PