to come to that. I have full confidence that we are all

709
01:03:32,167 --> 01:03:34,633
going to have a very civil discussion tonight. So we were going to start with randy

710
01:03:39,967 --> 01:03:42,333
christian, riley rodriguez, and kylie ravel. Kyle, kyle

711
01:03:45,000 --> 01:03:46,933
ravel. You're our first 3 speakers. If you'll come and

712
01:03:49,467 --> 01:03:53,300
take these 3 chairs up here. And again, as the mayor said, when we have the second speaker

713
01:03:59,033 --> 01:04:01,800
who finishes talking, I will call up the next 3 so

714
01:04:03,267 --> 01:04:05,800
you can take your position so we won't, they can be on deck and we won't have a lot

715
01:04:07,900 --> 01:04:11,833
of lag time there. Okay, chris is not here. We will add

716
01:04:13,633 --> 01:04:13,633
joshua shankles. Y'all ready

717
01:04:26,833 --> 01:04:30,400
for this? All right. My name is riley rodriguez. I'm actually

718
01:04:31,400 --> 01:04:34,700
from abilene, so I'm kind of the ghost of data center past here. I've been traveling around the area kind of letting

719
01:04:36,233 --> 01:04:39,800
cities know that are considering this or thinking about this what they can look forward to

720
01:04:41,167 --> 01:04:44,300
on the ground level, that what we're seeing in abilene today. I heard a lot

721
01:04:45,400 --> 01:04:48,400
of discussion about energy and resources, zoning. Those are all really

722
01:04:49,867 --> 01:04:53,733
important. But we've had a data center, it's got 51 towers in it,

723
01:04:55,133 --> 01:04:56,467
and what we're seeing on the ground are impacts that need

724
01:04:59,300 --> 01:05:02,067
to be handled immediately. These aren't impacts that you can take some time and study.

725
01:05:03,667 --> 01:05:03,667
some

726
01:05:07,733 --> 01:05:10,500
of the social workers back home at big country family services are seeing recovering families,

727
01:05:12,100 --> 01:05:14,300
young families, low-income families shoved into

728
01:05:16,433 --> 01:05:19,267
tiny dwellings because their rent has shot up. They don't live on the south side

729
01:05:20,967 --> 01:05:23,900
of town where the mall is. They live on the north side of town where the data center is.

730
01:05:26,433 --> 01:05:30,400
disabled folks like the one I met saturday who's bound to a wheelchair has seen her water go up $200.

731
01:05:31,700 --> 01:05:35,600
nobody's got anything to say about it. We have hardworking texans in abilene,

732
01:05:37,333 --> 01:05:40,167
manufacturing jobs, like a man I met named adam who was stuck in his apartment

733
01:05:41,533 --> 01:05:45,267
because he can't afford to give up the rent because he doesn't have to pay his utilities

734
01:05:46,433 --> 01:05:50,200
with that rent, but he wants to move into another house and he's stuck. And he's going to be stuck regardless

735
01:05:51,600 --> 01:05:54,967
of what happens. There are effects that happen immediately on the ground, and I want

736
01:05:56,300 --> 01:05:57,467
to urge you as a city to take that

737
01:06:01,733 --> 01:06:05,533
into consideration. Take those people that are going to suffer today into consideration because they

738
01:06:06,733 --> 01:06:09,267
don't get 3 months. I don't know about you, but if I had to live on the street for 3

739
01:06:10,900 --> 01:06:14,767
months, I'd have a little bit of trauma. You might have a little trouble getting over that.

740
01:06:16,067 --> 01:06:19,367
but that's what we're seeing. You can speak to people at beyond trafficking. We have increases

741
01:06:20,267 --> 01:06:23,167
in human trafficking. We have increases in homelessness. These are impacts on people, breathing, living people.

742
01:06:24,667 --> 01:06:27,833
for what? Some cat videos that can morph into a dog? What are

743
01:06:29,900 --> 01:06:31,267
we doing? Riley, thank you. Consider it. That's your time.

744
01:06:34,700 --> 01:06:34,700
thank you. Kyle rabel. Howdy,

745
01:06:42,367 --> 01:06:45,633
y'all. Mayor, city council, thank you. My name is kyle rabel, and like riley, I've

746
01:06:47,100 --> 01:06:50,300
traveled across all of west texas, and I can tell you I completely agree

747
01:06:51,867 --> 01:06:54,633
with everything he just said. In abilene, the costs have skyrocketed

748
01:06:56,000 --> 01:07:00,000
to the point people are out of their homes. That is not something we can handle in west texas, and especially in

749
01:07:01,100 --> 01:07:04,667
lubbock, because we already have a homeless population that we are incapable of doing enough for here. Here. I also take issue with

750
01:07:05,500 --> 01:07:08,800
the fact that we're comparing cotton fields and homes to data centers. Cotton produces for us here in west

751
01:07:10,233 --> 01:07:13,500
texas, and we live in our homes. Nothing is given to us from these data centers. We

752
01:07:14,733 --> 01:07:18,333
cannot prove that these data centers bring jobs, which has been what we've been told is the economic driver

753
01:07:19,400 --> 01:07:21,667
for choosing to bring these here to lubbock in west texas. Unless we decide

754
01:07:24,167 --> 01:07:26,533
to have a community agreement with these data centers and force them to hire west texans

755
01:07:33,767 --> 01:07:37,133
to build, maintain, and staff these places, which we have not been able to, these serve no purpose in our community. We gain

756
01:07:38,433 --> 01:07:42,167
nothing from having data centers. They do nothing besides noise pollution, light pollution,

757
01:07:43,333 --> 01:07:45,933
and take our water. Unless we are willing to compromise our entire identity of west texas

758
01:07:47,833 --> 01:07:50,467
and stop growing cotton, probably stop raising cattle, then we need to stop having

759
01:07:52,067 --> 01:07:54,333
this conversation push it away. This does not help west texas, and especially we should

760
01:07:56,300 --> 01:07:59,733
not be building it in city limits where our folks, our poorest folks, tend

761
01:08:01,167 --> 01:08:04,200
to live, which is exactly what our plans have been before, and we keep skirting

762
01:08:05,567 --> 01:08:09,033
around that issue. We should not be building it in district 1 or 2. It should not be in the city,

763
01:08:10,500 --> 01:08:14,133
and it should not be built in lubbock or lubbock county at all. Thank you all for your time. Thank you guys

764
01:08:15,433 --> 01:08:16,733
for having me speak. Thank you, mr. Rabel. Let me,

765
01:08:21,000 --> 01:08:23,633
let me call the next 3 people up. Malik williams, corey alexander, and jennifer

766
01:08:25,233 --> 01:08:27,100
alexander. Jennifer alexander, if you would come

767
01:08:30,833 --> 01:08:33,833
up, please, and take the seat right here. Thank you. Joshua shankles.

768
01:08:36,433 --> 01:08:39,933
thank you. Thank you, mayor and council. Joshua shankles, lubbock compact foundation,

769
01:08:41,333 --> 01:08:43,000
lubbock county democratic party. That was a very nice

770
01:08:45,967 --> 01:08:49,933
presentation. I'm a little bit irritated that we gave mr. Atkinson a full 25 minutes to pre-but everything that folks

771
01:08:51,000 --> 01:08:53,933
wanted to say, and folks, the public gets 2 minutes to address those things. Let's

772
01:08:55,100 --> 01:08:57,667
jump right into some of those problems. Those are all nice and fine regulations.

773
01:09:01,633 --> 01:09:04,100
the problem is your governing record has shown you cannot be trusted to actually deliver

774
01:09:06,633 --> 01:09:08,233
those regulations for us. And you cannot be trusted to make a deal on our behalf,

775
01:09:18,367 --> 01:09:22,367
and I will describe why. The number 1, 2, and 3 concerns of citizens on that list were all environmental. Well, you

776
01:09:23,667 --> 01:09:26,600
and I both know that it's going to be on those people to police the environment,

777
01:09:30,100 --> 01:09:33,800
because the city does not police environmental concerns in any way, shape, or form. Nor does the state, who has a

778
01:09:35,167 --> 01:09:37,700
toothless regulation entity that doesn't do hardly any regulation

779
01:09:40,200 --> 01:09:44,200
of environmental concerns. We had to go secure a federal grant to check air quality

780
01:09:45,467 --> 01:09:48,067
in the city, which the city could have done at any time. Nothing is

781
01:09:49,567 --> 01:09:51,900
stopping you from monitoring, but you wouldn't. So we had

782
01:09:54,200 --> 01:09:55,767
to go do it. All of these environmental regulations will

783
01:09:58,967 --> 01:09:58,967
be on you to police, people.

784
01:10:06,500 --> 01:10:09,700
number 1, 2, and 3 were environmental concerns. The dead last, revenue and jobs. People don't want the money,

785
01:10:10,533 --> 01:10:13,300
and we don't want the jobs, and we don't want the revenue. We want our quality of life. We want our way of life. We

786
01:10:14,600 --> 01:10:18,567
want our peace and quiet, and we want our water. The water that we saved, the tax and ratepayers, the people who use water,

787
01:10:19,667 --> 01:10:22,933
we saved that water, and we paid for it. So we want it. It would be morally and ethically wrong to put this

788
01:10:25,700 --> 01:10:28,900
on the north or east side of lubbock because they have asked us repeatedly to stay stop doing that

789
01:10:29,967 --> 01:10:33,333
in no uncertain terms. Mr. Mayor, you said that was the worst moral offense that this city had ever done, racially

790
01:10:34,667 --> 01:10:38,100
segregated housing and zoning policy. That's your time, mr. Frankels. Keep your word. Thank you. Malik williams.

791
01:10:39,267 --> 01:10:39,267
hello, everyone. My name is

792
01:10:48,400 --> 01:10:51,900
malik williams. I am the democratic candidate that's running for texas house district 83. I'm speaking today

793
01:10:52,967 --> 01:10:56,267
because I believe politics is all about what the people need.

794
01:11:00,533 --> 01:11:03,867
and I'm sorry, but who the hell asked for an ai data center

795
01:11:05,167 --> 01:11:09,133
to be here in lubbock? No one. People asked y'all to lower the cost of housing.

796
01:11:11,100 --> 01:11:13,500
instead, y'all decided to give billionaires tax breaks to put these corporations

797
01:11:15,367 --> 01:11:18,967
into our city. People asked for cheaper grocery prices. This. And we are living

798
01:11:20,333 --> 01:11:23,067
in a food desert right now, people. Everyone needs help. And y'all decided instead

799
01:11:24,600 --> 01:11:28,400
of giving people lower cost for groceries, let's give them more ai data centers. That's going to reduce our water,

800
01:11:29,800 --> 01:11:32,533
put stress on people for electricity. And yet people are in need right now. People

801
01:11:34,233 --> 01:11:36,500
are asking for lower cost when it comes

802
01:11:38,433 --> 01:11:38,433
to child care services. You

803
01:11:44,000 --> 01:11:47,500
have parents working 1, 2, even 3 jobs just

804
01:11:49,067 --> 01:11:53,067
to survive. I myself have had to work paycheck to paycheck. How dare y'all? People need help. People need better

805
01:11:56,300 --> 01:11:59,467
from y'all, our representatives, but you would

806
01:12:03,000 --> 01:12:04,700
rather give tax breaks to billionaires and corporations.

807
01:12:07,967 --> 01:12:11,600
nobody asked for ai data centers to be put here in lubbock. I've walked the streets talking to people. Kyle rabel has

808
01:12:13,267 --> 01:12:17,167
walked the streets talking to people. Riley rodriguez and so many other candidates have talked to the people of

809
01:12:18,767 --> 01:12:21,733
lubbock. Nobody wants these ai data centers. Everybody needs

810
01:12:22,967 --> 01:12:26,600
more help. They want things to be more affordable. And I see you looking at the time,

811
01:12:28,133 --> 01:12:30,800
but it's not going to stop me. People want more. Give them cheaper housing.

812
01:12:32,767 --> 01:12:35,967
give them affordable groceries. Give them healthcare. People are sick right now. They are

813
01:12:37,867 --> 01:12:40,900
having to scrounge up their, their savings to ensure that they have enough money

814
01:12:42,400 --> 01:12:46,100
for their medication. They have to choose between paying rent or being healthy. That is not a

815
01:12:47,233 --> 01:12:51,100
choice that they should have to make in the most, thank you, mr. Williams, for your time.

816
01:12:58,767 --> 01:13:02,200
corey alexander. Good evening. I'm a grandson of a local farmer. And a

817
01:13:03,967 --> 01:13:06,967
technical professional with 25 years in technology design, development, support. And I'm

818
01:13:09,233 --> 01:13:12,667
adamantly against large-scale data centers built near developed communities. From my research,

819
01:13:13,867 --> 01:13:17,833
data centers seem to be little more than shiny, trendy corporate drains on

820
01:13:18,867 --> 01:13:19,967
communities where jobs and revenue generated are not kept

821
01:13:23,067 --> 01:13:26,633
local. Okay, we are not fooled about job creation brought by these projects. They are largely temporary,

822
01:13:27,933 --> 01:13:31,800
and large-scale projects tend to lead to increased prices for hotel rooms and other related amenities,

823
01:13:33,033 --> 01:13:35,400
thus competing directly with sporting events, graduations, concerts,

824
01:13:37,567 --> 01:13:41,067
and so on. City leadership has already committed to make lubbock a magnet for tourism and visitation, but

825
01:13:42,500 --> 01:13:46,233
large-scale data construction projects would leave little room for affordable tourism or visitation to our city.

826
01:13:47,867 --> 01:13:51,567
further, I've learned that practically all data center projects are offered tax breaks

827
01:13:52,633 --> 01:13:56,467
or discounted utility rates, not the infrastructure, the rate. Everyone in this room already knows who makes up the

828
01:13:57,833 --> 01:14:00,733
difference in those situations. We do, in the form of higher taxes and

829
01:14:02,033 --> 01:14:06,033
utility bills. Any benefit offered to them will not help us locally, not in long-term jobs, not tax

830
01:14:07,633 --> 01:14:10,967
revenue, not culture, art, or any meaningful way. Data centers consume vast amounts

831
01:14:12,967 --> 01:14:16,133
of water, often pushing aquifers beyond natural replenishment rates, causing wells

832
01:14:17,600 --> 01:14:21,267
to run dry or drop. Electricity is also consumed at drastically increased levels. Lubbock already has published

833
01:14:22,567 --> 01:14:26,467
restrictions on water usage, and we've experienced events regionally where utility providers have struggled

834
01:14:27,833 --> 01:14:30,467
to keep the power on during high demand or weather events, sometimes

835
01:14:32,033 --> 01:14:35,567
with tragic results. Has city leadership prepared a commitment or implemented a firm, documented,

836
01:14:36,933 --> 01:14:40,000
and legally binding plan to limit consumption by data centers first?

837
01:14:41,267 --> 01:14:45,033
prioritizing might bring us some degree of comfort. If no such plan or commitment exists, then that says a lot

838
01:14:46,167 --> 01:14:49,067
about the priorities. We cannot water crops, raise livestock, or sustain our bodies

839
01:14:50,333 --> 01:14:52,967
on ones and zeros. People and wildlife before data centers. Thank you. Thank you, mr.

840
01:14:55,667 --> 01:14:59,467
alexander. If we could have brooklyn duvall, jaden scott,

841
01:15:00,933 --> 01:15:00,933
and isidro gutierrez come up.

842
01:15:08,400 --> 01:15:11,400
you'll be the next 3. Thank you. Hi, my name is jennifer alexander, and that was my big

843
01:15:12,533 --> 01:15:16,367
brother who knows all about technology. I, however, do not. I am just a regular girl. I am, like many

844
01:15:18,333 --> 01:15:21,467
in this room, have deep roots here in west texas. My beloved late

845
01:15:22,667 --> 01:15:25,867
grandfather left the farm, went to world war ii to fight, and came back

846
01:15:27,367 --> 01:15:31,333
to this place he loved to raise his family and be a steward of the land. My father has been

847
01:15:34,167 --> 01:15:36,967
in water-related industry and manufacturing here in lubbock for over 60 years, so I

848
01:15:38,433 --> 01:15:41,333
understand full well a steadfast respect for our natural resources.

849
01:15:42,633 --> 01:15:46,333
it's a way of life here. It's not just a means to a paycheck. I grew up here in lubbock, although miles away

850
01:15:47,767 --> 01:15:51,533
from the farm life, but the lessons my grandmother and granddaddy taught me,

851
01:15:52,933 --> 01:15:55,933
my parents passed down, and my teachers taught me here in lisd are with me every time

852
01:15:57,333 --> 01:15:57,333
I brush my teeth, wash a dish,

853
01:16:02,533 --> 01:16:05,900
or think about doing something drastic because of the bugs in my backyard. I think about my personal impact

854
01:16:08,233 --> 01:16:11,967
on our ecosystem. Like my neighbors, I pray for rain, feel guilty when I

855
01:16:13,167 --> 01:16:15,800
take a long bath because I want to read just one more chapter. And I can easily pay my water

856
01:16:17,767 --> 01:16:21,467
bill, but years of drought weigh heavy on us, and we are tasked

857
01:16:23,000 --> 01:16:26,900
with being mindful of our consumption as regular citizens. And it boggles the

858
01:16:28,167 --> 01:16:31,167
mind to think that we have, and that we would invite a resource-hungry data center

859
01:16:32,400 --> 01:16:35,233
into our community, our lives, especially when we can only estimate the cost

860
01:16:36,433 --> 01:16:40,200
of this imaginary data center? What happens when they exceed the demands presented in studies? Obviously, I use

861
01:16:41,633 --> 01:16:45,600
technology all the time. I'm reading this from my phone. I can't tell you all the zeros and ones and the bytes and the

862
01:16:48,467 --> 01:16:51,067
gigabytes and the water usage, right? All I can tell you is

863
01:16:52,600 --> 01:16:55,300
this, that our state our nation, our planet. Wars have been fought over resources, and

864
01:17:04,533 --> 01:17:08,033
scarcity breeds fear. I don't want us to be scared. Put reason over want, human need over corporate greed. Thank

865
01:17:09,433 --> 01:17:09,433
you, miss alexander. Brooklyn

866
01:17:17,033 --> 01:17:20,100
duvall. Okay, good evening. My name is brooklyn duvall. I am

867
01:17:21,367 --> 01:17:24,833
15 years old. And I live in idalou, and though I don't live within the lubbock city limits, I have family that lives here.

868
01:17:26,200 --> 01:17:29,033
my dad works in lubbock, and all of my cousins go to school here in lubbock. So

869
01:17:30,500 --> 01:17:33,700
today I'm here to speak on behalf of my loved ones, most of them which live in

870
01:17:35,433 --> 01:17:35,433
districts 1 and 2. So I am here

871
01:17:42,333 --> 01:17:46,067
today to tell you that any data center proposal before you will represent an unfair trade-off that will hurt local families

872
01:17:47,933 --> 01:17:50,367
far more than they will ever help them. Despite governor abbott's order blocking data

873
01:17:53,933 --> 01:17:55,433
centers from charging families for new power lines, local

874
01:17:58,600 --> 01:18:01,533
utility bills are still likely to highly go up. A single massive ai facility consumes an

875
01:18:03,500 --> 01:18:06,233
astronomical amount of electricity, drastically shrinking the region's overall

876
01:18:07,533 --> 01:18:10,233
energy supply. Because of basic supply and demand, this sudden grid strain forces

877
01:18:12,167 --> 01:18:15,467
wholesale power prices to skyrocket. Since lubbock residents choose retail

878
01:18:17,833 --> 01:18:20,467
electric plans tied directly to these market rates, local families will ultimately face

879
01:18:22,367 --> 01:18:25,033
higher monthly bills just to keep their lights on. We

880
01:18:27,400 --> 01:18:30,700
live in a structurally drought-prone region where water is our lifeblood and our

881
01:18:31,833 --> 01:18:33,033
most precious resource. In our dry climate, we must ask

882
01:18:37,733 --> 01:18:40,867
if keeping computer services cool is the best use to use, is the best use

883
01:18:42,000 --> 01:18:42,000
of our most precious resource.

884
01:18:47,400 --> 01:18:50,433
if we allow our water supply to be funneled into cooling computer microchips, we are directly endangering our local

885
01:18:51,567 --> 01:18:55,133
agricultural economy, stunting our future housing development, and threatening the long-term drinking water

886
01:18:56,267 --> 01:19:00,267
supply of my generation and the children that come after me. An industry that depletes our water, strains our electricity,

887
01:19:01,933 --> 01:19:05,700
and generates near-zero long-term careers is mathematically incapable

888
01:19:06,700 --> 01:19:09,900
of providing a net benefit to lubbock. Therefore, I strongly urge this council here

889
01:19:13,167 --> 01:19:15,900
to stand up for citizens, protect my family's future,

890
01:19:17,967 --> 01:19:21,833
protect the future of kids to come after me, and to vote no on any data center proposals.

891
01:19:22,933 --> 01:19:22,933
thank you, brooklyn. Jaden

892
01:19:29,200 --> 01:19:29,200
scott. Hello, my name is

893
01:19:34,833 --> 01:19:38,633
jaden scott. I am a student at texas tech university, and I've lived in lubbock for 5 years and the south plains

894
01:19:39,867 --> 01:19:43,600
for my entire life. We are in this room today because the larger state government of

895
01:19:45,033 --> 01:19:47,467
texas has not stepped up and protected the cities within its borders

896
01:19:49,133 --> 01:19:51,067
from outside organizations. We saw the chart showing who has

897
01:19:53,833 --> 01:19:56,467
development authority. Our state has a loophole allowing large-scale data centers

898
01:19:57,900 --> 01:20:01,533
to be built in a different county without their development being

899
01:20:03,500 --> 01:20:05,900
governed. These guys up here are right. If we don't allow a

900
01:20:07,867 --> 01:20:10,633
data center to take root in lubbock, they will just move it outside the city limits. This

901
01:20:12,167 --> 01:20:15,567
doesn't mean we should bite the bullet and allow data centers here. Rather, we should make sure we don't get a data center

902
01:20:16,833 --> 01:20:20,233
in this city or near any of our neighbors. We should not lower our standards and say, well, we already use a ton

903
01:20:24,533 --> 01:20:28,233
of water, so who cares if we use even more? We'll just plant some more trees around it. We

904
01:20:29,667 --> 01:20:32,833
should be raising our conservation standards and decreasing our water usage to

905
01:20:34,300 --> 01:20:36,900
10 billion or 9 billion gallons per year. Elections are coming

906
01:20:39,267 --> 01:20:42,767
up, and I encourage everyone in this room to find who has been the most against ai data centers. Some

907
01:20:44,433 --> 01:20:47,933
of those politicians, like kyle rabel and clayton tucker, are here right now

908
01:20:49,300 --> 01:20:53,033
because they care about this issue, and they can tell you who they think can not

909
01:20:54,200 --> 01:20:56,900
only represent lubbock but all of texas as it gets hotter and drier each year. I appreciate

910
01:20:58,500 --> 01:21:01,333
the city holding this meeting. I implore the city officials

911
01:21:02,800 --> 01:21:05,567
to do what is best for the people in this city, not for the profits, not

912
01:21:09,233 --> 01:21:11,867
for growth, not, but only just do these things for your neighbors, because

913
01:21:14,000 --> 01:21:16,600
your neighbors want won't care about more jobs if they have to move because the ogallala

914
01:21:18,133 --> 01:21:19,867
has been depleted. Thank you. Thank you. If we could have the

915
01:21:26,133 --> 01:21:28,333
next 3 come up, take your seat. William

916
01:21:32,033 --> 01:21:32,033
griffith, naida marie

917
01:21:36,067 --> 01:21:38,633
gonzalez, and susan stewart, isidro stewart. Has it started

918
01:22:00,700 --> 01:22:03,767
yet? Mr. Mayor, my comments today are about public health.

919
01:22:07,833 --> 01:22:10,833
I believe that the primary responsibility of government is public health,

920
01:22:12,667 --> 01:22:15,767
and there is a problem with all data centers everywhere, and

921
01:22:17,233 --> 01:22:19,067
that is that they emanate low-frequency noise. Now, this

922
01:22:21,933 --> 01:22:25,733
noise that comes from the data center travels through the air and through the ground,

923
01:22:27,067 --> 01:22:28,467
and it reaches long distances. Any data center that is located

924
01:22:32,167 --> 01:22:33,833
inside the city limits of lubbock will invariably reach

925
01:22:36,233 --> 01:22:39,067
large areas of neighborhoods and businesses. And the

926
01:22:49,467 --> 01:22:52,367
low-frequency noise is known to cause pressure on the chest of people and also on the ears of individuals. It also affects

927
01:22:54,233 --> 01:22:57,700
livestock and pets and wildlife. And so that low-frequency noise is

928
01:23:00,200 --> 01:23:02,433
hazardous to health. And since the responsibility of government is

929
01:23:09,800 --> 01:23:13,267
to protect public health, then I recommend that you abandon the idea

930
01:23:16,100 --> 01:23:19,800
of building a data center within the city limits. There is no way that you can avoid

931
01:23:21,400 --> 01:23:25,200
that noise from reaching homes and businesses and people. And the only way,

932
01:23:29,133 --> 01:23:32,433
there's only one way to mitigate low-frequency noise, and that is

933
01:23:33,367 --> 01:23:34,833
to build a data center far away from any

934
01:23:37,533 --> 01:23:40,733
of the developed communities, away from the city limits. I recommend that you coordinate

935
01:23:42,067 --> 01:23:46,067
in cooperation with the city, the city with the county and state government, and develop ordinances that will keep data

936
01:23:47,367 --> 01:23:47,367
centers a safe distance away

937
01:23:55,133 --> 01:23:56,600
from people. Thank you, cedro. William griffith.

938
01:24:00,600 --> 01:24:04,167
right, got to make this quick. Hello,

939
01:24:05,633 --> 01:24:08,633
mayor and council. My name is william griffith, born and raised in lubbock, texas. I

940
01:24:10,367 --> 01:24:13,167
currently work in the it department of a local financial institution. Many

941
01:24:14,767 --> 01:24:18,533
people in here probably bank with us. And working in it you know,

942
01:24:20,067 --> 01:24:21,800
obviously the issue of ai gets brought up a lot.

943
01:24:24,167 --> 01:24:26,833
it's a very ubiquitous thing. It's just part of daily life. So obviously,

944
01:24:28,367 --> 01:24:32,200
as you can probably guess, I'm on the side against the data centers. Okay, this is bad stuff,

945
01:24:33,700 --> 01:24:37,700
folks. Um and I'm not here to make all the arguments that have been made before. Um why

946
01:24:39,467 --> 01:24:41,667
water, other types of pollution, noise, light.

947
01:24:43,533 --> 01:24:45,900
those concerns have already been brought up by my fellow

948
01:24:47,800 --> 01:24:51,267
citizens much more articulately than me. I'd like to make a little bit more of

949
01:24:52,267 --> 01:24:55,367
like a, dare I say, like philosophical point about like the rise of emerging

950
01:24:56,733 --> 01:25:00,167
technologies and why you should kind of be wary of it. You know, what we always see with

951
01:25:01,667 --> 01:25:04,967
new technologies is that they always lead to kind of immediate improvements. In

952
01:25:06,267 --> 01:25:09,500
like a material sense, but they almost always have detrimental effects long-term as far as the

953
01:25:12,400 --> 01:25:15,833
mental, physical, and spiritual well-being

954
01:25:17,733 --> 01:25:20,167
of mankind, right? Take the car for example, right? It's

955
01:25:22,033 --> 01:25:25,467
certainly the most impactful technological innovation of the 20th century. And what

956
01:25:27,367 --> 01:25:31,367
did that represent? It allowed us to go more and do more as humanity. But fast forward 100

957
01:25:34,867 --> 01:25:38,500
years and what do you have now? Entire cities built around the car, and you can't

958
01:25:39,933 --> 01:25:43,100
really be a functioning member of society if you don't have a car. So it went from having the freedom

959
01:25:44,200 --> 01:25:47,400
to now you're not free to not have a car, okay? But anyways, this particular piece

960
01:25:48,533 --> 01:25:51,200
of technology is growing at such a rapid pace and it would, given the universal opposition

961
01:25:53,133 --> 01:25:56,667
it would not be unreasonable to assume that there may be

962
01:25:57,867 --> 01:26:01,800
some financial incentive for the people in power. I just ask in conclusion, please do not

963
01:26:03,167 --> 01:26:05,700
hoist our descendants into a dystopian nightmare just because some people can't write

964
01:26:07,367 --> 01:26:10,933
their own emails. Thank you. Thank you, william. Naida

965
01:26:17,200 --> 01:26:17,200
marie gonzalez. Good evening

966
01:26:24,533 --> 01:26:26,933
to all of you. And all of you, thank you

967
01:26:29,100 --> 01:26:30,867
for being here. Thank you. Right off the bat,

968
01:26:33,700 --> 01:26:36,567
let me ask you to imagine your life without clean water. Water is

969
01:26:38,200 --> 01:26:40,367
life. Ever since the governor came out

970
01:26:43,300 --> 01:26:46,133
with his big push to give tax breaks to data centers,

971
01:26:47,600 --> 01:26:50,700
some rural people in texas, I was rural once, have been left with nothing but dirty water.

972
01:26:51,967 --> 01:26:55,467
they don't tell you about the heavy metals that are put into the aquifer and the water

973
01:26:57,000 --> 01:26:58,933
systems. They don't tell you that the usage goes up

974
01:27:03,133 --> 01:27:05,667
exponentially over time, and that's a massive amount of water. Do you think that's

975
01:27:07,733 --> 01:27:09,300
sustainable? I don't think so. These companies, and

976
01:27:13,567 --> 01:27:15,767
in my neighborhood, I live in east I have water pollution.

977
01:27:17,800 --> 01:27:21,167
my well, my well is poisoned. The air is toxic. I have noise pollution. I have light

978
01:27:23,967 --> 01:27:25,333
pollution. I have it all. Nevertheless, I wouldn't live

979
01:27:28,933 --> 01:27:28,933
anywhere else. These companies

980
01:27:34,367 --> 01:27:37,300
are used to intruding and invading our neighborhoods. Our opposition is

981
01:27:38,467 --> 01:27:42,200
of no importance to elected officials. You do not listen to us when we say, not in my backyard. We have no

982
01:27:44,733 --> 01:27:47,300
political clout. Well, I'm here to let you know that where I'm from, the city,

983
01:27:49,700 --> 01:27:53,300
the tiny town that I was born, we have a saying, and that is,

984
01:27:55,033 --> 01:27:58,233
that dog don't hunt anymore. I'd prefer to be optimistic, not pessimistic,

985
01:28:00,367 --> 01:28:03,033
but we're fed up, and we have come here to burst your bubble.

986
01:28:04,833 --> 01:28:07,167
prisoners are an existential threat to our neighborhoods and

987
01:28:09,667 --> 01:28:12,167
to humanity. They will replace your jobs with ai and use them to invade our privacy. Look up

988
01:28:15,000 --> 01:28:17,933
palantir. No, no, no longer will you,

989
01:28:20,433 --> 01:28:24,300
the decision makers, not be held liable for the premature death and injury to our neighbors, friends,

990
01:28:26,167 --> 01:28:28,000
and relatives. Thank you, naida. That is your time.

991
01:28:32,967 --> 01:28:36,033
thank you. Now, as susan comes up, we'd like to ask I'd ask stefania garcia, clayton

992
01:28:37,400 --> 01:28:41,367
tucker, and camille webb to come up and take your chairs, please. Susan. My understanding

993
01:28:44,367 --> 01:28:47,867
was that I would have more time, and people have donated their time, but I'm told that that's

994
01:28:49,167 --> 01:28:52,733
not going to be possible. We're told these facilities will either build their own

995
01:28:56,100 --> 01:28:59,333
natural gas generation or pay to upgrade the electrical grid. Neither claim eliminates the impact on our community if they

996
01:29:00,533 --> 01:29:04,100
are connected to ercot grid. They will still rely on transmission infrastructure, new substations, transmission

997
01:29:05,733 --> 01:29:09,433
lines, and interconnections, which became part of our landscape. And if they build private gas generation,

998
01:29:10,567 --> 01:29:13,167
that introduces additional industrial facilities, emissions, fuel supply,

999
01:29:14,667 --> 01:29:17,333
infrastructure, and noise. The question isn't whether they'll provide power. It is what new

1000
01:29:18,700 --> 01:29:21,900
infrastructure our communities will be expected to live with for decades. Grid upgrades

1001
01:29:23,433 --> 01:29:27,367
aren't free. We need to know who exactly pays, not just for construction, but for future maintenance,

1002
01:29:28,567 --> 01:29:31,300
expansion, and replacement. Citizens should never have to have the cost shifted

1003
01:29:34,367 --> 01:29:38,000
to us. Can the city guarantee in writing that no future transmission upgrades, substations, expansions,

1004
01:29:39,167 --> 01:29:43,000
or reliability costs associated with these centers will ever be passed on to lubbock residents

1005
01:29:44,167 --> 01:29:48,100
and businesses? I'd like to point out that infrastructure built

1006
01:29:49,133 --> 01:29:52,767
for one large industrial user changes what comes next. One high-capacity, once

1007
01:29:54,367 --> 01:29:57,467
high-capacity power infrastructure is in place, it becomes easier to attract

1008
01:29:58,700 --> 01:30:01,467
additional energy-intensive developments. Tonight's decisions aren't just

1009
01:30:02,833 --> 01:30:06,767
about one data center. It's about the industrial footprint we're choosing for our future. We have the

1010
01:30:08,100 --> 01:30:11,767
right to know how much municipal water will each facility consume over its lifetime and who will

1011
01:30:13,300 --> 01:30:16,867
independently verify these numbers. We are asked to conserve water because supplies

1012
01:30:17,833 --> 01:30:21,567
are under pressure. If conservation is important for households, it should be equally important

1013
01:30:22,767 --> 01:30:25,833
to evaluate a 24-hour facility that we will have for decades. Closed-loop systems either use water or

1014
01:30:28,067 --> 01:30:31,200
electricity to cool. We have the right to know the expected annual water demand and the peak day demand. If the water

1015
01:30:33,100 --> 01:30:36,200
demand is truly insignificant in the, as these developers will have you believe, then will they publicly commit

1016
01:30:38,933 --> 01:30:42,833
to reporting its annual water consumption this evening? As far as the diesel generators, we're told not to worry about

1017
01:30:44,267 --> 01:30:47,800
backup generators because they are for emergencies, but large-scale data centers don't just leave general, thank you,

1018
01:30:49,933 --> 01:30:49,933
susan. That's your time.

1019
01:30:56,300 --> 01:30:56,300
stefania garcia? Stefania, yes.

1020
01:31:01,100 --> 01:31:04,533
so to continue on with her point, with the side generators,

1021
01:31:05,667 --> 01:31:08,233
all the ones you've shown in your examples were just the one ones that were a net positive,

1022
01:31:09,700 --> 01:31:13,333
such as renewable energy. But as we've seen with past data centers that have had site

1023
01:31:15,033 --> 01:31:16,467
generators, like the one up in alabama that was used for

1024
01:31:19,467 --> 01:31:23,267
gronk, it can cause health problems with breathing and such as more. We have seen

1025
01:31:27,267 --> 01:31:31,000
people get things such as asthma become severe and develop chronic cases

1026
01:31:32,367 --> 01:31:35,633
of copd. Is there any way y'all can guarantee to people that this would not happen here, that none

1027
01:31:36,633 --> 01:31:39,200
of our health would be at risk from an ai data center entering our city and harming our

1028
01:31:40,933 --> 01:31:43,333
people. There have been multiple towns that have been

1029
01:31:45,067 --> 01:31:49,033
abandoned and barely fighting to stay alive based off data centers being in them. Can you prove

1030
01:31:50,500 --> 01:31:53,733
to us that that wouldn't happen to our districts 1 and 2, districts 1 and 2 which already

1031
01:31:55,367 --> 01:31:56,567
have enough problems going in as it is? There are enough

1032
01:32:01,233 --> 01:32:04,033
happening here without the idea needed to light a fire that's going

1033
01:32:05,500 --> 01:32:08,433
to destroy more of our city starting from the northeast. We're already

1034
01:32:09,833 --> 01:32:13,600
letting so many problems happen there and develop. We're not working on them. We're not addressing them. The people

1035
01:32:14,667 --> 01:32:18,000
of the community would love to be a place that could just have better resources, better

1036
01:32:19,233 --> 01:32:22,267
requirements, not just a place of part of our city we're going

1037
01:32:23,500 --> 01:32:26,200
to let be destroyed by an ai data center because it's going to bring apart too many

1038
01:32:27,567 --> 01:32:29,167
pollutants and too many health issues to people. Thank you.

1039
01:32:37,700 --> 01:32:41,267
thank you. Clayton tucker. Mayor, can I ask

1040
01:32:42,833 --> 01:32:46,533
for whoever does speak to get close to the mic because it's hard

1041
01:32:47,700 --> 01:32:50,933
to hear? Well, I raise goats, so I talk very loud. So howdy, my name is clayton tucker. I am

1042
01:32:52,633 --> 01:32:56,100
the secretary of the texas farmers union, and we are calling for a full moratorium on these data centers. Now

1043
01:32:57,367 --> 01:33:01,367
look, y'all, I know these data developers will promise you the sun, the moon, and the stars. Thankfully, this is where us

1044
01:33:03,067 --> 01:33:05,767
ranchers come in. Having been raised around cattle, we know what bull smells like.

1045
01:33:07,733 --> 01:33:10,800
so let me tell you 3 stories, and that'll be my time. Let's talk about memphis,

1046
01:33:12,100 --> 01:33:15,200
tennessee. They've promised memphis, tennessee again the sun, the moon, and the stars.

1047
01:33:17,000 --> 01:33:20,467
they said they will build their own power, they'll have their own cooling

1048
01:33:21,933 --> 01:33:25,833
system, water. Everything I'm certain they're telling y'all. They built that data center

1049
01:33:26,833 --> 01:33:30,333
in 120 days. It doesn't take that long to build a data center. You're not building a power plant in

1050
01:33:31,767 --> 01:33:35,467
120 days. So they put 23 massive diesel generators, actually methane ones, and now the naacp is suing them because

1051
01:33:36,933 --> 01:33:40,267
they're creating a new cancer alley in memphis, tennessee.

1052
01:33:41,667 --> 01:33:43,333
is northeast lubbock going to be the new cancer alley?

1053
01:33:48,033 --> 01:33:50,200
and another gentleman mentioned that the noise these things create, and I talked to a lot

1054
01:33:52,367 --> 01:33:56,333
of farmers in texas and everywhere else. There are some farmers who have not had a new calf in multiple years once a data center came up. I've

1055
01:33:57,467 --> 01:34:01,433
talked to folks whose chickens stopped laying eggs, and they create heat domes where temperatures can be as high as

1056
01:34:02,800 --> 01:34:04,600
20 extra degrees within 5 miles. Last I checked,

1057
01:34:07,500 --> 01:34:09,900
it gets a little hot in texas, so maybe we should really put the brakes

1058
01:34:13,133 --> 01:34:16,933
on this, and let me end with this. Look, there are

1059
01:34:17,867 --> 01:34:20,567
05,000 data centers already in the united states. We have more data centers than

1060
01:34:22,033 --> 01:34:24,567
basically the entire world combined, more or less. So when

1061
01:34:26,400 --> 01:34:30,033
they say we need these things, we need these things, do we? Because I don't know about y'all,

1062
01:34:30,900 --> 01:34:34,533
but the moment I started talking about data centers, they put a damn flock camera right outside my ranch. Is this

1063
01:34:35,600 --> 01:34:38,567
about data? Is this about ai? Or is this mass surveillance? We need

1064
01:34:39,633 --> 01:34:42,033
to know what they're being used for before we approve any of it. Thank you, clayton.

1065
01:34:45,300 --> 01:34:48,333
okay, thank you. Would the following people come up, please? Steve rogers, mike

1066
01:34:54,333 --> 01:34:57,400
haggard, and pam stinnett. Camille, it's your time. Good

1067
01:34:59,967 --> 01:35:03,733
evening. My name is camille webb. Thank you for having us today. The impacts of large-scale ai data

1068
01:35:05,400 --> 01:35:08,433
centers are not being fully considered due to rush and demand, and rural,

1069
01:35:09,667 --> 01:35:12,833
lower-income communities are being targeted as a result. I was born and raised in

1070
01:35:14,000 --> 01:35:15,300
lubbock. My partner is from, excuse me, morton, texas, a

1071
01:35:18,200 --> 01:35:22,067
town of 1,200 people about an hour west. There are developers looking to build centers

1072
01:35:23,500 --> 01:35:27,033
out there as well. I love west texas, and I know y'all do too,

1073
01:35:29,300 --> 01:35:33,233
but these developers do not. They have money, and they think that means they can build whatever and wherever they

1074
01:35:34,300 --> 01:35:37,400
want. Data center and crypto miner operators were asked to participate in an optional survey by the

1075
01:35:39,300 --> 01:35:43,233
public utility commission of texas about water consumption, and less than a third of them responded. The numbers

1076
01:35:44,300 --> 01:35:48,100
we have on these centers do not tell the whole story. Developers need to be transparent about the energy and water demands and

1077
01:35:49,233 --> 01:35:52,900
consider the repercussions of multiple large-scale projects on the same depleting aquifer.

1078
01:35:54,600 --> 01:35:58,567
residents of morgan county, georgia are experiencing brown, undrinkable tap water after a meta data center was built

1079
01:35:59,667 --> 01:36:03,333
in their town, families have to ship clean water to their rural homes to use

1080
01:36:04,533 --> 01:36:07,567
for absolutely everything. Meta denies these claims, and the epa has not launched an

1081
01:36:08,700 --> 01:36:12,567
official investigation, as most of these residents rely on private wells that are not

1082
01:36:13,933 --> 01:36:17,033
regulated under government water quality standards. One resident in hamby, texas noted

1083
01:36:18,300 --> 01:36:22,300
a major influx of snakes on the road now that their habitat is being destroyed to build yet another data center. One

1084
01:36:24,033 --> 01:36:27,067
example of the many environmental impacts being glossed over as these projects

1085
01:36:28,600 --> 01:36:32,167
are frivolously carried out. There's not enough evidence to prove that this will not have a

1086
01:36:33,400 --> 01:36:36,300
negative impact on our community. The 2027 texas water plan completely ignores the data center surge.

1087
01:36:37,567 --> 01:36:41,233
there are currently 335 data centers already in texas with at least 248 more

1088
01:36:42,967 --> 01:36:46,033
in the works. We should be doing everything we can

1089
01:36:47,467 --> 01:36:50,133
to preserve our land, wildlife, and resources. Resources. I urge our officials and

1090
01:36:51,500 --> 01:36:54,300
representatives to freeze and reconsider any data center construction until impacts can

1091
01:36:56,067 --> 01:36:59,133
be more thoroughly considered. There has to be a better way. Thank you. Thank you,

1092
01:37:01,167 --> 01:37:01,167
camille. Steve? Hi, my name is

1093
01:37:08,700 --> 01:37:12,500
steve rogers. It's interesting, and I really appreciate all the comments that have been made.

1094
01:37:13,533 --> 01:37:16,100
I'm going to be brief. I, I think ai is a good thing. I think it can really help. It's

1095
01:37:18,633 --> 01:37:21,667
interesting, all the comments were probably done from a lot of research from chatgpt.

1096
01:37:23,267 --> 01:37:26,233
but my bottom line, I would like to ask the council, is what economic benefit is there

1097
01:37:29,367 --> 01:37:32,367
to the average citizenry of lubbock, texas to have this? Shouldn't that be the bottom

1098
01:37:36,100 --> 01:37:38,900
line? What is the economic benefit to me, to others? Are our taxes going to go down,

1099
01:37:40,233 --> 01:37:40,233
or are they going to go up?

1100
01:37:49,400 --> 01:37:52,933
are water rates going to go down or go up? Are we going to get anything out of it?

1101
01:37:54,167 --> 01:37:54,167
would anybody like

1102
01:37:58,267 --> 01:38:01,567
to answer that? Just one thing you've considered,

1103
01:38:02,867 --> 01:38:06,500
maybe talked about. We're just getting citizen input. Yeah, we've said we're not going to

1104
01:38:07,667 --> 01:38:11,267
respond tonight so everybody can have a chance to ask their questions. But yes,

1105
01:38:12,267 --> 01:38:16,267
that is definitely something we will, we didn't want this to look like we were out there promoting economic advantages

1106
01:38:19,100 --> 01:38:22,533
tonight. We're talking about concerns. Has that been discussed? How is that going to benefit the citizens?

1107
01:38:23,533 --> 01:38:27,533
you're asking the fundamental question right there. That is the fundamental question. Are we going to find that out? You

1108
01:38:28,833 --> 01:38:32,567
have to go meet with your council representative. A lot of that comes once you have a

1109
01:38:34,533 --> 01:38:36,900
specific data center coming, and then what do they want to build? What would be the tax

1110
01:38:39,133 --> 01:38:41,633
impact? We don't have one that we're dealing with, so we can't really lay that

1111
01:38:43,167 --> 01:38:46,467
out to you until we get an actual one. So that's why we can't answer your

1112
01:38:47,733 --> 01:38:50,600
question tonight. All we can tell you is how we are approaching this issue. But you

1113
01:38:52,233 --> 01:38:55,400
raised the right question. So has the data center courted the city, or has the city courted

1114
01:38:57,000 --> 01:38:58,800
the data center? Well, the city is not courting them. They are

1115
01:39:02,133 --> 01:39:05,467
courting the lubbock economic development association. That's where they go. They

1116
01:39:06,633 --> 01:39:10,600
don't come to us. They go to lubbock economic development. None have come to us for any approvals

1117
01:39:12,133 --> 01:39:15,300
at this point but the one that did come to pnz and was voted down. All

1118
01:39:16,700 --> 01:39:18,533
right. So, okay. Thank you, steve. Thank you, mike.

1119
01:39:23,500 --> 01:39:26,133
hello, my name is mike haggard. I wasn't going to speak here today,

1120
01:39:28,600 --> 01:39:30,867
but I have to. First of all, I want to thank you guys

1121
01:39:33,500 --> 01:39:33,500
for hosting all of your voters

1122
01:39:38,600 --> 01:39:42,500
to hear our concerns. I've heard a ton of concerns. The biggest one I have is the water. I wish we'd get together

1123
01:39:43,533 --> 01:39:47,000
like this to get water right now. There's, to the north and

1124
01:39:48,367 --> 01:39:51,500
to the south, there are homes that have no water. People are drilling wells, and some of,

1125
01:39:52,867 --> 01:39:56,633
a lot of them are out in the country. But you're talking about growth. We've had 40,000

1126
01:39:58,000 --> 01:39:59,500
people since whatever date was. We're

1127
01:40:02,600 --> 01:40:06,267
going to keep growing and there's no water out there right now. So it's

1128
01:40:07,800 --> 01:40:09,867
already an issue with the water. And mr. Atkins showed the slide that had the

1129
01:40:12,633 --> 01:40:16,200
mega houses, which I do not have. I don't live in her district. And thank you for bringing up your concerns

1130
01:40:17,500 --> 01:40:20,900
for your district. I'm concerned about your district and I live on the other side of town. The

1131
01:40:22,167 --> 01:40:23,100
small houses like I have, we don't irrigate

1132
01:40:26,633 --> 01:40:29,733
like the million-dollar houses. The ones I saw up there, most of them were other, maybe tech terrace, were big 1 to 5 acre

1133
01:40:32,100 --> 01:40:35,467
million-dollar houses. I don't have one of those houses. If you put my water on there,

1134
01:40:36,900 --> 01:40:39,633
what I use, it's going to be like this. It's going to be a little bitty. The

1135
01:40:43,267 --> 01:40:45,967
savings you were talking about, we're the ones saving all that

1136
01:40:47,900 --> 01:40:51,633
water. Y'all get onto us for runoff and all that stuff, which we appreciate. It's keeping us

1137
01:40:53,000 --> 01:40:55,033
from wasting all that stuff. But then we're talking

1138
01:40:58,300 --> 01:41:01,933
about bringing in something that uses the amount of water they do now and trying to compare it

1139
01:41:03,233 --> 01:41:06,167
to million-dollar homes with acreage that are irrigating. It's, it's not, compare it

1140
01:41:08,833 --> 01:41:12,833
to her district. I'm with her. Compare it to what her people are using.

1141
01:41:13,900 --> 01:41:17,000
they're either not irrigating their lawns or they're small lawns. They're not wasting all

1142
01:41:18,367 --> 01:41:22,233
that water. So it's a waste of water. I'm all about saving the water. So that's my biggest concern is

1143
01:41:23,433 --> 01:41:26,967
the water waste. There's other, I mean, you could, you could live with that and all that,

1144
01:41:27,900 --> 01:41:29,300
but water, thank you. Thank you. Could have caleb fryer,

1145
01:41:33,433 --> 01:41:34,200
anne marie monaco, and eric haley come up and take your

1146
01:41:37,733 --> 01:41:41,567
place. Pam. Good evening, mayor and council members. And I, my name is pam stinnett, and

1147
01:41:42,833 --> 01:41:45,667
I'm, step a little closer to the mic, would you? Yeah, thanks. My name is pam

1148
01:41:46,933 --> 01:41:49,767
stinnett, and I'm a lifelong resident of this region. Growing up

1149
01:41:52,467 --> 01:41:55,600
with grandparents who farmed, I was taught early that human survival relies on 3

1150
01:41:57,867 --> 01:42:00,500
fundamental pillars: food, water, and shelter. Right now,

1151
01:42:01,967 --> 01:42:04,700
proposed data centers threaten all 3. Just 10 days ago,

1152
01:42:06,667 --> 01:42:10,133
I drove from lubbock to plains. The stark contrast between our stunted dryland

1153
01:42:11,400 --> 01:42:11,400
cotton and irrigated fields is

1154
01:42:16,867 --> 01:42:16,867
a flashing red light.

1155
01:42:20,900 --> 01:42:23,833
according to the u.s. Drought monitor, 100% of lubbock county is in active drought.

1156
01:42:25,567 --> 01:42:28,100
we just survived our 14th driest start to a year

1157
01:42:31,633 --> 01:42:33,967
in recorded history. Right now, the city legally forces every

1158
01:42:36,800 --> 01:42:39,533
citizen to restrict lawn watering

1159
01:42:41,167 --> 01:42:44,200
to protect our grid. How can we justify rationing water for local families yet handing

1160
01:42:45,567 --> 01:42:47,033
millions of gallons a day to an industrial data center?

1161
01:42:49,733 --> 01:42:52,333
it will decimate our agriculture. And drain our

1162
01:42:54,267 --> 01:42:56,867
shared aquifer. Furthermore, placing heavy industry on the

1163
01:43:01,100 --> 01:43:04,100
northeast side perpetuates a dark history

1164
01:43:06,733 --> 01:43:06,733
of discriminatory zoning. The

1165
01:43:13,233 --> 01:43:14,767
residents of northeast lubbock matter. Yet they are being

1166
01:43:20,433 --> 01:43:23,867
asked to let this facility degrade their shelter and health through 3 invisible forces. Number 1, infrasound,

1167
01:43:25,133 --> 01:43:28,000
low decibel hums that cause neurological stress. Light pollution, a constant glow

1168
01:43:31,600 --> 01:43:31,600
disrupting sleep cycle. 3,

1169
01:43:37,000 --> 01:43:39,667
particulate matter, toxic diesel emissions. Pam,

1170
01:43:41,233 --> 01:43:41,233
that's your time. Thank you.

1171
01:43:48,400 --> 01:43:52,367
caleb? Good afternoon, councilman. My primary concern

1172
01:43:54,067 --> 01:43:56,767
is water. Without it, I live out in the country, our way of life will cease to exist.

1173
01:43:59,267 --> 01:44:02,467
our farmlands will die, our cows will die. That is the first thing that goes. None

1174
01:44:05,233 --> 01:44:08,467
of our stuff is piped into city. It is all groundwater. We all run off of the ogallala aquifer. If it

1175
01:44:09,500 --> 01:44:12,500
goes, we go. There is no way around that. It's a deep well drill. None

1176
01:44:13,733 --> 01:44:16,633
of us can afford that. That's 01,200 feet and then extra infrastructure

1177
01:44:18,167 --> 01:44:21,233
to process the water, and we can't do that. Second is electricity. It is constantly

1178
01:44:22,333 --> 01:44:25,067
rising, even with every precaution that we have taken with led lights,

1179
01:44:27,400 --> 01:44:30,167
anything that costs saves. But the primary thing that we're worried

1180
01:44:31,467 --> 01:44:34,300
about is freezer space. People that are in the country, they have food saved. They buy

1181
01:44:35,767 --> 01:44:38,500
in bulk. They save. They budget. If our electricity goes down,

1182
01:44:39,800 --> 01:44:43,800
whether it's rollovers or blackouts, you will kill years' worth of food overnight. There's no

1183
01:44:45,233 --> 01:44:47,500
way to come back from that. Third is I'm on spc, I'm not

1184
01:44:50,933 --> 01:44:54,367
on ercot, but we do back up the main grid when it goes down, and that has happened before.

1185
01:44:55,733 --> 01:44:58,767
and I have lost food and even plants when I ran hydroponics for like culinary herbs and,

1186
01:45:04,167 --> 01:45:07,500
and small, like berries. Lost my entire crop, so I can't run that anymore

1187
01:45:08,600 --> 01:45:12,233
with rolling blackouts. A third, ai data centers were

1188
01:45:13,333 --> 01:45:17,100
said that they're going to do crypto and ai. That's track tracing and cbdcs.

1189
01:45:19,033 --> 01:45:22,000
that is against our republic. It should not be allowed to stand. We should not participate in that. And

1190
01:45:24,000 --> 01:45:26,867
lastly, who gets held to account when they come and

1191
01:45:28,867 --> 01:45:30,400
destroy our way of life. Thank you. Thank you, caleb. Hi, I

1192
01:45:39,833 --> 01:45:42,700
just want to say thank you for allowing me to speak today. I am an expat. I am from

1193
01:45:43,933 --> 01:45:46,233
florida, and I brought my family here to live the texas way. I also am a little

1194
01:45:48,267 --> 01:45:51,600
concerned that you guys really don't know what's happening in the data centers,

1195
01:45:52,800 --> 01:45:55,767
knowing that in michigan they're making humanoids to train and sell. That is

1196
01:45:57,967 --> 01:46:00,700
another thing about trump's executive order that makes them militarized, not just chatgpt

1197
01:46:02,600 --> 01:46:06,567
making fun garage sales. But on that matter,

1198
01:46:08,333 --> 01:46:10,167
I'm here as a parent. I have 2 kids that I do not want

1199
01:46:12,633 --> 01:46:15,900
to be affected by what's going to happen when ai comes. I don't want them to get diseases

1200
01:46:17,633 --> 01:46:21,200
or learn things that we don't know is going to come back.

1201
01:46:22,633 --> 01:46:24,667
basically, my children are going to be ai's test subjects. I

1202
01:46:26,833 --> 01:46:29,833
want to highlight the issue of transparency. They don't have any,

1203
01:46:31,433 --> 01:46:35,267
and neither does this council. Most of the time, what we learned in the, when they did the big one for

1204
01:46:36,433 --> 01:46:38,467
texas was that most people did sign ndas. As you stated,

1205
01:46:40,467 --> 01:46:42,700
you did not, but I do not trust that anybody on this board would not. I

1206
01:46:44,567 --> 01:46:47,900
think we need to realize as a public that we can dismantle you and vote it on november.

1207
01:46:50,367 --> 01:46:53,200
no ais in lubbock, texas. Thank you. That was anne

1208
01:46:55,000 --> 01:46:58,067
marie monaco. If we could have the next 3 come up. Denise

1209
01:47:00,767 --> 01:47:00,767
colley, corey austin, and

1210
01:47:05,667 --> 01:47:08,400
josh chavez. I'm not so worried about water as I am character.

1211
01:47:11,133 --> 01:47:12,933
so you're supposed to represent us as the people. We just passed 4th of july. We

1212
01:47:15,733 --> 01:47:18,800
had a country that was built because people didn't want to listen. The grievances were

1213
01:47:20,567 --> 01:47:23,733
brought. You can go to youtube, you can listen to all these people, you can

1214
01:47:24,900 --> 01:47:28,567
see all the bad stuff that's happening with these data centers. So it's crazy to me that you would

1215
01:47:29,900 --> 01:47:33,533
consider pushing it forward. The fact that you're going to put it on the east side of town, okay, everybody knows

1216
01:47:36,833 --> 01:47:38,500
why, which is not right. It's not right. The amarillo project

1217
01:47:45,100 --> 01:47:48,900
that's just been done, lubbock matador stuff, tex aligned with that. They're on contract for 2.5 million

1218
01:47:50,400 --> 01:47:53,000
gallons per day. Whether they use it or not,

1219
01:47:54,467 --> 01:47:56,833
they have the contract to take it. Hopefully they don't. It's a closed-loop

1220
01:47:58,600 --> 01:48:02,333
system. Closed-loop systems still require water. You're going to say it doesn't use as

1221
01:48:03,567 --> 01:48:06,633
much water. They don't need that much water there. It's everything outside. It's the

1222
01:48:08,433 --> 01:48:11,933
energy that's being made. It's the other pieces that are being made for it. The only guy

1223
01:48:14,067 --> 01:48:17,267
at the may meeting that was honest about anything was the google guy. And all he said

1224
01:48:19,333 --> 01:48:22,133
was, we'll throw money at it. If there's a problem,

1225
01:48:23,600 --> 01:48:26,633
we'll throw money at it. If we run out of water, they don't care. They won't be

1226
01:48:28,533 --> 01:48:32,333
here. We'll be here. Most of us would say that we're

1227
01:48:33,600 --> 01:48:37,533
christians. This nation was founded on christian principles. Whether you want

1228
01:48:39,400 --> 01:48:42,733
to follow that god or not, that's the right that you were given based off

1229
01:48:44,200 --> 01:48:47,533
of those principles. You get to choose what you want to do, but you have to do it

1230
01:48:48,900 --> 01:48:52,167
within the boundaries of what the bible says, and the bible says

1231
01:48:53,233 --> 01:48:56,200
to take care of people. You've been put on the board to take care of people, not

1232
01:48:57,733 --> 01:49:00,867
for you, but for the common good. And there is no common good

1233
01:49:02,500 --> 01:49:05,233
for ai data centers. Drive around lubbock, look at all the flock systems.

1234
01:49:06,700 --> 01:49:10,400
every time you get online, you're trapped. Why do they need data centers? They're going

1235
01:49:10,933 --> 01:49:14,567
to collect more and more data. Thank you, eric. Denise, I just

1236
01:49:20,000 --> 01:49:22,533
want to say that there's been a lot of legitimate concerns that have been raised

1237
01:49:24,033 --> 01:49:27,967
by everybody that's been up to this podium. And you, as our council members and our

1238
01:49:29,700 --> 01:49:31,900
governmental representatives, I hope that you would absolutely

1239
01:49:33,933 --> 01:49:37,267
take everything into consideration and be that body that is for the people. Listen

1240
01:49:40,733 --> 01:49:44,300
to the people. They're talking to you today, and they've brought up some amazing facts, things that I learned today,

1241
01:49:45,467 --> 01:49:46,833
and I know many of us here have. So please consider, prayerfully consider,

1242
01:49:49,733 --> 01:49:53,633
what the people are telling you. It doesn't sound like it's a good idea for

1243
01:49:54,600 --> 01:49:57,900
lubbock, texas. Thank you, denise. Corey? Corey? Hi, I'm

1244
01:50:04,900 --> 01:50:08,733
corey austin, and I did have a statement planned, but y'all did that lovely slideshow,

1245
01:50:11,767 --> 01:50:14,967
so I'm going to respond to some things on that slideshow that I hope you'll take into consideration and you

1246
01:50:16,067 --> 01:50:19,533
ask yourself these questions when you're looking at this particular problem. I noted

1247
01:50:21,133 --> 01:50:23,800
that you said 100,000 gallons per day was the water usage

1248
01:50:26,433 --> 01:50:29,967
for a data center. Where are you getting that number? According to abilene, the

1249
01:50:32,100 --> 01:50:34,167
stargate center, their fill-up rate is 1 million gallons per

1250
01:50:37,467 --> 01:50:39,367
building. They are slated to have 10 buildings. That

1251
01:50:41,667 --> 01:50:44,333
doesn't account for evaporation rates. That doesn't account

1252
01:50:45,767 --> 01:50:49,167
for systematic blow-off, which means they actually take the water they put in the system

1253
01:50:50,133 --> 01:50:53,767
and they let it go. Where are they letting it go? Where does it go? What happens to it? You

1254
01:50:56,100 --> 01:50:59,733
also noted that we've obviously had great conservation efforts

1255
01:51:01,600 --> 01:51:04,233
around here. What for? If we're just going to hand it over to a

1256
01:51:05,867 --> 01:51:09,067
data center that's not going to produce anything or manufacture anything,

1257
01:51:11,733 --> 01:51:15,000
why am I conserving water? So please, when you see

1258
01:51:17,433 --> 01:51:20,100
statistics, start asking yourself why. And according to the environmental

1259
01:51:21,600 --> 01:51:24,000
and energy study institute, which is actually an independently owned third-party

1260
01:51:26,467 --> 01:51:28,800
environmental study institute, they're saying these data centers can consume up to 5

1261
01:51:30,500 --> 01:51:32,033
million gallons a day. 5 million gallons a day. That's

1262
01:51:35,833 --> 01:51:39,533
huge. You can actually supply water for a whole country at that rate. And at the rate

1263
01:51:40,900 --> 01:51:43,767
they are actually talking about scaling these data centers in the state of

1264
01:51:44,967 --> 01:51:48,200
texas. Texas has been in a drought ever since I have lived here. I've been born and

1265
01:51:49,800 --> 01:51:51,733
raised here in texas. And water's always been an issue.

1266
01:51:53,967 --> 01:51:57,167
so why are we even thinking about allowing things

1267
01:51:58,933 --> 01:52:02,200
in the state, in our county, in our city that are going to draw on one

1268
01:52:04,100 --> 01:52:05,467
of our most precious resources. Corey, thank you. Thank you.

1269
01:52:09,467 --> 01:52:12,467
if we could have paul scioli, kamal patel, and fabian mata

1270
01:52:15,433 --> 01:52:17,100
come up and take your seat. Thank you. Josh. My name is

1271
01:52:20,833 --> 01:52:22,867
josh chavez. Mr. Mayor, city council, I had a lot

1272
01:52:25,833 --> 01:52:28,967
of questions for y'all. A lot of them got addressed. Everything from pollution

1273
01:52:30,133 --> 01:52:33,200
to water usage to electricity, so on and so forth. Y'all know we do not

1274
01:52:35,800 --> 01:52:38,133
have electrical infrastructure for this. These data centers

1275
01:52:40,133 --> 01:52:43,300
consume anywhere between 20% and 100% of what a city the size of

1276
01:52:44,500 --> 01:52:47,733
lubbock would do. Where are you going to get the transformers? Transformers are anywhere

1277
01:52:48,533 --> 01:52:51,567
between 6 months and 4 years out from being able

1278
01:52:53,467 --> 01:52:56,000
to be manufactured. Not to mention water. Everybody's brought up the aquifer that's

1279
01:52:58,033 --> 01:53:00,800
already going to be depleted in 50 to 100 years. I appreciate the efforts

1280
01:53:02,067 --> 01:53:05,433
for water conservation. Like she said, what is the point if you're just going

1281
01:53:06,267 --> 01:53:08,867
to hand it to an out-of-state billionaire that is not from here, does not live here,

1282
01:53:10,400 --> 01:53:13,600
will not suffer the consequences? That leads me to believe that y'all are one

1283
01:53:16,067 --> 01:53:17,833
of 3 things. You are corrupt, you are incompetent,

1284
01:53:21,733 --> 01:53:23,033
or you are both. But you are certainly neither.

1285
01:53:26,267 --> 01:53:27,867
that's cause for a recall election. Y'all serve us. You

1286
01:53:31,233 --> 01:53:31,233
don't serve billionaires.

1287
01:53:35,567 --> 01:53:37,833
serve your citizens. It's a social contract. Contract.

1288
01:53:40,000 --> 01:53:40,000
abide by it. Thank you, josh.

1289
01:53:46,200 --> 01:53:46,200
paul? Paul scioli? Thank y'all

1290
01:53:51,167 --> 01:53:53,567
for hosting this. It's a wonderful idea. My name is

1291
01:53:55,367 --> 01:53:57,833
paul scioli. I'm a 66-year resident of lubbock and

1292
01:54:00,500 --> 01:54:02,067
lubbock county. I also own property in kent county, which

1293
01:54:04,533 --> 01:54:08,333
is just east of lubbock. And I've had the displeasure of dealing with, they

1294
01:54:10,067 --> 01:54:12,233
installed, unbeknownst, the largest solar farm of 1.5

1295
01:54:14,667 --> 01:54:17,400
million panels over thousands, thousands

1296
01:54:19,667 --> 01:54:22,500
of acres. And now I am competing right out my back door for a 1.6

1297
01:54:23,933 --> 01:54:27,500
million square foot data center. So

1298
01:54:30,067 --> 01:54:32,367
over the last few years, I have made it my business

1299
01:54:36,700 --> 01:54:38,333
to understand why and learn about this, and I have,

1300
01:54:40,867 --> 01:54:43,500
and I've learned a lot. And there's a lot of things that were on those

1301
01:54:45,067 --> 01:54:47,667
slides that were not accurate. I'm going to give you one example. Noise

1302
01:54:50,033 --> 01:54:52,267
mitigation. The real word is total noise because

1303
01:54:54,733 --> 01:54:58,733
of what was mentioned. Understand the word infrasonic. Understand the damage. You can

1304
01:55:02,100 --> 01:55:04,567
mitigate that. The truth is, after all my experience, and I

1305
01:55:06,800 --> 01:55:10,367
have all the questions and all the research, I have it stacked this high, I

1306
01:55:12,600 --> 01:55:15,333
will tell you that these projects could be done

1307
01:55:17,700 --> 01:55:17,700
responsibly. They won't. And if

1308
01:55:23,467 --> 01:55:26,833
you deal with these people, long enough like I have, you'll find it's not that pleasant.

1309
01:55:30,000 --> 01:55:32,400
but you must have, and I appreciate those slides because

1310
01:55:34,100 --> 01:55:37,433
you touched on a lot of those things, strong enforceable protections

1311
01:55:38,867 --> 01:55:42,533
to put in place before the construction begins, because if you don't, they,

1312
01:55:45,667 --> 01:55:49,500
you can't win the fight. They have the money. So all the concerns that were brought

1313
01:55:51,467 --> 01:55:54,533
forth, I understand, and they're all accurate. Thank you, paul. Okay. Fabian?

1314
01:56:03,667 --> 01:56:06,200
yeah, my name is fabian. I live in north lubbock. I happened

1315
01:56:07,800 --> 01:56:10,167
to be in attendance to that planning and zoning meeting where the california guy wanted

1316
01:56:11,833 --> 01:56:13,800
to get the zoning changed to put that 900-acre thing,

1317
01:56:15,933 --> 01:56:19,800
dump. And I was there for another reason. Ironically, I was there for ordinance 6323, 1972 city

1318
01:56:23,233 --> 01:56:25,933
ordinance that pretty much says the same thing that y'all are going to do to try to,

1319
01:56:27,600 --> 01:56:30,467
if you put the data center, noise mitigation, planting of trees, that ordinance says

1320
01:56:32,267 --> 01:56:35,733
the same thing. And we got triple c concrete polluting it. There's no trees. We got

1321
01:56:37,367 --> 01:56:40,767
permian basin materials, 401 north avenue k. We got dc caliche crushing recycling

1322
01:56:43,567 --> 01:56:46,367
concrete right above the canyon lakes, violating the ordinance. No

1323
01:56:48,000 --> 01:56:50,900
enforcement from city. All of you got my email, and city manager, you've yet

1324
01:56:52,033 --> 01:56:54,867
to respond. 3 weeks. What part of the ordinance allows

1325
01:56:56,633 --> 01:57:00,600
pollution in the yellow house canyon region? Ordinance 6323 is being violated,

1326
01:57:02,933 --> 01:57:06,767
and you're proposing we're going to have noise mitigation too? De jure and de facto, you can write it in the law,

1327
01:57:08,000 --> 01:57:11,500
enforcement is not there. I know walker. I know the stormwater people. I had

1328
01:57:12,567 --> 01:57:15,300
to file a complaint at texas commission on environmental quality fraud and men

1329
01:57:16,700 --> 01:57:19,500
in charge of dfw, amarillo, lubbock, and big spring for

1330
01:57:21,433 --> 01:57:24,900
fraud because the rock crusher, d.c. Caliche and nagabauer hard 8 material, are crushing

1331
01:57:28,000 --> 01:57:31,967
right above there. Concrete is even more polluting. Recycled concrete is even more polluting

1332
01:57:32,900 --> 01:57:36,100
than regular concrete because it's got paint and material. It's disgusting. Why haven't

1333
01:57:37,733 --> 01:57:40,733
you all responded? Why are these plants allowed to operate right there in the

1334
01:57:41,967 --> 01:57:45,467
canyon lakes policy zone? I still await your response. You did a half response,

1335
01:57:48,667 --> 01:57:52,533
martinez, but that didn't work out there. The city staff planning, that didn't work. I want the

1336
01:57:53,600 --> 01:57:56,433
specific, anyway, I want specifics. And yeah,

1337
01:57:58,067 --> 01:58:00,333
texas tech has a man at door thing. Don't bring up texas tech anymore, please.

1338
01:58:02,167 --> 01:58:03,667
they have the matador project. Thank you, fabian.

1339
01:58:07,867 --> 01:58:10,067
apparently we had a no-show, so if we could have jordan

1340
01:58:12,567 --> 01:58:16,400
chisholm, william murray, and cece lawrence come up, please. And jordan chisholm,

1341
01:58:26,767 --> 01:58:26,767
you'll be first. Thank you,

1342
01:58:33,333 --> 01:58:35,733
city council. Thank you, city manager's office

1343
01:58:38,367 --> 01:58:40,867
for having this event for everybody. I, I appreciate the proposed zoning changes

1344
01:58:45,000 --> 01:58:47,400
closed-loop cooling noise mitigation berms. I think those

1345
01:58:50,233 --> 01:58:53,100
are all good ideas. But I share the same concerns as a lot

1346
01:58:54,533 --> 01:58:54,533
of our other citizens in that

1347
01:59:00,800 --> 01:59:04,533
they have not very much faith that anything will be done to enforce those regulations if

1348
01:59:07,367 --> 01:59:11,100
they're in place. Texas is a very permissive political

1349
01:59:14,500 --> 01:59:17,100
climate for businesses and not for the environment.

1350
01:59:19,567 --> 01:59:19,567
for their citizens, the water

1351
01:59:24,833 --> 01:59:24,833
and hopefully we can enforce

1352
01:59:32,633 --> 01:59:35,333
those zoning requirements if we do in fact have a datacenter

1353
01:59:37,967 --> 01:59:39,667
built here. There are some issues with the slides

1354
01:59:43,600 --> 01:59:44,500
for example, I know we mentioned 100,000

1355
01:59:47,833 --> 01:59:50,467
gallons of water per day. The average hyperscaler data center

1356
01:59:53,967 --> 01:59:57,333
uses over a million gallons of water per day. Now that's not a closed-loop system,

1357
01:59:59,433 --> 02:00:03,267
adiabatic cooling versus forced air, just something to mention. Thank you. I'm not

1358
02:00:10,067 --> 02:00:11,900
opposed to data centers unlike a lot of

1359
02:00:14,600 --> 02:00:17,333
people here I understand they're important. You know,

1360
02:00:18,900 --> 02:00:21,567
they're important for national security, they're important for the u.s.

1361
02:00:22,933 --> 02:00:26,233
economy, but we have to make sure that we protect ourselves and we protect our families and

1362
02:00:28,000 --> 02:00:31,000
protect our city before we invite something

1363
02:00:32,500 --> 02:00:34,000
like that in. Thank you, jordan. William murray. I'll go

1364
02:00:42,333 --> 02:00:45,900
ahead and jump. I don't want to cover utility costs, resources, things like that, because I think there's been an

1365
02:00:47,000 --> 02:00:50,933
amazing job done with that so far. So I'm just going to try to jump in and cover some other things. So the accountability, I think,

1366
02:00:52,600 --> 02:00:54,967
is a big issue for me, because the issues that we see showing up wouldn't be an issue if

1367
02:00:57,467 --> 02:01:01,433
these companies were not running counter to the community that they're in. If

1368
02:01:02,667 --> 02:01:06,133
they wanted to be good stewards of the community, we wouldn't be running into these problems. It's not

1369
02:01:06,900 --> 02:01:10,467
like they just invented closed-loop cooling. This technology already existed.

1370
02:01:12,333 --> 02:01:15,800
they deliberately chose not to do it because it would save them money. How do we hold them to account when we know that

1371
02:01:16,933 --> 02:01:20,767
that's what they're going to be going after is the financial incentive? Another thing that I don't really see

1372
02:01:21,367 --> 02:01:24,267
coming up a lot right now is safety. So how will the safety of the public be considered?

1373
02:01:26,433 --> 02:01:28,633
there's reports that there are people who are coordinating this malicious activities,

1374
02:01:31,700 --> 02:01:35,067
excuse me, citing that irresponsible development

1375
02:01:37,667 --> 02:01:41,600
of ai data centers as one of their motivating factors. This included the group of

1376
02:01:43,033 --> 02:01:45,800
people that were arrested plotting to attack the president's ufc event. They had

1377
02:01:47,900 --> 02:01:51,333
this motivator among their others. So given the immense public backlash

1378
02:01:53,300 --> 02:01:56,067
that we're seeing not only here but all over, it seems like we have

1379
02:01:57,400 --> 02:01:59,667
to logically arrive at a conclusion where there will likely be harassment and

1380
02:02:01,667 --> 02:02:05,433
malfeasance, if not outright violence, against the structures, the people who build, maintain,

1381
02:02:07,667 --> 02:02:10,200
and staff them. We can act like it's a foregone conclusion that

1382
02:02:11,800 --> 02:02:15,300
we need to jump in bed with the devil so that we can make a deal, but what we're talking

1383
02:02:16,400 --> 02:02:19,200
about when we're talking about making a deal is the thread count on the sheet. Do better.

1384
02:02:21,700 --> 02:02:24,800
look at how we have communities across texas working. San

1385
02:02:26,067 --> 02:02:28,133
marcos and any other growing number of resources that we can do right by the people in the

1386
02:02:30,800 --> 02:02:33,867
communities who live there, not right by the people who are just trying to save money by picking us

1387
02:02:35,600 --> 02:02:39,300
to build their data centers. Thank you, william. Now, as cece comes up,

1388
02:02:40,700 --> 02:02:44,033
we can have the next 3 people come and take your seat. Calvin trossel, michael

1389
02:02:45,300 --> 02:02:48,033
homer, and stephen sanders, please. Thank you, cece.

1390
02:02:49,867 --> 02:02:52,333
hello, my name is cece lawrence. I live in district 01, and if you want to learn

1391
02:02:54,033 --> 02:02:56,500
about me, you should check my website, not a palantir database. The concerns

1392
02:02:58,767 --> 02:03:01,200
over our constitutional rights, water usage, environmental

1393
02:03:03,000 --> 02:03:05,467
hazard, privacy, and the general fear of an orwellian future are valid,

1394
02:03:07,633 --> 02:03:10,567
but I'm here to discuss the finances. There is no reason for the city of

1395
02:03:11,733 --> 02:03:13,533
lubbock to offer any incentive to any company wishing to buy

1396
02:03:16,433 --> 02:03:18,167
our land and use our resources. To the contrary, data centers

1397
02:03:20,533 --> 02:03:24,400
are so widely unpopular that I feel those companies should incentivize us. I've lived and

1398
02:03:27,167 --> 02:03:28,867
voted in lubbock for 20 years. Consistently, lubbockites have

1399
02:03:31,267 --> 02:03:35,200
wanted better schools with school lunches that don't resemble whatever aramark found

1400
02:03:37,100 --> 02:03:40,567
almost spoiled in the back of a hot truck. Lubbockites want clean parks

1401
02:03:42,567 --> 02:03:46,500
with safe trails, affordable community events, more sports, nice roads, paved

1402
02:03:48,900 --> 02:03:52,133
alleys, decorative streetlights. Lubbockites want joyland back.

1403
02:03:58,033 --> 02:03:59,600
all these wonderful things we can't afford, right? Well, they

1404
02:04:02,733 --> 02:04:04,933
can. I'd rather have lubbock as it is now than blindly trust

1405
02:04:07,067 --> 02:04:09,867
some tech bro jerk because he paid some senator to squawk about job creation and global

1406
02:04:11,500 --> 02:04:13,467
competition. Take care of your people here and now because the

1407
02:04:18,933 --> 02:04:22,833
moral mishandlings surrounding democratic accountability and corrupt loopholes for the obscenely wealthy perpetuate

1408
02:04:24,600 --> 02:04:26,633
our economic and social problems. Once you open a

1409
02:04:31,100 --> 02:04:32,600
dialogue with other cities who use the same water sources as

1410
02:04:36,367 --> 02:04:38,867
we do and unite to get the better end of the deal, we the people will prove we don't need them.

1411
02:04:40,567 --> 02:04:43,667
thank you for your time and your consideration. Thank you, cece. Calvin? Well, good

1412
02:04:51,733 --> 02:04:54,367
evening. Thank you for having the hearing. I appreciate it. I appreciate your comments. I've

1413
02:04:56,133 --> 02:04:59,567
learned a lot. And so I've lived in lubbock 27 years.

1414
02:05:01,600 --> 02:05:04,667
in my area of lubbock, I irrigate my yard from a well. And so some of the water issues

1415
02:05:06,200 --> 02:05:09,133
that the city faces don't affect me directly, but I work in the agricultural sector,

1416
02:05:11,233 --> 02:05:14,767
and so I think in terms of what I do in my job is I help farmers in west texas grow their crops

1417
02:05:16,300 --> 02:05:19,700
in the presence of frequent drought. And I was very interested

1418
02:05:20,900 --> 02:05:24,767
in the numbers that you showed about the water data use. I think I think the 100,000 gallons per day is probably a

1419
02:05:27,700 --> 02:05:31,633
low, a very low end. When I calculated some estimates, I used 300,000. There are some

1420
02:05:34,067 --> 02:05:37,733
very large data centers that use much more than that. But the concept of a closed loop is very,

1421
02:05:39,967 --> 02:05:43,500
I think is worth pursuing, making that a standard. But I think in terms

1422
02:05:44,767 --> 02:05:46,300
of what I've looked at the data and the number one concerns that we had in terms of what we

1423
02:05:48,800 --> 02:05:52,500
saw here is that water was the biggest issue at the top. It was around 90%. But

1424
02:05:53,233 --> 02:05:55,633
after listening to things, I think maybe water is not the main issue because the amount

1425
02:05:57,933 --> 02:06:01,933
of use at the 35 million gallons daily use is, is actually relatively small.

1426
02:06:04,833 --> 02:06:08,100
but this is what we live with here in lubbock, is the water restrictions,

1427
02:06:09,433 --> 02:06:12,400
the guidelines for conservation, so forth. And when I first started

1428
02:06:13,733 --> 02:06:17,000
to learn about this topic, I thought, why do we even consider a data center where it rains less than 25 or even 30

1429
02:06:18,533 --> 02:06:22,233
inches a year and we have renewable water, which we have neither here in

1430
02:06:23,100 --> 02:06:26,767
west texas. And so also, I think, as I looked at, I looked up the map,

1431
02:06:28,400 --> 02:06:30,067
I appreciate districts 1 and 2 raising your concerns. I think

1432
02:06:32,533 --> 02:06:35,333
that right now, without annexation, there's not room in the city

1433
02:06:36,667 --> 02:06:40,333
of lubbock to build a data center. It would be outside the city, which we may not have control

1434
02:06:42,133 --> 02:06:44,600
of. But I think the things we've talked about here tonight could be a guideline

1435
02:06:46,300 --> 02:06:49,300
for the region, as our rural communities don't have the resources like lubbock has to

1436
02:06:50,900 --> 02:06:52,400
evaluate the concept and the benefits. Thank you, calvin.

1437
02:06:56,333 --> 02:06:56,333
michael. Ladies and gentlemen,

1438
02:07:01,667 --> 02:07:04,967
I'll be brief, I'll be concise. I'll give you pros and cons. On

1439
02:07:07,433 --> 02:07:11,433
these data centers as I see it. Supposedly there's job

1440
02:07:13,100 --> 02:07:15,333
creation. Not really. There's a relative handful of job,

1441
02:07:17,700 --> 02:07:21,700
construction jobs that'll happen pretty much right away in the construction phase. Beaten bow brothers employ more

1442
02:07:24,033 --> 02:07:27,167
people long-term than any data center will. After that,

1443
02:07:28,767 --> 02:07:32,000
after construction, it's it maintenance. Period,

1444
02:07:34,000 --> 02:07:36,333
full stop. After that, ai proponents say they'll

1445
02:07:39,367 --> 02:07:41,667
invest in the power grid, roads, and fiber optic networks. I'll believe that

1446
02:07:44,267 --> 02:07:47,033
when I see it. On the opposite side, the cons

1447
02:07:48,800 --> 02:07:52,733
to this, energy consumption. Data centers can use as much electricity as a small city.

1448
02:07:57,367 --> 02:08:00,567
somebody, somebody with lp&l will come up with the numbers

1449
02:08:02,333 --> 02:08:06,067
for the kilowatts used in the city, I'd love to see them. I think lubbock

1450
02:08:07,067 --> 02:08:09,900
qualifies as a small city. Water consumption,

1451
02:08:11,533 --> 02:08:14,567
data centers consume millions of gallons, millions of gallons annually. Had a

1452
02:08:16,800 --> 02:08:18,700
conversation with people at the water department

1453
02:08:21,800 --> 02:08:25,400
about a year ago. They said we've got plenty of water I think the number he used was,

1454
02:08:26,933 --> 02:08:28,800
I can't remember, but I think between 50 and 100 years. That

1455
02:08:35,000 --> 02:08:37,067
data center, using your numbers, mr. Atkinson, 100,000

1456
02:08:40,467 --> 02:08:42,900
gallons a day, that adds up to 36 million gallons a year.

1457
02:08:48,100 --> 02:08:48,867
by the way, the conversation I had

1458
02:08:52,233 --> 02:08:56,000
with the people at the water department. That conversation happened before the concept

1459
02:08:58,067 --> 02:09:02,033
of data centers was even a topic of discussion. Thank you, michael. Thank you. Now

1460
02:09:05,733 --> 02:09:09,633
stephen sanders comes up. Could we have larry smith, susan pettis, and anson mcfall

1461
02:09:11,567 --> 02:09:15,467
come up, please? Thank you so much for having me. I just wanted

1462
02:09:16,067 --> 02:09:19,200
to thank the mayor for having this meeting. We talked about this when I protested

1463
02:09:20,700 --> 02:09:24,000
them at the texas tech meeting, so he did keep his word and have a meeting. I thank you for that. But the problem is,

1464
02:09:25,900 --> 02:09:29,100
is that I can't even believe we're here talking about a data center when you know that the

1465
02:09:30,500 --> 02:09:32,433
people don't want one. Like, why are we doing this? Why are

1466
02:09:35,233 --> 02:09:37,067
we doing this? Here's the other part. Here's the other part.

1467
02:09:39,933 --> 02:09:43,767
why are you putting it in east lubbock? They're not going to, your friends won't allow you to put it in southwest lubbock. Your friends. I know

1468
02:09:47,100 --> 02:09:47,100
them. They know me. And you

1469
02:09:51,467 --> 02:09:55,467
don't have a backbone to stand up to these people and tell them, hey, my people of lubbock don't

1470
02:09:57,367 --> 02:10:00,600
want that. It doesn't just affect those people in north and east lubbock. It affects everybody in this city. We want

1471
02:10:03,867 --> 02:10:07,600
our water. We've been saving our water. That, that's on us. My yard is yellow as

1472
02:10:11,333 --> 02:10:14,767
hell. Because I'm trying to do what you asked me to do. But you can't listen

1473
02:10:16,133 --> 02:10:17,800
to us and just say no. Just say no, man. Do it

1474
02:10:20,600 --> 02:10:23,500
for your people. Do it for us. I voted

1475
02:10:25,767 --> 02:10:29,067
for you. I voted for you and I endorsed you. And I'm expecting you to turn

1476
02:10:31,933 --> 02:10:34,333
around and stand up for me like I know you can. You're a

1477
02:10:36,333 --> 02:10:40,167
you're a baptist preacher, and you know that when we're not

1478
02:10:42,067 --> 02:10:43,833
taking care of our people, we are letting christ down.

1479
02:10:46,933 --> 02:10:46,933
you know that. You have the

1480
02:10:53,733 --> 02:10:56,100
power, mark, to lead us in the right direction,

1481
02:10:58,467 --> 02:11:01,267
and we're watching you. If you don't, I'm going to recall you in november. You know it. You

1482
02:11:07,967 --> 02:11:11,167
know it. Christy, thank you so much. Gordon, thank you. I'm watching you. I hope that

1483
02:11:12,667 --> 02:11:14,867
you'll do the right thing. You're new, so I'm going to give you a break. Thank you,

1484
02:11:19,833 --> 02:11:19,833
stephen. Larry, larry smith. I

1485
02:11:30,533 --> 02:11:34,400
want to thank the council for being here tonight and letting us do this. I've been on a school board before. I've been

1486
02:11:35,567 --> 02:11:38,733
on that side of it. It's kind of, it can be a little tough, so I appreciate your time

1487
02:11:39,900 --> 02:11:43,233
in doing this. That school district actually was right next to roberts county where

1488
02:11:45,367 --> 02:11:48,033
you're pulling about 30% of your water, so it it's a little close to my

1489
02:11:50,033 --> 02:11:52,933
heart as well. A gentleman said earlier that fermi has,

1490
02:11:54,567 --> 02:11:56,900
can pull up to 2.5 million gallons per day. I also read

1491
02:12:00,433 --> 02:12:03,033
that it can escalate even up to 10 million gallons per day.

1492
02:12:07,467 --> 02:12:11,133
that is concerning. That's concerning because they're part of cromwell. We're part of

1493
02:12:13,100 --> 02:12:16,900
cromwell. What defense mechanisms do we have in place to keep them from taking which

1494
02:12:20,733 --> 02:12:23,167
basically is our water, whether it's there or any other part

1495
02:12:25,367 --> 02:12:25,367
of the line coming down here.

1496
02:12:30,633 --> 02:12:32,800
do you have defense mechanisms to, to protect us in that?

1497
02:12:34,733 --> 02:12:37,900
that's one thing that, that concerned me. The other thing is, is if, if you do

1498
02:12:41,267 --> 02:12:45,100
bring a data center comes here, they're coming here for a reason. They're coming here for the water. They're coming for the tax base,

1499
02:12:47,033 --> 02:12:50,500
to not be taxed too much from somewhere else. Do not give a tax break. Do not give a

1500
02:12:52,933 --> 02:12:55,767
tax break. You provide all these services, they need

1501
02:12:57,500 --> 02:13:01,200
to pay them. Thank you. Thank you, larry. Susan pettis?

1502
02:13:05,733 --> 02:13:05,733
susan pettis not here? What

1503
02:13:10,233 --> 02:13:12,833
about anson mcfall? Anson mcfall? No? Okay. Let's have

1504
02:13:14,867 --> 02:13:16,733
melanie parks, jordan jennings, and john cadena come

1505
02:13:19,433 --> 02:13:22,967
up, please. And after these 03, we will take our short

1506
02:13:24,700 --> 02:13:24,700
break. Okay? That's good

1507
02:13:28,900 --> 02:13:32,067
because I need to go to the restroom. Hello, council. My name is melanie

1508
02:13:33,067 --> 02:13:34,900
parks, not affiliated with melanie park neighborhood or

1509
02:13:37,233 --> 02:13:40,767
melanie park church. I am my own entity, melanie with an a and plural with an

1510
02:13:43,033 --> 02:13:45,500
s. So when I say my name, people say, that name sounds familiar. Not

1511
02:13:47,100 --> 02:13:50,600
affiliated with that. Councilman harris, I'm so glad

1512
02:13:52,833 --> 02:13:56,267
you asked the question because I have an answer for you. The layman term

1513
02:13:57,467 --> 02:14:01,300
for a data center, and I'm going to put in a little biblical term with it as well. We need to

1514
02:14:05,000 --> 02:14:05,000
stop calling them data centers.

1515
02:14:09,367 --> 02:14:09,367
they are surveillance centers.

1516
02:14:17,533 --> 02:14:17,533
they are data collection hubs.

1517
02:14:22,833 --> 02:14:25,533
behavioral tracking warehouses. If you know, you know. If you

1518
02:14:32,300 --> 02:14:32,300
don't know, read the bible.

1519
02:14:40,833 --> 02:14:42,700
what we have setting up is just like china, a social credit

1520
02:14:45,200 --> 02:14:48,467
score system that we will all be imprisoned to. Some people

1521
02:14:53,567 --> 02:14:57,500
probably aren't agreeing. But like I said, if you read your bible, you know this is a

1522
02:14:59,533 --> 02:15:02,533
digital beast system being set up for the end times to come.

1523
02:15:06,967 --> 02:15:10,167
lord help us. Thank you, melanie. Jordan, I'm here

1524
02:15:16,267 --> 02:15:18,300
on behalf of my divine authority and all those who

1525
02:15:20,567 --> 02:15:24,500
looking into my eyes right now, you are under judgment

1526
02:15:25,167 --> 02:15:28,567
to your discernment to stand for we the people and not these corporations. And judgment will

1527
02:15:31,367 --> 02:15:33,333
be made to those who do not take heed

1528
02:15:35,400 --> 02:15:39,233
to this warning. You do as we need you to do

1529
02:15:41,600 --> 02:15:43,800
to be one as a nation and to work together. And if you

1530
02:15:46,400 --> 02:15:49,767
continue to let this tyranny to happen with big corporations

1531
02:15:51,033 --> 02:15:53,133
to consume us, you will be given a whirlwind

1532
02:15:58,467 --> 02:15:58,467
of things that will happen. So

1533
02:16:02,900 --> 02:16:05,900
take heed to this warning. If you don't stand by we the

1534
02:16:08,000 --> 02:16:11,133
people, we the people will stand up and you will have nothing to hold. That goes

1535
02:16:16,767 --> 02:16:19,433
with our food being poisoned, our water being overfilled

1536
02:16:21,833 --> 02:16:24,300
with chlorine. We've been targeted long enough,

1537
02:16:27,133 --> 02:16:30,233
and it's going to happen, and you all know it. So if you

1538
02:16:32,200 --> 02:16:35,867
don't get on the right side right now, you're going to be a part

1539
02:16:38,300 --> 02:16:42,300
of the future of what was and what the future will be by not standing by us, the

1540
02:16:43,500 --> 02:16:45,100
people, no matter what species you are.

1541
02:16:49,600 --> 02:16:53,400
because we can all do this together and make this world better. We have to let go of

1542
02:16:58,433 --> 02:17:01,667
our ego and pride and make this world better by not consuming it and taking

1543
02:17:04,633 --> 02:17:06,467
over mother earth and making it even hotter and drier to make

1544
02:17:10,867 --> 02:17:12,300
this nation prosperous and not just a slave system. Thank you,

1545
02:17:17,100 --> 02:17:17,100
jordan. We're about to, about

1546
02:17:22,000 --> 02:17:24,833
to take a break, but john cadena, you were up next. Are you okay? Sorry. Thank you. So

1547
02:17:34,933 --> 02:17:38,067
I came here today just because I personally was very ignorant

1548
02:17:41,467 --> 02:17:42,900
on this topic and I wanted to kind of get all the

1549
02:17:46,433 --> 02:17:50,433
information I could. I came in here with my concerns. I'm leaving with a few more concerns. But one question, I'm sorry,

1550
02:17:52,367 --> 02:17:52,367
one couple that I did have.

1551
02:17:57,833 --> 02:18:01,267
one was the district 1, district 2 issue. I mean, come on. I mean, it may be, it

1552
02:18:04,333 --> 02:18:07,100
may be because historically those lines were laid in certain parts of town. I

1553
02:18:08,567 --> 02:18:11,967
think everyone can probably gauge why those lines were laid in certain parts of town. And

1554
02:18:14,467 --> 02:18:18,467
now we're seeing the results of that. That's a major concern for me. I don't even live in

1555
02:18:20,067 --> 02:18:23,400
those districts and it's still concern for me. Another concern I had was we're given these

1556
02:18:26,967 --> 02:18:28,867
reassurances. One of them was this reassurance

1557
02:18:31,300 --> 02:18:34,133
by governor abbott, so on and so forth. You know, they're paying their own bills,

1558
02:18:35,533 --> 02:18:38,533
so on and so forth. But I think anybody who's lived in lubbock for a good amount of

1559
02:18:40,633 --> 02:18:40,633
time knows that the dollar goes

1560
02:18:45,967 --> 02:18:49,367
far. I think we saw that. Most recently with our local university,

1561
02:18:51,500 --> 02:18:54,000
how if you have enough money, you can make things happen. So

1562
02:18:56,533 --> 02:19:00,400
that's not really an assurance for me that they're going to pay their own bills when we

1563
02:19:02,033 --> 02:19:05,700
have many wealthy people who can just kind of throw some money around and

1564
02:19:06,800 --> 02:19:09,200
maybe those reassurances go away. Another my major concern

1565
02:19:14,233 --> 02:19:17,833
I have is, as many people have mentioned before this panel represents

1566
02:19:21,300 --> 02:19:23,667
the people, the constituents. Thankfully, my representative

1567
02:19:27,100 --> 02:19:30,000
is not on, it was not my concern, but it is concerning

1568
02:19:31,933 --> 02:19:35,433
to me that we are here listening to the people. Thank you, john. At this time,

1569
02:19:39,200 --> 02:19:42,833
we're going to take a break. I think we're going to have enough time to get through everyone who has signed

1570
02:19:45,033 --> 02:19:47,000
up to speak. There are bathrooms, restrooms to the

1571
02:19:49,533 --> 02:19:51,533
east and the south if you would like to take a break,

1572
02:19:53,767 --> 02:19:56,433
and we will get started here in 20 minutes. We're going

1573
02:20:01,833 --> 02:20:05,733
to call, let's call 5 up at a time now, because I think we may have

1574
02:20:07,133 --> 02:20:10,767
some people, the crowd has thinned out, so some people may not step forward. So let's go ahead and

1575
02:20:12,200 --> 02:20:15,067
call 5 up at a time, abner, if you would. Okay, we, the next

1576
02:20:21,033 --> 02:20:23,567
5 are scott white, joyce white, corey gressett, glenn

1577
02:20:27,300 --> 02:20:27,300
little, and kaylin lewis. If

1578
02:20:32,400 --> 02:20:36,200
you will come up and take a seat over here, we will get started again. It

1579
02:20:49,033 --> 02:20:51,267
may be pretty quick. I guess you go ahead and call 5 more.

1580
02:20:56,733 --> 02:20:56,733
okay. Oh, here we go. Sure,

1581
02:21:04,133 --> 02:21:06,433
we'll wait a couple minutes. I think they're coming in. Okay, sure, sure. I think matt

1582
02:21:11,600 --> 02:21:14,733
is going to go out there and scream and say, get in here now. Say open bar.

1583
02:21:30,267 --> 02:21:33,433
yeah, I guess go to the snack stand, help support your civic center. For alcohol,

1584
02:21:35,400 --> 02:21:35,400
I guess they don't. For those

1585
02:21:39,967 --> 02:21:42,033
of you who have remained for the second half, just,

1586
02:21:44,233 --> 02:21:47,833
I think y'all, everybody's handled themselves really, I think,

1587
02:21:49,133 --> 02:21:51,233
well tonight. Appreciate that very much. And I've watched a lot of these online,

1588
02:21:53,500 --> 02:21:57,233
and I always believe that lubbock is able to do these things right in a civil way,

1589
02:21:58,867 --> 02:22:02,300
and you've shown that tonight. So we really do appreciate it. I know there's a lot of strong opinions on this,

1590
02:22:04,633 --> 02:22:08,467
a lot have been shared tonight, but thank you all for how you've handled yourself. So,

1591
02:22:10,167 --> 02:22:13,467
all right. Okay, matt gave me the thumbs up that that he has

1592
02:22:15,467 --> 02:22:18,133
made the announcement out in the hall. So go ahead and

1593
02:22:20,400 --> 02:22:24,233
call 4 more, I guess. Let's see if we can get 3 up here because we need to get started. Let's

1594
02:22:27,800 --> 02:22:27,800
go with corina quattlebaum,

1595
02:22:32,233 --> 02:22:35,033
ann haggard, and nick marmolejo. Any of you here?

1596
02:22:42,467 --> 02:22:45,233
all right, and let's call a few more to

1597
02:22:46,633 --> 02:22:48,533
see if we can get our third up here. Ann haggard. Ann

1598
02:22:50,933 --> 02:22:50,933
haggard. Scott white. Joyce

1599
02:22:57,233 --> 02:22:57,233
white. Are you corey? Okay,

1600
02:23:02,800 --> 02:23:05,200
corey gressett. Glenn little. Keelan lewis. Karina

1601
02:23:07,100 --> 02:23:07,100
quattlebaum, and haggard.

1602
02:23:12,900 --> 02:23:14,100
okay. All right, let's go ahead and get started.

1603
02:23:22,000 --> 02:23:22,000
corey, come on up. Hi, my name

1604
02:23:26,700 --> 02:23:28,867
is corey ann. Mayor, I'm speaking to you christian to

1605
02:23:30,867 --> 02:23:33,800
christian. Mayor mcbreyer, I asked you once if you were a follower of jesus. And you responded with, yes, I am a

1606
02:23:35,033 --> 02:23:38,067
christian. Therefore, as a sister in christ and a citizen of this city that you have been

1607
02:23:39,567 --> 02:23:42,700
given responsibility over, I must remind you that you are commanded by god to lead,

1608
02:23:44,233 --> 02:23:48,233
protect, sustain, hear, and provide for your flock with dignity, godly intention,

1609
02:23:50,833 --> 02:23:54,333
care, and fear of the lord. What does your fear of god say about you? On judgment day, you will have to account for every

1610
02:23:56,200 --> 02:23:59,667
careless and empty word that you speak. When you have to look god almighty in the face in all

1611
02:24:01,033 --> 02:24:04,900
of his glory, are you going to be able to say that you did the best for your people? Are you going to have to admit that you

1612
02:24:06,800 --> 02:24:10,533
poisoned the well? When ai inevitably comes to take your job, the alleged money you took and stuffed in

1613
02:24:12,633 --> 02:24:15,900
your back pocket is only going to cushion the blow when you fall and get shoved

1614
02:24:17,267 --> 02:24:20,100
off the top and join the rest of us here at the bottom. So make sure to look around you,

1615
02:24:21,700 --> 02:24:25,467
see the faces of your flock, and remember your people, mayor. For those of you that are smelling what we are all

1616
02:24:27,233 --> 02:24:30,100
stepping in, you can join us for free at a community-led discussion

1617
02:24:31,333 --> 02:24:34,300
about the honest impacts of hyperscale data centers in our city and what can be

1618
02:24:35,800 --> 02:24:39,500
done to stop them at the ywca north event room tomorrow from 6 pm to 8 pm. We have

1619
02:24:41,867 --> 02:24:45,833
clayton tucker coming to speak, who is running for ag commissioner, and stephen

1620
02:24:47,500 --> 02:24:50,900
sanders, who is our committee's organizer for save lubbock. Come find us in a blue shirt to sign the petition and get these

1621
02:24:52,633 --> 02:24:54,467
points they made fact-checked. Bingo. Thank you, corey.

1622
02:24:57,567 --> 02:24:57,567
nick. Hi everyone, my name is

1623
02:25:05,800 --> 02:25:07,867
nick marmolejo. I was born and raised in the north side of

1624
02:25:10,067 --> 02:25:11,800
town. I'm also a citizen resident of district 4. First

1625
02:25:14,767 --> 02:25:17,733
of all, I just want to set the tone here by going back to one of the original speakers who said

1626
02:25:19,500 --> 02:25:22,267
something pretty prominent. He said, are we willing to compromise our identity?

1627
02:25:24,533 --> 02:25:26,900
this isn't even a statistical conversation. This is an identity conversation. So I

1628
02:25:29,467 --> 02:25:32,633
want to just first of all thank you great speakers for going ahead

1629
02:25:34,967 --> 02:25:38,533
of us. I also want to point out that no one here, no one that I've heard in the city has made a sound argument

1630
02:25:39,500 --> 02:25:41,633
for why we should even entertain an ai data center.

1631
02:25:44,500 --> 02:25:47,333
and I'll point to the very presentation that y'all presented here today. I mean,

1632
02:25:48,933 --> 02:25:51,633
there was something on the, maybe the 3rd slide that pointed out that there's not

1633
02:25:53,400 --> 02:25:56,833
even a common definition for a large-scale data center that we've agreed upon. So put aside

1634
02:25:58,833 --> 02:26:02,667
all the statistics, we don't even have a definition for what that actually is,

1635
02:26:04,267 --> 02:26:07,167
and that's foundational. So I want to point that out. The other thing I want to say is,

1636
02:26:09,133 --> 02:26:12,300
in a city, lubbock, known for moving a little bit slower, doing things differently. Why

1637
02:26:13,600 --> 02:26:16,367
are we rushing this? And we are rushing it by even having this conversation. I want

1638
02:26:18,500 --> 02:26:21,967
to also point to one more thing, which is there's this undertone I can

1639
02:26:23,367 --> 02:26:25,733
hear and see in the community about one of two things being true.

1640
02:26:27,767 --> 02:26:31,433
either a, either a, there are backroom conversations that are going

1641
02:26:32,533 --> 02:26:36,100
on that we're not privy to, and they this is a formality, really, or b, you don't feel

1642
02:26:38,567 --> 02:26:40,767
you can actually stop the train from coming. It's inevitable. Neither thing should be true.

1643
02:26:43,267 --> 02:26:46,600
and so I just implore and look out to all of you and just say, let's get

1644
02:26:47,800 --> 02:26:50,433
off of facebook. Let's all of us, 600 of us who were here,

1645
02:26:52,567 --> 02:26:56,133
go find the actual petition. Go ahead and sign up for that so that we can put a pause

1646
02:26:58,667 --> 02:27:01,933
on the moratorium. So thank you all. And god bless. Thank you. Thank you, nick. Deborah

1647
02:27:08,467 --> 02:27:08,467
hart, niecy pratt, brooke

1648
02:27:15,267 --> 02:27:15,267
barrett, patricia ramsey, and

1649
02:27:19,667 --> 02:27:23,567
zan ango. If any of you are here, if you would come up, please.

1650
02:27:26,600 --> 02:27:29,600
and we will start with, with you, and you introduce yourself.

1651
02:27:39,000 --> 02:27:42,800
thank you. I'm deborah hart. Firstly, the noise. This is the second time

1652
02:27:44,467 --> 02:27:46,200
I've heard trees mentioned to mitigate the noise. Now, I

1653
02:27:48,700 --> 02:27:51,600
didn't chatgpt this, but I think trees require water, and

1654
02:27:54,833 --> 02:27:56,667
I also think they lose their leaves every fall. Anyway,

1655
02:27:59,067 --> 02:28:00,700
governor abbott has spent several years courting texas

1656
02:28:03,633 --> 02:28:07,533
to get the data centers. His current backpedaling is a massive acknowledgment that the

1657
02:28:09,900 --> 02:28:13,900
current framework is broken. To avoid the distrust of local government,

1658
02:28:15,433 --> 02:28:18,700
all applications for specific use permits for large-scale data centers should

1659
02:28:20,767 --> 02:28:24,000
be put to a vote by the citizens of lubbock. Thank you. Good evening. I'm

1660
02:28:36,567 --> 02:28:40,067
niecy pratt. Thank you for this meeting today. Economic development should

1661
02:28:41,767 --> 02:28:45,367
never be about growth and tax impact alone. It should certainly not come

1662
02:28:49,200 --> 02:28:52,300
at the expense of the use and enjoyment of our land, of our quality of our life,

1663
02:28:53,833 --> 02:28:56,700
or public health and safety. Data centers infringe

1664
02:28:58,200 --> 02:29:01,000
on every one of these things, and I think what you heard here today overwhelmingly is

1665
02:29:03,867 --> 02:29:06,000
citizens are telling you there is not a price or tax impact

1666
02:29:08,933 --> 02:29:10,767
that can convince us to buy out our quality of life or

1667
02:29:13,367 --> 02:29:16,967
public health and safety. There is not a dollar amount. If you were to put a vote

1668
02:29:18,433 --> 02:29:21,300
to the public citizens, I venture to say overwhelmingly

1669
02:29:22,867 --> 02:29:26,333
that they would vote no against data centers completely. And we

1670
02:29:28,533 --> 02:29:31,567
implore you to not do what, what data centers want,

1671
02:29:33,200 --> 02:29:36,667
what developers want, but to listen to your constituents. And

1672
02:29:38,200 --> 02:29:41,067
in the alternative, if you are not going to ask public, take into

1673
02:29:42,567 --> 02:29:45,267
account what we want and vote against data centers, then in the alternative,

1674
02:29:46,667 --> 02:29:49,800
please put a moratorium in place. You have people petitioning for a moratorium.

1675
02:29:52,267 --> 02:29:54,800
stand up and take the initiative to put a moratorium in place immediately

1676
02:29:56,800 --> 02:30:00,533
to pump the brakes on this. That's not radical. It's happening everywhere. And we

1677
02:30:02,533 --> 02:30:05,300
want you, if you want us to trust you, put the moratorium in place.

1678
02:30:07,067 --> 02:30:08,667
don't make us petition you to do it. Once the moratorium's

1679
02:30:15,933 --> 02:30:19,600
in place, form a multidisciplinary committee, a technical

1680
02:30:21,367 --> 02:30:24,167
committee that has residents that are a part of it. You've done a year's worth of work

1681
02:30:25,533 --> 02:30:29,267
with out residents. Include residents to help develop these standards. Ban data centers,

1682
02:30:32,333 --> 02:30:35,867
put a moratorium in place, and put individual projects to the citizens to vote. Thank

1683
02:30:37,333 --> 02:30:37,333
you. Thank you, misty. Brooke.

1684
02:30:46,267 --> 02:30:49,500
hello, I'm brooke barrett. Thank you for hosting us this evening.

1685
02:30:52,367 --> 02:30:54,567
now, many things I was going to say have already been covered

1686
02:30:56,933 --> 02:31:00,333
very well tonight but just perhaps a bit

1687
02:31:01,300 --> 02:31:02,067
of anecdotal storytelling. It's been covered, the

1688
02:31:06,200 --> 02:31:08,767
infrasonic sound waves that travel through the ground and

1689
02:31:10,300 --> 02:31:13,200
affect things like livestock. I would also like to mention that lubbock

1690
02:31:14,400 --> 02:31:18,300
specifically has a stray animal problem. And it relates to increased violence

1691
02:31:20,500 --> 02:31:22,867
in those animals. It's upsetting to them. And as

1692
02:31:24,567 --> 02:31:26,867
somebody whose partner is a mail carrier and serves the

1693
02:31:28,600 --> 02:31:32,000
city every day, it is, it's already brutal what they experience in terms

1694
02:31:33,333 --> 02:31:36,200
of roaming dogs. So that's something that's important to keep in mind. And I

1695
02:31:40,167 --> 02:31:43,133
absolutely also support the concept of a moratorium until further environmental impact

1696
02:31:45,633 --> 02:31:48,867
studies can be done in these other areas across texas. And then as these

1697
02:31:50,433 --> 02:31:51,400
centers have been rising up across texas maybe it's small

1698
02:31:54,967 --> 02:31:57,133
potatoes compared to what large corporations can offer, but I

1699
02:32:00,233 --> 02:32:03,700
think this is a wonderful opportunity for lubbock to embody its character as the

1700
02:32:05,200 --> 02:32:07,367
friendliest city in texas and to protect not only its own

1701
02:32:09,567 --> 02:32:13,533
citizens but perhaps citizens, at least those who have the means and would like to leave communities

1702
02:32:14,967 --> 02:32:17,967
that have been poorly affected by these data centers to come be a part

1703
02:32:19,767 --> 02:32:23,333
of this economic community. And to I just think it's a good opportunity to be different,

1704
02:32:25,100 --> 02:32:28,000
to be leaders of another color, to try and welcome

1705
02:32:29,800 --> 02:32:32,533
in people who are trying to escape these problems in their own communities as well.

1706
02:32:34,033 --> 02:32:34,033
thank you. Thank you, brooke.

1707
02:32:43,300 --> 02:32:46,567
hi, I'm patricia ramsey. One of the first things we are taught when we begin to venture out

1708
02:32:47,667 --> 02:32:50,933
into the world is to pay close attention to high-pressure tactics, as they are almost always a sign

1709
02:32:52,733 --> 02:32:56,733
that something rarely in our best interest is going on. We continue hearing this warning

1710
02:32:57,900 --> 02:32:59,700
constantly at work through emails, for example,

1711
02:33:02,667 --> 02:33:05,867
saying if you receive an email using one of these high-pressure tactics, that's suspect. One of the most

1712
02:33:07,300 --> 02:33:10,200
common high-pressure techniques is an inflated sense of urgency. If you don't act

1713
02:33:11,667 --> 02:33:14,800
on this right now, you'll miss out completely. Data centers are being built

1714
02:33:16,533 --> 02:33:18,767
with a great sense of urgency, but why? It's not for the good

1715
02:33:21,000 --> 02:33:24,233
of the host community. What are they bringing us directly? They provide a remote service

1716
02:33:26,267 --> 02:33:29,533
which could be provided from any location. How many permanent jobs for local

1717
02:33:31,167 --> 02:33:34,933
citizens have been promised. What else do they purport to offer

1718
02:33:36,033 --> 02:33:39,167
to the average citizen? These centers are being built with extreme urgency in order

1719
02:33:41,067 --> 02:33:43,833
to beat the regulatory clock. I suspect that investors are

1720
02:33:45,767 --> 02:33:48,467
drastically overbuilding in order to overpower their competitors.

1721
02:33:50,367 --> 02:33:53,500
but if this amount of power is truly needed, the demand will continue and

1722
02:33:54,967 --> 02:33:57,500
companies will eventually have to accede to regulatory requirements.

1723
02:33:59,100 --> 02:34:01,500
and if we wait, learning even more from other communities,

1724
02:34:03,133 --> 02:34:05,700
we actually put the city in a much better position. One of our greatest abilities as

1725
02:34:07,733 --> 02:34:09,667
humans is that we can learn from each other and adapt. And

1726
02:34:12,133 --> 02:34:14,567
in the course of learning and adapting, I believe we will find ways

1727
02:34:16,233 --> 02:34:19,700
to do better and be better without selling out the local community

1728
02:34:21,700 --> 02:34:24,067
for a handful of assumptions, and suggestions, which is all we have

1729
02:34:26,500 --> 02:34:28,000
at this time. Thank you, patricia. Thank you

1730
02:34:32,233 --> 02:34:36,200
for allowing me a moment to speak. I, for the board's benefit,

1731
02:34:36,767 --> 02:34:40,300
I'm not going to be going over anything else that has previously been discussed, so I thank you for your patience as I try

1732
02:34:41,200 --> 02:34:43,433
to navigate around the many notes I've made throughout today's presentation. My name

1733
02:34:45,333 --> 02:34:48,567
is zan argo. I was born and raised here in the high plains, and I am currently

1734
02:34:50,433 --> 02:34:53,800
working as a policy analyst researcher at texas tech university, and I wanted to

1735
02:34:54,900 --> 02:34:56,233
present several concerns I had with this bill. Justly, it's

1736
02:34:58,967 --> 02:35:02,367
public health. The amount of energy that we need to produce in order to

1737
02:35:04,367 --> 02:35:08,333
facilitate these data centers, whoever will build it, will most likely be done from gas, and we all know that

1738
02:35:09,333 --> 02:35:12,633
gas generators pump a lot of nitrogen, nitrogen monoxide and nitrogen dioxide

1739
02:35:13,967 --> 02:35:15,067
into our atmosphere, which causes asthma. And we're

1740
02:35:18,133 --> 02:35:20,867
going to be trading our children's health for nothing. I also wanted

1741
02:35:22,733 --> 02:35:26,467
to speak to you to the members of the board who state we have to keep them here because if we

1742
02:35:28,233 --> 02:35:31,067
let them go elsewhere, then they'll be unregulated.

1743
02:35:32,433 --> 02:35:35,200
to you, I'd say we don't care. We are here to speak to them in the

1744
02:35:36,567 --> 02:35:39,167
city because we will fight them in the city. If they leave and go elsewhere, if they go

1745
02:35:40,633 --> 02:35:43,500
to the county, we will fight them in the county. If we have to go to the capitol, we will

1746
02:35:44,800 --> 02:35:48,767
fight them at the capitol. We will go wherever they are. We only need you

1747
02:35:50,067 --> 02:35:53,867
to represent us here in the city. We will take the fight to them. Also, I wanted

1748
02:35:57,500 --> 02:36:01,367
to say this isn't the first time that the high plains has been fighting with a billionaire

1749
02:36:02,700 --> 02:36:05,733
for our water. In 2011, a billionaire, an oil billionaire, tried to buy all

1750
02:36:06,833 --> 02:36:10,800
of ogallala, around 200,000 acres, and sell it to dallas. Today, I ask you, are we going

1751
02:36:12,900 --> 02:36:15,167
to have to do it again? Is the high plains residents again

1752
02:36:17,000 --> 02:36:19,767
going to have to spend over $100 million to buy our own water back? And

1753
02:36:22,000 --> 02:36:25,467
lastly, I wanted to touch on a quote that you had asked. You asked,

1754
02:36:27,167 --> 02:36:30,367
why should we care? Just in layman's terms, why should we allow this? And it's the demand.

1755
02:36:31,200 --> 02:36:33,600
but I ask you, who demanded this? Because it wasn't me. Thank you, zan. We

1756
02:36:39,333 --> 02:36:41,967
could have vanessa, vanessa hernandez, ruben vasquez,

1757
02:36:43,667 --> 02:36:45,500
gonzalo ramirez, jessica sanchez, and robert rogers.

1758
02:36:56,233 --> 02:36:56,233
hi, good evening. Sorry. Oh

1759
02:37:01,467 --> 02:37:04,133
yeah, that's fine. Thank you. I'd like to start with my favorite bible verse,

1760
02:37:05,767 --> 02:37:07,533
mark 8:36. For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain

1761
02:37:10,000 --> 02:37:12,800
the whole world and forfeit his soul? My question for you today, for what shall

1762
02:37:14,867 --> 02:37:18,533
it profit a tech giant if they shall gain the whole world's data and forfeit the

1763
02:37:19,933 --> 02:37:22,767
community's soul? The decisions we make today will determine whether future generations

1764
02:37:24,267 --> 02:37:25,967
inherit the same lubbock we all love, or are they going

1765
02:37:28,333 --> 02:37:30,833
to be left with the remnants of a past we should have preserved? While many data

1766
02:37:32,567 --> 02:37:36,333
centers attempt to address the water concern through air cooling systems instead, this simply replaces

1767
02:37:38,367 --> 02:37:40,867
one resource concern with another, as they also heavily rely

1768
02:37:42,600 --> 02:37:45,200
on massive amounts of electricity while continuously releasing waste heat and

1769
02:37:46,867 --> 02:37:50,767
operating industrial cooling equipment around the clock. In one of the world's largest

1770
02:37:51,800 --> 02:37:55,567
concentrations of data centers, northern virginia, concerns have been raised over the rising

1771
02:37:57,167 --> 02:38:01,033
electricity demand, transmission lines cutting through rural landscapes,

1772
02:38:02,767 --> 02:38:05,333
constant generator noise, and pressure on local infrastructure,

1773
02:38:08,733 --> 02:38:12,300
to name a few. Last month, san marcos became the first city in texas to prohibit data centers with

1774
02:38:12,800 --> 02:38:16,167
within its city limits because its leaders concluded that the benefits do not outweigh the

1775
02:38:17,833 --> 02:38:21,500
costs. And another texas, if another texas community is prohibiting such developments,

1776
02:38:23,433 --> 02:38:27,067
shouldn't lubbock take notice? Yes, building facilities creates hundreds

1777
02:38:28,800 --> 02:38:31,767
of temporary construction jobs. However, the key word is temporary. And once

1778
02:38:33,900 --> 02:38:36,767
construction is complete, many large data centers employ only a few dozen or at most a couple

1779
02:38:38,967 --> 02:38:41,600
hundred full-time employees, despite occupying hundreds of

1780
02:38:43,300 --> 02:38:46,500
acres and consuming enormous amounts of electricity, resources,

1781
02:38:48,533 --> 02:38:52,267
and infrastructure. We all have to ask ourselves, are we building a stronger

1782
02:38:53,533 --> 02:38:55,700
lubbock, or are we simply lining the pockets of corporate entities and investors while

1783
02:38:57,633 --> 02:38:59,433
our community foots the bill? Thank you, vanessa. Ruben?

1784
02:39:06,467 --> 02:39:06,467
robbin. Hello. Just

1785
02:39:12,567 --> 02:39:15,000
want to touch on some of the things that everybody's kind of already brought up. One of

1786
02:39:16,900 --> 02:39:19,933
the biggest things that I think that I would agree with the

1787
02:39:21,500 --> 02:39:25,500
most and that people should probably listen to is probably clayton tucker. You know, he has some very, very good information

1788
02:39:27,833 --> 02:39:31,667
about how things have gotten to where they're at right now. For example,

1789
02:39:33,367 --> 02:39:36,533
and how things have switched, right? Because how does ai

1790
02:39:38,067 --> 02:39:41,100
serve us? I believe that we've tried touching on that once and we don't have a definition yet

1791
02:39:43,367 --> 02:39:45,800
of what they even are. But let's see who benefits most.

1792
02:39:48,700 --> 02:39:52,067
it's not really regular people who are looking up recipes and making funny videos to put on

1793
02:39:53,733 --> 02:39:53,733
facebook or something. It's big

1794
02:39:58,133 --> 02:39:59,900
companies, big companies that are coming in. And I think that

1795
02:40:02,700 --> 02:40:04,167
we need to remember that we're a republic, right? So,

1796
02:40:07,400 --> 02:40:10,700
but there's a word for whenever maybe city officials or,

1797
02:40:13,133 --> 02:40:14,700
you know what I mean, and companies come together

1798
02:40:18,333 --> 02:40:21,033
to subvert the will of the people. What's that called? Fascism, right? And I

1799
02:40:22,967 --> 02:40:24,167
don't believe that this is something that is just

1800
02:40:27,233 --> 02:40:29,900
happening now, but I think like this lady had said earlier,

1801
02:40:31,567 --> 02:40:34,933
like there is a very, very like push through. I don't know why.

1802
02:40:37,400 --> 02:40:38,767
I just think it's kind of strange, but I, there's

1803
02:40:43,700 --> 02:40:47,033
something that I heard earlier where okay, so let's do all this

1804
02:40:49,000 --> 02:40:51,367
with energy and stuff, but we're in the middle

1805
02:40:53,167 --> 02:40:57,167
of a war right now. You're like, what are we going to do with that, right? Like, what if everything stops coming,

1806
02:40:58,833 --> 02:41:02,133
right? And we have these places that are, I think somebody said

1807
02:41:03,333 --> 02:41:06,900
about diesel, like they got these big diesel generators and things like that. It's like,

1808
02:41:07,767 --> 02:41:10,100
well we got to kind of make sure that we have what we need.

1809
02:41:12,433 --> 02:41:15,867
thank you, ruben. If we could have blaine shipman, j.r.

1810
02:41:18,667 --> 02:41:18,667
ferguson, and brandon elam come

1811
02:41:26,400 --> 02:41:26,400
up. Gonzalo ramirez. Good

1812
02:41:32,933 --> 02:41:35,267
evening. My name is gonzalo ramirez, and I want

1813
02:41:37,167 --> 02:41:39,567
to first thank you, mayor and councilpersons,

1814
02:41:41,433 --> 02:41:44,633
for having this forum. Forum where we can have that freedom of speech. I also want to thank

1815
02:41:46,367 --> 02:41:48,167
the people that don't live in district 1 or district 2 that

1816
02:41:50,467 --> 02:41:52,033
have actually come up here and advocated for district 1 and

1817
02:41:54,933 --> 02:41:54,933
2. I live north, I live north

1818
02:41:59,600 --> 02:42:01,833
of loop 289 within the city limits. I have a private well.

1819
02:42:03,867 --> 02:42:03,867
I spent 15 years away from

1820
02:42:08,067 --> 02:42:11,767
lubbock. I was born and raised, educated here, and job opportunities took me away

1821
02:42:12,867 --> 02:42:15,933
for 15 years. And when I came back, I decided I wanted to live back in my community.

1822
02:42:17,333 --> 02:42:19,967
so I built a house 20 years ago in north lubbock. I have the

1823
02:42:22,300 --> 02:42:25,600
same concerns as far as water. I have a private well. I have to go 140 feet to get water. I

1824
02:42:27,500 --> 02:42:29,267
have the same concerns about noise because there are older

1825
02:42:32,300 --> 02:42:35,267
homes in north and east lubbock. And so they don't have the soundproofing that newer

1826
02:42:37,800 --> 02:42:41,067
houses have. So that's my concern with those 2 things. But the thing that I want

1827
02:42:41,933 --> 02:42:44,633
to bring up today, or the last thing I want to bring up actually, is the

1828
02:42:46,067 --> 02:42:49,467
slide that said data centers will only be allowed in 2 zoning districts

1829
02:42:50,767 --> 02:42:54,233
through a specific use permit. Well, we know now that it looks like district 1 and district 2

1830
02:42:56,433 --> 02:42:59,967
will be those 2 districts. So really, I'm asking those of you that are that represent the

1831
02:43:02,733 --> 02:43:05,333
other districts. And I'm making eye contact with those of you that are not in

1832
02:43:07,000 --> 02:43:09,567
district 1 or district 2 because I really want you to support the idea

1833
02:43:14,567 --> 02:43:16,933
of not having these data centers in district 1 and

1834
02:43:19,000 --> 02:43:22,133
district 2. If you want to have that conversation with data centers, that's fine. My only question

1835
02:43:23,433 --> 02:43:26,067
that I would ask, that I would want you to ask as part

1836
02:43:28,467 --> 02:43:30,933
of the overall discussion with data centers is what technologies are you bringing

1837
02:43:33,100 --> 02:43:33,800
in? Thank you. Thank you, gonzalo. Jessica? Thank you for

1838
02:43:42,433 --> 02:43:42,433
taking this time and staying. I

1839
02:43:47,100 --> 02:43:50,133
don't want to repeat what everybody's already questioned. I have those questions written

1840
02:43:52,500 --> 02:43:53,733
down. But I just want to go back to I live right

1841
02:43:56,633 --> 02:44:00,467
on the line between the city and the county and where the data center was going

1842
02:44:04,000 --> 02:44:04,000
to be put previously. And my

1843
02:44:08,667 --> 02:44:12,100
question is, why lubbock? The developer was coming from san

1844
02:44:13,667 --> 02:44:16,067
francisco. My mother grew up there,

1845
02:44:18,167 --> 02:44:21,433
and my grandmother's house is made, was built

1846
02:44:24,067 --> 02:44:27,700
in the 1920s and it's worth $1 million. So it's a 4-bedroom, very simple house. Why

1847
02:44:31,667 --> 02:44:31,667
lubbock? Because we have cheap

1848
02:44:36,833 --> 02:44:40,633
land? Why? We already know we have problems with water. I have one other question. If there was one built and they

1849
02:44:44,400 --> 02:44:48,000
had to use solar panels, what about the light and the heat

1850
02:44:49,433 --> 02:44:51,600
on the airport? Has anything been looked

1851
02:44:53,833 --> 02:44:56,500
into as far as that? And that's all. Thank you. Thank you,

1852
02:44:59,267 --> 02:45:02,200
jessica. Robert rogers. Robert rogers, no. Blaine shipman.

1853
02:45:11,700 --> 02:45:14,633
thank you for letting me address y'all tonight. Many of the concerns have already been

1854
02:45:16,100 --> 02:45:19,533
addressed. I had prepared remarks, but I'm gonna kind of set those aside. Really, I

1855
02:45:21,067 --> 02:45:23,200
want to get down to the heart of the question that is being

1856
02:45:25,367 --> 02:45:29,300
asked. All of these concerns are valid, the environmental concerns, the water concerns,

1857
02:45:30,800 --> 02:45:33,933
the land use concerns. But the question is, what is going to give us the most control

1858
02:45:35,700 --> 02:45:39,333
at this point in time? Is it going to be passing the moratorium and waiting

1859
02:45:40,867 --> 02:45:44,833
on the state to give the county more power to regulate these? Or is it

1860
02:45:46,667 --> 02:45:50,567
going to at least have a mechanism for us to cope and at least to push back

1861
02:45:51,467 --> 02:45:54,567
on these power brokers? Individual citizens, we can come together, but without the backing

1862
02:45:55,700 --> 02:45:58,800
of y'all and without a system that y'all come up with and help us

1863
02:46:00,333 --> 02:46:03,700
to come up with, we can't push back on that. And my worry is if we just say

1864
02:46:06,267 --> 02:46:10,133
no wholesale, they will go out to the counties. They will take advantage of texas law. They

1865
02:46:11,900 --> 02:46:15,900
will express their right as landowners of texas to have unfettered access

1866
02:46:17,633 --> 02:46:20,800
to all of the water under that ground with no regulation, no

1867
02:46:22,567 --> 02:46:26,133
oversight, no care in the world for the actual community that we have called

1868
02:46:27,900 --> 02:46:31,133
home, some of us for decades, probably a few of us in this room for centuries. So

1869
02:46:33,467 --> 02:46:36,533
thank you for your time addressing me. Please take this into consideration. And to

1870
02:46:38,067 --> 02:46:41,033
everyone who's spoken tonight, thank you all as well. Thank you, blaine. Okay, if matthew

1871
02:46:46,367 --> 02:46:49,400
conklin, rebecca komarek, and mason patton, if you'd come up.

1872
02:46:51,667 --> 02:46:54,133
in the meantime, j.r. Ferguson or brandon elam. I'll

1873
02:47:05,367 --> 02:47:08,333
be brief because everybody pretty much covered my concerns. I will start off with

1874
02:47:10,500 --> 02:47:11,867
saying I think this meeting came about in the wrong order.

1875
02:47:14,533 --> 02:47:17,833
I think the citizens should come first, and then the council addresses the citizens.

1876
02:47:19,200 --> 02:47:22,233
if the citizens wanted a data center. It should have been presented. But going on,

1877
02:47:25,933 --> 02:47:29,867
lubbock, texas receives an average about 19 inches of rain a year. Your charts

1878
02:47:31,333 --> 02:47:33,400
confirm we don't get water from here, it comes from everywhere else. The worst

1879
02:47:36,467 --> 02:47:38,500
drought I experienced, I believe like 2011, we had

1880
02:47:41,467 --> 02:47:45,300
maybe 5 inches of rain. And a large facility drawing water will dry up wells. And it will

1881
02:47:47,300 --> 02:47:50,167
leave people without water who rely on wells. Even a mid-sized data

1882
02:47:51,667 --> 02:47:55,600
center can consume as much water as a small town, which, say roughly 50,000 people,

1883
02:47:56,833 --> 02:48:00,733
it'll consume roughly 5 million gallons of water in a day. There's different ways

1884
02:48:01,533 --> 02:48:04,233
of cooling data centers, of course. You have air. One of the bigger concerns is noise

1885
02:48:05,833 --> 02:48:08,367
pollution. I don't believe the decibel ratings that you had up

1886
02:48:10,000 --> 02:48:13,167
were entirely correct. Because around 200 feet outside the

1887
02:48:14,633 --> 02:48:16,300
perimeter of a mid-sized data center the ambient noise level

1888
02:48:19,600 --> 02:48:21,733
is 65. So imagine a hair dryer next to your ear

1889
02:48:24,867 --> 02:48:27,933
for infinity. And clayton tucker did cover

1890
02:48:29,733 --> 02:48:33,100
this. The ambient heat that these facilities give off can raise surface temperatures

1891
02:48:35,033 --> 02:48:38,800
around the communities 3.6 degrees at the lowest, and sometimes as much as 16.4

1892
02:48:40,600 --> 02:48:43,567
degrees. I don't know about y'all, but I don't want a

1893
02:48:44,767 --> 02:48:44,767
124-degree day in west texas.

1894
02:48:49,467 --> 02:48:51,933
now, I'll end by saying I just hope the council listens

1895
02:48:53,533 --> 02:48:56,933
to the people. It should be the people first, followed by who represents them. We give

1896
02:48:58,700 --> 02:49:01,867
the orders, right? Or we make the requests, and you represent us. Thank you

1897
02:49:03,433 --> 02:49:04,500
for your time. Thank you, brendan. Matthew. I'm matthew

1898
02:49:11,967 --> 02:49:11,967
conklin. Ah, first, y'know,

1899
02:49:16,100 --> 02:49:18,167
like he said, you represent us, and so, ah, I don't see what

1900
02:49:20,433 --> 02:49:23,533
the problem would be with having a referendum, just voting on it. I mean,

1901
02:49:24,900 --> 02:49:26,733
we the people, ah, seemingly don't want it. I don't see why

1902
02:49:29,700 --> 02:49:32,067
we couldn't just all vote on it. Secondly, I, I know I

1903
02:49:36,967 --> 02:49:40,267
can't remember who someone got upset about, someone saying bingo. There's a bingo card out there that has

1904
02:49:41,600 --> 02:49:44,700
all these lists of if this is brought up, it goes on the bingo card.

1905
02:49:46,467 --> 02:49:50,367
yeah, it's a funny joke, but in seriousness, like, people are predicting what the fake

1906
02:49:52,667 --> 02:49:55,700
platitudes and promises are that have been given to given to us by these people, and

1907
02:49:59,900 --> 02:50:02,933
they're predictable because they're over and over and over again. Well, there's data

1908
02:50:04,067 --> 02:50:08,000
centers out there now that have been out there, and people are being hurt by it,

1909
02:50:08,733 --> 02:50:09,767
and it's being documented. There's you know, lawsuits and

1910
02:50:13,533 --> 02:50:17,067
health costs and all these things that go along with it. The data is out there. A lot

1911
02:50:19,000 --> 02:50:20,067
of people have brought up a lot of that. I don't, I mean,

1912
02:50:23,033 --> 02:50:25,933
even just that being out there should be enough to just say, hey,

1913
02:50:27,167 --> 02:50:30,567
let's not do this. Like and that kind of goes back

1914
02:50:31,900 --> 02:50:35,600
to our priorities, which there was a gentleman, and I'm not trying

1915
02:50:36,533 --> 02:50:40,533
to knock him, but he said how is this going to affect us economically? That wasn't the number one

1916
02:50:41,400 --> 02:50:44,333
priority by like 90% of the people that came up here and spoke. It was health, it was

1917
02:50:46,033 --> 02:50:49,267
pollution, it was water consumption, electricity, all these different things.

1918
02:50:51,500 --> 02:50:52,833
economics is like down here. We don't want it here

1919
02:50:55,800 --> 02:50:58,567
for all these reasons. And so, yeah, that's all I got to say. Thank you. Thank you.

1920
02:51:00,133 --> 02:51:00,133
thank you, matthew. Rebecca?

1921
02:51:09,167 --> 02:51:13,133
yes, I'm speaking tonight from my niece. She couldn't be here. She just had a baby. I'm

1922
02:51:14,367 --> 02:51:14,367
just really tired

1923
02:51:20,133 --> 02:51:23,100
of my voice not being heard, and I don't understand why this

1924
02:51:24,300 --> 02:51:26,700
country is just allowing people that have money to just control

1925
02:51:30,400 --> 02:51:34,367
everything and act like the rest of us don't matter, like we're not important. This

1926
02:51:35,533 --> 02:51:38,967
is our country just as much as anybody that has money, and we have rocks. So I just

1927
02:51:44,533 --> 02:51:46,567
don't understand that, and I don't, let's see. I don't

1928
02:51:50,600 --> 02:51:52,900
understand why we can't vote on this, just like you said.

1929
02:51:58,800 --> 02:52:01,700
and I've seen the drinking water on tv, I believe it was

1930
02:52:03,433 --> 02:52:06,867
georgia, and it wasn't only brown, it was dark brown. And that's the drinking water that

1931
02:52:09,200 --> 02:52:12,167
the citizens had to drink and bathe in. We're already being they scaled back

1932
02:52:14,300 --> 02:52:17,867
all the regulations for the epa and we're exposed to so many chemicals and

1933
02:52:19,833 --> 02:52:23,300
contaminants, and now you want to add something else. And I've also heard that children living

1934
02:52:25,267 --> 02:52:29,267
within 10 miles of a data center have lower bone mineral density. I don't understand why

1935
02:52:30,933 --> 02:52:34,267
we would want to put our children at risk for something that a tech

1936
02:52:35,867 --> 02:52:39,133
billionaire wants, and I don't understand what the urgency is. You know, all of a sudden

1937
02:52:40,300 --> 02:52:43,200
they're just building all these data centers against the people's will,

1938
02:52:45,767 --> 02:52:49,600
and I know, and I, I feel it, and that it has to do with mass surveillance,

1939
02:52:50,867 --> 02:52:51,833
and they want to take away our rights and probably turned this

1940
02:52:55,700 --> 02:52:59,033
into a dictatorship. I don't know, but that's what it feels like. And I'm, I've called my

1941
02:53:00,400 --> 02:53:04,133
congresspeople and they ignore me. I call them every day. As a matter of fact,

1942
02:53:05,500 --> 02:53:07,567
they laugh. I'm tired of it. I have, I'm a citizen. This is a democracy. We have

1943
02:53:10,000 --> 02:53:13,033
rights and the people's voices need to be heard. Thank you, rebecca. Hello, my name is

1944
02:53:21,000 --> 02:53:24,933
mason grant patton. I'm actually a new farmer. I inherited 2,500 acres. My

1945
02:53:26,633 --> 02:53:29,200
mother passed away in january for it. Don't think it was a fair trade-off, but you know,

1946
02:53:31,000 --> 02:53:34,500
you take what you can get. So a lot of the stuff that was on this slide wasn't correct. I,

1947
02:53:36,433 --> 02:53:37,667
I figure water for a living. We use around 35 million, like,

1948
02:53:41,100 --> 02:53:44,967
gallons of water a year, which is a lot, but that's for a farm like mine, which configures with the

1949
02:53:46,400 --> 02:53:49,967
100,000 gallons a day, but that's

1950
02:53:51,333 --> 02:53:54,900
for a small-scale data center, not a 940-acre one. That adds up to around 1.5 to 5 million

1951
02:53:57,667 --> 02:53:57,667
gallons a day, or 365 million

1952
02:54:03,167 --> 02:54:06,833
gallons a year. That's way more than what they were saying right there. I feel like that was pretty false,

1953
02:54:08,500 --> 02:54:12,167
what they were claiming. But not only that, don't get me

1954
02:54:14,000 --> 02:54:17,867
wrong, I'm proud to be part of this, but I don't understand

1955
02:54:18,967 --> 02:54:21,633
how this benefits us. I know it's been said a lot, but how does this benefit me? I mean,

1956
02:54:23,867 --> 02:54:27,533
they're collecting data on us, building a profile on us. How does that help us?

1957
02:54:30,100 --> 02:54:34,000
and they're keeping this all in this data center. Well, who's to say some country like china or russia can't

1958
02:54:35,500 --> 02:54:39,467
access that, hack into that, and then breach our livelihoods? I don't think that's fair

1959
02:54:40,833 --> 02:54:44,567
for each and every one of us, especially as americans. I think we have a right to that. Thank you so much. I appreciate y'all letting me

1960
02:54:45,500 --> 02:54:49,433
speak. Thank you very, thank you very much, mason. If we could have rebecca

1961
02:54:52,167 --> 02:54:53,833
lindsay, michelle wilkinson, addison hightower, and kevin

1962
02:54:56,233 --> 02:54:56,233
allen come up. And michelle,

1963
02:55:01,700 --> 02:55:01,700
you will be first. Hi everyone,

1964
02:55:10,700 --> 02:55:14,233
thank you for your time and attention today. Michelle wilkinson, I'm just a gal

1965
02:55:15,233 --> 02:55:19,200
from lubbock, but I do want to reiterate something that has been said repeatedly tonight,

1966
02:55:21,300 --> 02:55:25,133
and that what is the hurry? What is the hurry if we are so

1967
02:55:27,133 --> 02:55:30,967
smart and technology is moving so fast. Can we just take a

1968
02:55:32,600 --> 02:55:34,667
moment to see how this affects other communities? Right there

1969
02:55:36,667 --> 02:55:38,600
in abilene, we can watch our neighbors going through the

1970
02:55:40,933 --> 02:55:42,767
same thing that we're signing up for. Also, I want

1971
02:55:45,800 --> 02:55:47,700
to point out, when we're doing the planning for this thing, we don't have

1972
02:55:50,300 --> 02:55:54,033
to act like there's an imaginary data center. We have real-life examples with real

1973
02:55:56,200 --> 02:55:58,500
data that show that there are negative impacts happening in

1974
02:56:00,400 --> 02:56:04,233
the communities that just put these things in. We're not even 5 years out. The last thing I

1975
02:56:09,733 --> 02:56:12,967
wanted to say is that I just implore you guys,

1976
02:56:15,067 --> 02:56:18,933
we're a little bitty town, a little speck up against the interests of

1977
02:56:20,400 --> 02:56:23,367
corporations that have more money than independent nations in the world, than some

1978
02:56:25,200 --> 02:56:27,267
of the nations in the world. We need people who have vision

1979
02:56:30,433 --> 02:56:32,667
and who have foresight to look and stand up and say,

1980
02:56:36,000 --> 02:56:38,633
I love what you're doing, this is great, we got to slow down. We got

1981
02:56:40,433 --> 02:56:43,533
to slow down. Let's wait. Let's at least let our state

1982
02:56:45,033 --> 02:56:48,200
legislature meet and talk about the safeguards that they need to put in place

1983
02:56:49,233 --> 02:56:53,200
for oversight, for well-being, for, what are they going to do when

1984
02:56:55,033 --> 02:56:58,433
the multibillion-dollar company doesn't play by the rules

1985
02:56:59,500 --> 02:57:02,667
like they said they would? How do we hold them accountable?

1986
02:57:05,033 --> 02:57:08,900
but I thank you all for your time, and I hope you take this all

1987
02:57:10,100 --> 02:57:10,100
into consideration. Thank you.

1988
02:57:14,767 --> 02:57:18,767
has rebecca lindsay spoken? Rebecca? No, I have not, but I've been looking forward

1989
02:57:20,467 --> 02:57:22,133
to it. My name is rebecca lindsay. I live in lubbock. I have since 2017. It is not

1990
02:57:27,200 --> 02:57:29,000
about data. It is about mass surveillance. We are

1991
02:57:31,300 --> 02:57:34,533
the data. They are collecting everything on us, on our kids. There is more

1992
02:57:35,800 --> 02:57:38,167
information in the, the data centers regarding my

1993
02:57:40,767 --> 02:57:44,000
granddaughter who is less than a year old than there are of, of most of us who have been

1994
02:57:45,567 --> 02:57:49,167
here forever. That is about control. There was a young lady who was tracked

1995
02:57:51,100 --> 02:57:54,700
from texas to arkansas, I believe, using 83,000 block cameras. Where are they keeping

1996
02:57:57,033 --> 02:57:59,233
that data? This is all about control and mass surveillance.

1997
02:58:03,667 --> 02:58:05,667
we are making digital prisons for all of us. And those with

1998
02:58:08,000 --> 02:58:11,933
money can buy their way out. And this is, when you look at the rich, who, elton john,

1999
02:58:14,267 --> 02:58:17,200
who thinks because he donates $1 million that he can fly an

2000
02:58:18,700 --> 02:58:20,600
airplane, a jet, wherever he wants, but we have

2001
02:58:23,433 --> 02:58:25,200
to set our thermostats at 72 or conserve our water. The rich

2002
02:58:27,967 --> 02:58:31,867
get no, no, no no negatives out of this, it keeps coming

2003
02:58:32,933 --> 02:58:34,833
on the back of the american taxpayer. We don't need data

2004
02:58:37,000 --> 02:58:39,633
centers. They are not good for anybody or anything that

2005
02:58:41,667 --> 02:58:41,667
regards natural god-given

2006
02:58:45,733 --> 02:58:47,433
rights. We are a constitutional republic, not a democracy. A

2007
02:58:49,900 --> 02:58:53,767
constitutional republic, read your declaration of independence. There were 21

2008
02:58:54,967 --> 02:58:58,633
grievances in that declaration. From 56 men, and there were a, b, c, d,

2009
02:59:00,833 --> 02:59:03,733
e parts of some of those declarations of those grievances. We had

2010
02:59:06,467 --> 02:59:08,567
to take care of business as our forefathers need to take,

2011
02:59:10,600 --> 02:59:14,167
needed to take care of business. Stop letting them buy us out. That's all we want,

2012
02:59:17,167 --> 02:59:19,633
to be natural and to be healthy and

2013
02:59:21,700 --> 02:59:23,133
to have our water available to thank you, rebecca.

2014
02:59:28,300 --> 02:59:28,300
addison hightower. Thank you.

2015
02:59:34,800 --> 02:59:38,167
hi, my name is addison hightower, but more importantly, I am a local lubbock educator

2016
02:59:39,067 --> 02:59:42,267
as well as the daughter, granddaughter, and relative of generation upon generation

2017
02:59:43,867 --> 02:59:47,000
of ranchers and farmers from childress, texas. I can't bring you a bunch of data

2018
02:59:49,033 --> 02:59:52,000
on data centers, and people have expressed my concerns today here, but I am going

2019
02:59:53,267 --> 02:59:57,133
to tell you about what's going on in childress because it's real, it's what they're living, and it's what lubbock might see

2020
02:59:58,300 --> 03:00:02,100
if we invite them into our community. Childress is in a stage 4 water shortage. That is less than 2,615 feet

2021
03:00:05,333 --> 03:00:07,333
of water and only 6.1% capacity in lake greenbelt. They didn't

2022
03:00:11,633 --> 03:00:14,800
know a thing about data centers coming into their community until it was and done. It's not

2023
03:00:16,200 --> 03:00:19,867
within the city limits, it's within the county. That is a huge problem. It took everyone

2024
03:00:21,100 --> 03:00:24,900
by shock, and it has brought in a lot of problems with it. Traffic has increased,

2025
03:00:26,267 --> 03:00:28,667
become increasingly dangerous. It was already dangerous considering there's highway 83

2026
03:00:30,333 --> 03:00:33,133
and interstate 287, but it's backed up through town. There's many

2027
03:00:34,600 --> 03:00:37,900
wrecks and fatality upon fatality, including the dps officer who was recently killed, who I graduated with.

2028
03:00:39,800 --> 03:00:43,333
crime and assault cases have significantly risen, and the

2029
03:00:45,100 --> 03:00:47,800
grocery store shelves are empty. My family cannot get all of the supplies that they need

2030
03:00:49,433 --> 03:00:52,333
in their hometown, and that's something that would not just happen in a small community

2031
03:00:53,600 --> 03:00:56,333
but could come to here too. Apartments are being sold and people are being locked out

2032
03:00:57,833 --> 03:01:01,567
of their rental properties. There have been, that's not only a problem, but

2033
03:01:02,733 --> 03:01:06,467
people also don't have a place to go after that is said and done. And as an educator, a concern that's been expressed

2034
03:01:08,133 --> 03:01:11,233
to me is there's a constant cycle of children in and out of schools, which increases stress not only

2035
03:01:12,533 --> 03:01:15,700
on an already stressful profession, but as well as on the poor children who don't

2036
03:01:17,433 --> 03:01:19,833
even ask for that. And we talk about jobs and this creating jobs, but for childress, those

2037
03:01:21,600 --> 03:01:24,867
people were brought in to construct them. It was not local people that constructed

2038
03:01:26,033 --> 03:01:29,233
them. It's given very few jobs within the community. And someone said earlier that they

2039
03:01:31,133 --> 03:01:34,700
promise that they'll throw money at it, but that doesn't buy back our livelihood, nor does it buy back our ranchland

2040
03:01:36,067 --> 03:01:36,067
or water. Thank you, addison.

2041
03:01:40,267 --> 03:01:44,133
as kevin allen comes up, we would like to have noel

2042
03:01:45,100 --> 03:01:48,333
zavala, elena white, and john macias come up. And kevin

2043
03:01:51,433 --> 03:01:51,433
allen is next. All right,

2044
03:01:57,233 --> 03:02:00,200
my name is kevin allen. I'm here today as the patient advocate. The state of texas

2045
03:02:02,400 --> 03:02:05,133
and the president of lubbock young republicans. And I think a lot of the questions that

2046
03:02:07,933 --> 03:02:11,100
should be asked are not getting asked. We need to be asking what would the data center do

2047
03:02:11,967 --> 03:02:15,667
for texas tech health science center, medical hub of west texas, and the healthcare

2048
03:02:16,767 --> 03:02:19,533
system here. My brother works in healthcare. It has significantly improved his part

2049
03:02:21,233 --> 03:02:24,633
of texas over by vernon, texas. There are multiple aspects that are not being

2050
03:02:26,133 --> 03:02:29,433
looked into. We have solutions for a lot of problems that have been brought up that we can

2051
03:02:31,033 --> 03:02:33,533
talk about and discuss at another time. They're real easy to fix. I'm not going to

2052
03:02:36,433 --> 03:02:39,900
get up here and grandstand and perverse the bible like james

2053
03:02:42,133 --> 03:02:45,967
talarico and his supporters would, but I think we really need to pay attention

2054
03:02:47,033 --> 03:02:49,600
to the work that's been going on and the development. I spent most of last month in dallas,

2055
03:02:51,167 --> 03:02:55,133
texas fighting for big pharma, healthcare companies, medical equipment suppliers

2056
03:02:56,733 --> 03:02:59,133
to come and develop here in lubbock, texas. And I can tell you that

2057
03:03:01,367 --> 03:03:05,333
at some point we're going to need one of these ai data centers for the healthcare system. I warned

2058
03:03:07,567 --> 03:03:09,900
in 2024 if we didn't update infrastructure at texas tech

2059
03:03:11,667 --> 03:03:14,867
university health science center, umc would suffer internal failure. And sure

2060
03:03:16,100 --> 03:03:19,133
enough, we did for several months. That type of data center can be used

2061
03:03:22,300 --> 03:03:26,100
for medical and healthcare, something we need to capitalize on in lubbock. There's a lot

2062
03:03:27,067 --> 03:03:29,833
of restrictions and regulations to look into, and thank god for the lubbock fire

2063
03:03:31,267 --> 03:03:33,500
department that gives us one of the best bargaining chips that we've got that allows us

2064
03:03:36,267 --> 03:03:39,867
to have these discussions. You know, I think as long as we're

2065
03:03:40,333 --> 03:03:42,667
mindful with the restrictions and policies and the oversight, good. You allow them to go

2066
03:03:44,700 --> 03:03:47,733
outside city limits and have free rein and do what they want, we lose our chance. We

2067
03:03:49,133 --> 03:03:51,967
don't have a say in it. We can't complain when everything goes wrong afterwards. Thank

2068
03:03:53,500 --> 03:03:53,500
you. Thank you, kevin. Noel.

2069
03:04:07,233 --> 03:04:10,700
hi, I'm dr. Noel zavala, born and raised in lubbock, texas. I spent my college years at

2070
03:04:11,900 --> 03:04:14,900
tech state ecology and the environment, and I want to thank the community

2071
03:04:16,300 --> 03:04:20,300
for addressing the concerns about the environment. Because they already did that, I wanted

2072
03:04:21,800 --> 03:04:25,233
to mention something else. At present, I'm an ob-gyn here in town, and I deliver 250 babies a year. I feel greatly

2073
03:04:27,667 --> 03:04:29,733
privileged and am incredibly honored to serve this city. So

2074
03:04:32,367 --> 03:04:35,633
how do davis centers serve us? That question has been asked repeatedly. My peers here,

2075
03:04:37,233 --> 03:04:40,267
agree they don't serve us. In fact,

2076
03:04:41,633 --> 03:04:44,900
they actively cause harm. So I wanted to share a new term I learned recently. It was

2077
03:04:46,700 --> 03:04:48,867
published in nature magazine: never scaling, a term that

2078
03:04:51,267 --> 03:04:53,733
addresses the phenomenon of relying on ai

2079
03:04:55,400 --> 03:04:58,500
during the learning process with the consequence of not actually learning,

2080
03:05:00,267 --> 03:05:04,067
failing to build basic critical thinking skills that are necessary

2081
03:05:05,167 --> 03:05:07,800
to tackle advanced problems. These are people problems.

2082
03:05:09,833 --> 03:05:13,000
additionally, learning and memory recall has been shown to be poor when using ai. Your

2083
03:05:14,700 --> 03:05:18,033
brain doesn't light up when using ai in the same way it does when you get creative and

2084
03:05:19,600 --> 03:05:22,200
problem solve. It atrophies. That's bad. Think

2085
03:05:24,667 --> 03:05:27,567
about what that means for your future teachers, lawyers, spiritual leaders,

2086
03:05:29,233 --> 03:05:32,533
politicians, and healthcare workers. So yes, I agree. Let's learn from the

2087
03:05:35,567 --> 03:05:38,000
mistakes that others have made. Let's invest in people, not

2088
03:05:40,467 --> 03:05:44,000
in data centers. Thank you. Thank you, dr. Zavala. Elena

2089
03:05:49,900 --> 03:05:49,900
white. Hi, everyone. My name is

2090
03:05:58,067 --> 03:06:01,067
elena. Myself and my family, including my 67-year-old

2091
03:06:02,900 --> 03:06:06,600
mother, live in district 2 here in lubbock. Her yard is also, to quote stephen sanders,

2092
03:06:08,800 --> 03:06:12,567
yellow as hell from conserving our water. The presentations provided this

2093
03:06:14,167 --> 03:06:17,067
evening mentioned that we have excess water and electricity. However, we're experiencing

2094
03:06:18,400 --> 03:06:21,467
forced rolling blackouts and being asked to conserve our resources. We

2095
03:06:23,733 --> 03:06:26,733
all seem to find that to be a pretty interesting contradiction. The

2096
03:06:28,600 --> 03:06:30,567
presentations tonight are also bringing in numbers on usage for theoretical data centers.

2097
03:06:33,600 --> 03:06:36,867
they're nowhere near accurate numbers for other centers around us, and I would ask that you all

2098
03:06:38,833 --> 03:06:41,800
take the time to look those numbers up yourselves. You can't tell me that these other

2099
03:06:43,733 --> 03:06:47,500
cities and other communities that are around us didn't have conversations about their excess resources or their

2100
03:06:48,933 --> 03:06:52,100
infrastructure themselves. Whether it was behind closed doors or

2101
03:06:53,167 --> 03:06:56,033
in front of their constituents, those that chose to allow these data centers to

2102
03:06:57,400 --> 03:07:01,100
be built are actively experiencing the negative effects. A data center in lubbock, texas is unnecessary.

2103
03:07:02,467 --> 03:07:06,433
we're having a discussion tonight about what sort of precautions we can take and

2104
03:07:08,267 --> 03:07:11,000
specific use permits that we can use to protect our communities.

2105
03:07:12,500 --> 03:07:15,633
several people here this evening have asked for all of you to protect and care

2106
03:07:16,933 --> 03:07:19,767
for what we have now and protecting our communities and resources would mean preventing

2107
03:07:21,600 --> 03:07:24,333
the building of an unnecessary essential resource vacuum. I thank you all

2108
03:07:26,067 --> 03:07:27,500
for hearing us all out. Good night. Thank you, elena. Now,

2109
03:07:31,467 --> 03:07:34,667
as john macias comes up, I would like to ask cole daniel and adrian lowen

2110
03:07:37,400 --> 03:07:40,300
to come up, please. Hello, my name is john macias. I was born

2111
03:07:41,633 --> 03:07:43,067
and reared here in lubbock, texas. I grew up on the east

2112
03:07:45,767 --> 03:07:48,333
side. I grew up on north ash and east stanford about,

2113
03:07:49,967 --> 03:07:53,533
I walked to estacado. I spent my whole life here. And I can't help but to think that this

2114
03:07:56,300 --> 03:07:58,933
whole idea is just the definition of systemic racism. It will be

2115
03:08:01,167 --> 03:08:04,433
a political choice that will disproportionately affect minorities. And that being my

2116
03:08:06,233 --> 03:08:08,933
community and that being my neighborhood and that being where my dad lives now,

2117
03:08:10,767 --> 03:08:13,367
it's already hard enough. It's already hard enough over there, and it's just wild

2118
03:08:15,033 --> 03:08:18,167
to me we're even considering this whenever there's so many people against it. And this is

2119
03:08:19,700 --> 03:08:23,633
not a new phenomenon. We've seen, we've seen enough to know that there's no reason

2120
03:08:24,933 --> 03:08:28,567
to rush this decision, and there's absolutely really no reason to consider it until, as many people have said,

2121
03:08:29,733 --> 03:08:32,133
there's state legislation against or to protect its citizens. So I

2122
03:08:33,933 --> 03:08:37,867
really urge y'all to do your job and protect your people, your constituents. And please

2123
03:08:39,767 --> 03:08:42,067
keep in mind that that the amount

2124
03:08:44,600 --> 03:08:47,100
of infamy and the amount of shame that will happen if this doesn't you will historically

2125
03:08:50,200 --> 03:08:54,167
let down your community more than any other politician. And we're really looking for y'all,

2126
03:08:55,400 --> 03:08:59,100
and we're really looking for y'all to come through for us, because right now with the unaffordability crisis, it seems to to me that lubbock

2127
03:09:02,133 --> 03:09:06,067
can't even protect its citizens from predatory business practices of the electric companies. So I

2128
03:09:07,700 --> 03:09:11,233
am a little bit, I'm a little bit nervous that it's going to go the people's way,

2129
03:09:12,400 --> 03:09:15,333
but this is how it should be. We're tired of the welfare system

2130
03:09:16,600 --> 03:09:19,700
for the elite class, for the billionaires, for the epstein class. We're tired.

2131
03:09:21,400 --> 03:09:24,733
we're tired of, of how our government never seems to work for the working class during

2132
03:09:26,500 --> 03:09:29,800
covid we were essential workers. And now what are we? Our communities are going

2133
03:09:31,533 --> 03:09:34,433
to be taken over. The noise pollution, the water pollution, the environmental factors. And

2134
03:09:36,267 --> 03:09:38,100
there is no type of economic possibility that could possibly

2135
03:09:40,533 --> 03:09:42,300
outweigh that. Thank you, john. Cole daniel. Good

2136
03:09:51,833 --> 03:09:54,967
afternoon. I'm a lubbock native. I'm a 4th-gen texas tech student

2137
03:09:56,167 --> 03:09:59,767
in computer science, and I'm a technician at a local technology company here in town. I am going

2138
03:10:01,800 --> 03:10:05,133
to discuss ai as it pertains to data centers and shoot down the pie

2139
03:10:06,367 --> 03:10:09,467
in the sky that a lot of businesses will lobby you with for building data centers. The

2140
03:10:10,767 --> 03:10:13,767
tech itself is not evil, but the current adoption is not viable long-term,

2141
03:10:15,033 --> 03:10:17,067
and I encourage you to research it beyond lobbyist speeches including mine. I have

2142
03:10:20,067 --> 03:10:23,467
a few points. A handful of companies accruing vast majority of the revenue,

2143
03:10:25,367 --> 03:10:29,267
while anthropic and open ai, the companies developing this technology, are hemorrhaging money. And the

2144
03:10:31,300 --> 03:10:34,500
rest of those companies subsidize the service to make it viable

2145
03:10:35,567 --> 03:10:39,533
for consumers. That can't last very long, and we shouldn't be left with the debris when it ends. Second, ask what value it

2146
03:10:41,067 --> 03:10:43,767
brings. Like we've been saying, software engineering, my field,

2147
03:10:45,167 --> 03:10:48,533
is one of the best cases for it, but benefits are not measurable relative to cost

2148
03:10:49,767 --> 03:10:53,233
in my field. More lines of code does not directly mean more value, and so we can't say that

2149
03:10:54,767 --> 03:10:58,600
it's making it better. You can abstract into the niche cases where someone does the hard

2150
03:11:00,500 --> 03:11:03,200
thing and makes a good thing with ai, but that does not outweigh the irresponsible

2151
03:11:04,700 --> 03:11:08,033
rollout and the worsening of general software and security that harms everybody. Third,

2152
03:11:09,500 --> 03:11:12,833
data centers host few jobs while the tech is being sold in the media for the sake

2153
03:11:14,233 --> 03:11:18,133
of eliminating them. The reality is that they cannot replace us, but it can give companies probable cause

2154
03:11:19,900 --> 03:11:22,633
for layoffs. Personally, I think the whole thing is just

2155
03:11:24,967 --> 03:11:28,467
for the sake of centralizing compute away from consumers so companies don't have to deal

2156
03:11:30,133 --> 03:11:33,633
with our demand for the right to repair and true ownership, ownership of digital assets.

2157
03:11:35,633 --> 03:11:39,600
but all in all, because it's not profitable for the owners, not the low-hanging efficiency boost

2158
03:11:41,033 --> 03:11:44,300
that was promised, and it's an incentive to eliminate jobs, it would not be responsible

2159
03:11:45,133 --> 03:11:48,633
to host it here or elsewhere. Thank you. Thank you, cole. Crystal? Crystal? I think, yes,

2160
03:12:02,167 --> 03:12:05,600
that's great. Thank you. Hello. Thank you all for being here. I mean, it's late. Thanks everybody for

2161
03:12:07,233 --> 03:12:10,400
voicing your opinions and sharing your experience and concerns. I am a lubbockan,

2162
03:12:12,267 --> 03:12:13,700
been a lubbockan for many, many years. I do some things

2163
03:12:16,933 --> 03:12:20,733
behind the scenes that I don't really address quite a bit of. I'd like to touch on me

2164
03:12:22,933 --> 03:12:24,700
personally and my experience in the community, hearing some

2165
03:12:27,067 --> 03:12:27,067
of our community's concerns.

2166
03:12:32,133 --> 03:12:34,500
over the infrastructure of it all. It is concerning,

2167
03:12:37,100 --> 03:12:39,900
but just doing my best to stay educated, doing my best to ask questions

2168
03:12:41,933 --> 03:12:43,667
and attending these events. They're very helpful. I am a

2169
03:12:47,567 --> 03:12:49,933
mommy of 4 beautiful kiddos and married to my husband

2170
03:12:52,067 --> 03:12:55,267
for some time now. My questions for y'all and I really hope

2171
03:12:57,900 --> 03:13:01,767
that y'all can really take these in. I do live in the heart of texas, sorry,

2172
03:13:04,200 --> 03:13:06,867
the heart of lubbock. My questions to y'all are,

2173
03:13:08,700 --> 03:13:12,200
how does this project align with the goals of making lubbock a place where young

2174
03:13:14,067 --> 03:13:17,400
people can stay, build their careers, and raise their families?

2175
03:13:19,067 --> 03:13:22,900
another is, what guarantees are there that this development

2176
03:13:26,900 --> 03:13:29,300
respects private property rights and concerns

2177
03:13:31,767 --> 03:13:34,467
of surrounding communities? Also, what lessons have we

2178
03:13:36,433 --> 03:13:36,433
learned from other cities that

2179
03:13:41,667 --> 03:13:45,000
have welcomed larger-scale developments like this, data

2180
03:13:46,900 --> 03:13:49,267
centers, both private and both positive and negatively. What

2181
03:13:51,567 --> 03:13:53,467
does that look like? And if y'all could possibly provide

2182
03:13:55,767 --> 03:13:58,733
more strategic line items, I, I stress that, and give more

2183
03:14:00,767 --> 03:14:03,767
and more information for us. Thank you. As adrian comes up,

2184
03:14:06,667 --> 03:14:08,800
we'd like to have tristan pettis, kyle abernathy, and

2185
03:14:12,500 --> 03:14:15,833
only have initials tb, come up please. Hi, my name is

2186
03:14:19,033 --> 03:14:22,400
adrian. I appreciate y'all giving us the floor tonight.

2187
03:14:24,000 --> 03:14:27,900
I'm against building a data center here in lubbock, and I just wanted to voice some questions that I think we would

2188
03:14:29,267 --> 03:14:32,933
all kind of have before we ever consider putting something like that here. So I was going

2189
03:14:35,267 --> 03:14:38,967
to list them off. Some of them have already been said, but I'm going to repeat them.

2190
03:14:40,133 --> 03:14:42,933
so who would these data centers, so who would keep these data centers accountable

2191
03:14:45,000 --> 03:14:48,700
if they overuse their water, if they overuse their power? I know there's regulations in place, but who's going to

2192
03:14:49,700 --> 03:14:53,633
actually hold them accountable and keep them to those limits? How can we be sure the city won't prioritize

2193
03:14:54,900 --> 03:14:57,167
them over us in these water power disputes?

2194
03:14:59,933 --> 03:15:03,500
if there's a strain on the grid and there has to be rolling outages or something, who's going

2195
03:15:04,733 --> 03:15:08,367
to get the outages? Is it going to be the people or is it going to be the data centers? It's my understanding that the data

2196
03:15:09,167 --> 03:15:12,767
center in abilene, they got an 85% tax abatement. Is lubbock willing to give up all that tax

2197
03:15:14,100 --> 03:15:15,833
revenue as well to a data center? What is

2198
03:15:19,033 --> 03:15:21,767
lubbock's plan for the depletion of the, like, ogallala aquifer in 20, 30, 40

2199
03:15:23,400 --> 03:15:26,867
years or whatever it will be? What happens when 60% of that water that we have right now

2200
03:15:28,733 --> 03:15:31,100
that he talked about goes away or 42%? Once lake 7 is in place. What do we

2201
03:15:33,900 --> 03:15:36,700
do then? Also, I believe he mentioned that none

2202
03:15:38,833 --> 03:15:41,767
of this water actually comes from lubbock county right now. I don't know that, like,

2203
03:15:43,300 --> 03:15:46,633
boasting about getting our water from these rural communities is really something

2204
03:15:47,700 --> 03:15:47,700
to brag about. And I just want

2205
03:15:51,867 --> 03:15:55,767
to know how lubbock can be a leader in west texas and set a standard for not allowing these large corporations to come in

2206
03:15:57,000 --> 03:16:00,133
and bully and do whatever they want. They're building data centers in small towns

2207
03:16:01,167 --> 03:16:04,533
like people have mentioned, and they don't have the resources or the voice that lubbock has.

2208
03:16:07,267 --> 03:16:11,133
so how can we set a standard for our surrounding small communities? And if anyone

2209
03:16:12,267 --> 03:16:15,900
signs, wants to sign the petition, just find someone in blue and you can sign.

2210
03:16:18,567 --> 03:16:20,667
thanks. Thank you, adrian. Tristan. Thank you. Hi, my name

2211
03:16:26,100 --> 03:16:29,367
is tristan perez, and I moved to lubbock at the beginning

2212
03:16:31,100 --> 03:16:32,967
of this year. I'm originally from new mexico, a small town

2213
03:16:35,900 --> 03:16:38,233
in new mexico just like lubbock, and I've grown to love lubbock a lot. And me

2214
03:16:41,233 --> 03:16:44,300
and my husband are planning on having a family here, raising our family. My mom just

2215
03:16:45,867 --> 03:16:49,667
came to visit me. I want to bring my family here and all that kinds of stuff. And I

2216
03:16:51,333 --> 03:16:54,400
wanted to touch on a subject that I've heard clayton tucker touch on

2217
03:16:56,133 --> 03:16:58,400
before as well. And I just want to say that I have a concern

2218
03:17:00,833 --> 03:17:00,833
about these farms

2219
03:17:05,733 --> 03:17:08,800
near data centers, the cattle, the just everything, pigs,

2220
03:17:10,133 --> 03:17:12,967
chickens, all of that. They're having stillbirths and mutations in their babies. And

2221
03:17:14,867 --> 03:17:18,500
so what happens if you build one next to lubbock? What happens to the pregnant women and the little children? What

2222
03:17:21,233 --> 03:17:23,467
happens to all of that? Are we going to have mutations,

2223
03:17:26,333 --> 03:17:30,100
just genetic disorders, all of that crazy stuff? And that's like something that's really,

2224
03:17:31,633 --> 03:17:34,667
really, really concerning me because there was another family, I believe, in

2225
03:17:36,367 --> 03:17:38,100
minnesota or wisconsin, I believe, and her little boy had

2226
03:17:40,733 --> 03:17:44,700
terrible migraines and constant ear infections, and they had to move away because of it.

2227
03:17:47,867 --> 03:17:51,533
and then another one in morgan county, georgia. Meta built a massive data center.

2228
03:17:53,500 --> 03:17:57,233
they have clear-cutted forests and began heavy construction in may, and families in the

2229
03:17:58,633 --> 03:18:01,933
area have seen their water pressure and water quality decrease. Their appliances have stopped working due

2230
03:18:03,033 --> 03:18:06,100
to water quality. They now rely on bottled water to drink, cook, clean, etc. Their water

2231
03:18:07,500 --> 03:18:11,133
bills are expected to increase by 33%. Their water is the color of the red clay that

2232
03:18:13,300 --> 03:18:16,000
in the mountains of new mexico. That's how red it is. Red, dark brown,

2233
03:18:18,033 --> 03:18:20,033
everything full of sediment, rock, all of that stuff. And

2234
03:18:22,833 --> 03:18:26,100
most of these ai data centers come with zero regulations or guardrails. Thank you,

2235
03:18:28,633 --> 03:18:28,633
tristan. Thank you, tv. Kyle

2236
03:18:33,467 --> 03:18:33,467
abernathy. Kyle, if you hold

2237
03:18:39,667 --> 03:18:41,967
on a second. We could have cassie green, stephen glenn,

2238
03:18:45,200 --> 03:18:47,700
irving quant, and sequoia ertner. Y'all are the last ones

2239
03:18:50,500 --> 03:18:51,733
on the list. If you'll come up and take a seat. And I think

2240
03:18:54,667 --> 03:18:57,067
we're ready for you. Thank you. Thank you, council, for hosting

2241
03:18:59,467 --> 03:19:02,400
this forum. I've heard a lot of people speak about the very valid concerns

2242
03:19:04,433 --> 03:19:06,533
about natural resources, public health. I've seen charts

2243
03:19:08,833 --> 03:19:10,700
about the offset of tax revenue. My concerns are

2244
03:19:13,433 --> 03:19:13,433
more far-reaching. These, these

2245
03:19:18,233 --> 03:19:20,133
other concerns, local, more immediate. But as a few

2246
03:19:22,733 --> 03:19:26,067
people have spoken about. I see more concern

2247
03:19:27,933 --> 03:19:31,000
with the surveillance aspect of it and the global,

2248
03:19:35,333 --> 03:19:38,300
far-reaching endgame of what the data centers are actually

2249
03:19:39,800 --> 03:19:40,533
doing. What is the data used for? Information is power.

2250
03:19:43,900 --> 03:19:46,967
information is economic advantage. And information can

2251
03:19:51,233 --> 03:19:54,967
definitely be a tool of societal control. I see this

2252
03:19:58,767 --> 03:20:02,533
all in the big picture, as huge as these data centers are, and as much of the natural

2253
03:20:06,233 --> 03:20:06,233
resources could be used harmed,

2254
03:20:10,367 --> 03:20:14,333
and I, I see big brother is what I see. I see the

2255
03:20:16,167 --> 03:20:19,633
infrastructure that ultimately can lead to things that people don't

2256
03:20:20,733 --> 03:20:22,800
like to talk about, like social data scores.

2257
03:20:29,033 --> 03:20:31,433
ultimately, as we lose jobs to ai, the specter of universal

2258
03:20:34,867 --> 03:20:34,867
basic income and how that can,

2259
03:20:40,633 --> 03:20:43,533
the digital currency connected with that can be cut off,

2260
03:20:45,367 --> 03:20:47,900
our access to our own money, loss of personal freedoms and

2261
03:20:50,733 --> 03:20:53,433
controls. Anyway, big brother is looming. Thank you. Thank

2262
03:20:55,767 --> 03:20:55,767
you, kyle. Tb,

2263
03:21:01,300 --> 03:21:01,300
did tb ever know. Good evening,

2264
03:21:08,333 --> 03:21:10,633
everybody. Hey, thank you for taking my time, I mean,

2265
03:21:12,500 --> 03:21:15,133
allowing me to speak. And I just want to say I have similar

2266
03:21:17,333 --> 03:21:20,767
concerns as to where this is all going and what's being planned in advance,

2267
03:21:22,767 --> 03:21:25,967
that it's outside of, like, more from a federal level, and how that is going

2268
03:21:28,167 --> 03:21:31,467
to be then converted into each person having a certain value to them, and more than just,

2269
03:21:33,133 --> 03:21:34,733
like, this is tax revenue for an average citizen and how

2270
03:21:38,167 --> 03:21:40,467
by making things more digital and allowing that infrastructure to take place,

2271
03:21:42,467 --> 03:21:45,433
they can lead to exposure for us as a county and less sovereignty. And I'm really

2272
03:21:46,967 --> 03:21:50,367
concerned about the implications as future generations who are accustomed

2273
03:21:52,267 --> 03:21:52,267
to this type of service and how

2274
03:21:56,333 --> 03:21:59,633
that can then change how we review certain things

2275
03:22:01,333 --> 03:22:04,000
in our own governance, so federally. So, and also, as many have previously

2276
03:22:07,000 --> 03:22:10,100
mentioned, just as far as like taxes and whatnot and where that leads to. So, but also,

2277
03:22:17,467 --> 03:22:20,000
I think that a lot of the farmers are worth listening to.

2278
03:22:23,800 --> 03:22:25,433
so thank you. Cassie green. Thank you guys for having this

2279
03:22:31,833 --> 03:22:33,267
meeting. I actually drove all the way from amarillo to give

2280
03:22:36,067 --> 03:22:39,700
you my personal testimony. I listened to the, the podcast all

2281
03:22:40,900 --> 03:22:42,567
of the way here, and I cried the whole way because I, we,

2282
03:22:45,700 --> 03:22:47,400
my husband and I have a business out of amarillo,

2283
03:22:50,067 --> 03:22:52,833
but we do more than half of our work here in lubbock, and we were planning

2284
03:22:54,200 --> 03:22:57,000
on moving here. And I implore you not to do this because

2285
03:22:59,033 --> 03:23:01,933
y'all are going to be my safe haven to run from fermi america. So I again

2286
03:23:05,500 --> 03:23:08,800
want to thank you for this. I'm a texan from randall county and amarillo.

2287
03:23:10,667 --> 03:23:13,900
currently we're plagued, we're plagued with a monstrosity

2288
03:23:15,700 --> 03:23:19,200
of an ai data center claiming to be the biggest ai data center in the world. Yes, I'm

2289
03:23:21,700 --> 03:23:24,500
talking about fermi america, the matador project. Why on

2290
03:23:28,100 --> 03:23:31,100
earth did our city council decide to sell our fresh water

2291
03:23:32,967 --> 03:23:34,967
straight from our ogallala aquifer is beyond me. They

2292
03:23:37,667 --> 03:23:39,933
started off selling them 2.5 million gallons a day

2293
03:23:42,467 --> 03:23:45,267
of our precious fresh water. The contract says that they can

2294
03:23:47,500 --> 03:23:49,600
go up to 10 million gallons of water a day. You know what,

2295
03:23:52,367 --> 03:23:56,000
to me, data centers are just like the devil. You give them a little bit and they take a

2296
03:23:57,700 --> 03:24:00,267
mile. They're already using wells, not just the contract

2297
03:24:02,933 --> 03:24:05,267
water agreement. They have set up the wells in the acquired

2298
03:24:07,700 --> 03:24:10,600
land that they have gotten, and they're doing the right to capture. They're using that

2299
03:24:12,567 --> 03:24:14,800
law for their benefit, as all ai data centers are doing

2300
03:24:17,267 --> 03:24:21,200
currently and will do. How foolish of us in amarillo to

2301
03:24:23,633 --> 03:24:26,867
think that we were just going to, that they were just going to stick with the plan.

2302
03:24:28,433 --> 03:24:31,467
lubbock, I implore you, please learn from our mistakes. Don't make a

2303
03:24:33,800 --> 03:24:35,500
deal with the devil. Thank you, cassie. Don't do it. Stephen.

2304
03:24:42,900 --> 03:24:46,667
hi I just want to say I'm impressed with everybody's speaking ability and you know, passion for, for

2305
03:24:49,667 --> 03:24:52,167
speaking up and paying attention. And thank you to the community

2306
03:24:54,000 --> 03:24:58,000
for that. I wanted to kind of flip the question on its head. How much money would we pay if we had a data

2307
03:24:59,167 --> 03:25:02,300
center here to kick it out? I feel like it would be bigger than the $3.8

2308
03:25:03,667 --> 03:25:07,500
million a year, like if you were to ask amarillo or these other children's, these other

2309
03:25:08,167 --> 03:25:11,367
places, like, how much would they pay to kick it out and return it back to how it was? I think they'd pay

2310
03:25:12,467 --> 03:25:14,200
quite a lot more than that. So I think that's just not,

2311
03:25:19,533 --> 03:25:22,967
that's okay. The second thing was about the decibels rating. So that's a measure

2312
03:25:24,100 --> 03:25:27,100
of how loud things are. So there's dba, which is a measure of sound

2313
03:25:28,933 --> 03:25:32,200
loudness as it is perceived by the human ear. Then there's actually something called dbc,

2314
03:25:35,567 --> 03:25:39,133
which incorporates more of the low-end frequencies. The human ear only hears down to about 20 hz. So if you were

2315
03:25:41,700 --> 03:25:44,700
to make a regulation, you probably should include the lower frequencies below human

2316
03:25:45,767 --> 03:25:48,700
hearing that also affect or have physiological effects on animals and humans.

2317
03:25:51,233 --> 03:25:53,900
but I mean, that's kind of in the weeds. If you think about it let's say the

2318
03:25:56,333 --> 03:26:00,167
regulations are perfect. Perfect. Let's say the enforcement is perfect, which I think we all are pretty

2319
03:26:01,667 --> 03:26:03,933
skeptical of that with the amount of time and effort and money it would take

2320
03:26:05,933 --> 03:26:08,067
to monitor them and create reports and go back and forth.

2321
03:26:10,800 --> 03:26:14,400
but let's say the enforcement is perfect. At, at that point you have to ask yourself,

2322
03:26:16,600 --> 03:26:20,200
are these people regulatable? Like, ask yourself, can you regulate a multi-billion dollar

2323
03:26:22,267 --> 03:26:24,967
international corporation you can't do it. Like, they,

2324
03:26:27,067 --> 03:26:30,100
they can get out of it. They have the power and the means to do it. So I think just that

2325
03:26:31,633 --> 03:26:35,433
alone, it's like inviting a tiger into your house and saying, oh, don't worry, he's going to pay rent, he's going to keep the rat population

2326
03:26:36,867 --> 03:26:40,500
in check. It doesn't matter. You can't control it. So don't invite it in in the first place. Thank you.

2327
03:26:42,133 --> 03:26:42,133
thank you, stephen. Sequoia.

2328
03:26:52,667 --> 03:26:55,933
hi, I'm sequoia, and I think reality is pretty real. And I

2329
03:27:00,933 --> 03:27:02,733
stand for what's real. That is why I don't really

2330
03:27:05,100 --> 03:27:08,733
like data centers, and I do really like statistics. And I would

2331
03:27:10,567 --> 03:27:13,700
like real statistics to be used

2332
03:27:17,467 --> 03:27:17,467
in this decision and spread

2333
03:27:22,300 --> 03:27:24,633
to everyone that needs to hear them. Not that are

2334
03:27:30,733 --> 03:27:32,733
cherry-picked to make one group look bad or good,

2335
03:27:36,567 --> 03:27:40,267
but that show the best, the worst, and the middle of the road. And I want

2336
03:27:45,100 --> 03:27:48,733
numbers, I want exacting standards and uncompromising oversight to maintain those

2337
03:27:51,333 --> 03:27:54,100
standards. I want accountability standards in place if that oversight fails, but one thing at a time. I'm a

2338
03:27:56,167 --> 03:27:57,700
third-generation lubbockite, and lubbock throughout my life

2339
03:28:00,233 --> 03:28:02,067
and my parents' and my grandparents' lives, I'm third

2340
03:28:04,500 --> 03:28:08,233
generation, has been very slow to jump on any new bandwagon. If there was ever a time when

2341
03:28:10,033 --> 03:28:14,033
that is a standard to live up to, it is now. If you want tourism,

2342
03:28:15,933 --> 03:28:19,867
if you want a thriving economy, stand against data centers and for people. It will make you

2343
03:28:21,867 --> 03:28:25,633
guys, yeah, I'm talking to all of you guys, it will make you guys my heroes. Thank you.

2344
03:28:29,233 --> 03:28:29,233
thank you, sequoia. Irving?

2345
03:28:40,133 --> 03:28:41,500
irving. You guys took a beating tonight, didn't you? I am

2346
03:28:46,700 --> 03:28:50,533
somewhat asking the same question, but before we move on, I want to thank all of you. You guys

2347
03:28:52,233 --> 03:28:55,167
are normal people like all of us, and you volunteered to be where you're at. It's

2348
03:28:57,500 --> 03:29:00,700
just, it's hard. Mr. Atkinson, it's hard to run the city, so thank you,

2349
03:29:02,400 --> 03:29:04,167
sir. And you guys, you read a lot, I know. The, I'm not

2350
03:29:07,633 --> 03:29:10,833
in favor or against data centers, and the reason why I'm not

2351
03:29:12,267 --> 03:29:15,633
against it is because I don't have enough data to be able to say what are the good things

2352
03:29:17,367 --> 03:29:20,233
about data centers. Lida published a 9-page commentary,

2353
03:29:24,000 --> 03:29:27,467
per se, we need to see the data. We need to see what are the benefits

2354
03:29:30,633 --> 03:29:33,567
of this, but specifically to the citizens of lubbock. You want to go one step further

2355
03:29:35,433 --> 03:29:38,900
and really make an economics nerd happy, make it by the district. What are the

2356
03:29:40,533 --> 03:29:43,900
benefits in each one of the districts for all of us? We know the risks. We

2357
03:29:46,000 --> 03:29:49,433
know what are the consequences of taking on these massive projects.

2358
03:29:51,600 --> 03:29:55,233
what's in it for the city? What are we getting in return for that? So if we can voice

2359
03:29:57,633 --> 03:30:00,933
that and publish that and make it more transparent, I think that the conversation would be

2360
03:30:02,033 --> 03:30:04,933
a lot more pleasant, a lot more open, and we would all be able to

2361
03:30:06,067 --> 03:30:09,033
make that decision a lot easier. So once again, council, thank you very much

2362
03:30:10,200 --> 03:30:13,867
for all that you do. Thank you guys. You guys go get some rest. Thank you very much,

2363
03:30:15,500 --> 03:30:19,067
irving. That concludes our citizen comments

2364
03:30:20,667 --> 03:30:23,333
for tonight. I want to personally say thank you. I

2365
03:30:25,233 --> 03:30:28,467
asked you to follow the rules and be respect, respectful, and y'all were great. Thank you

2366
03:30:29,900 --> 03:30:32,933
very much. Good night. Thank you. This meeting is adjourned.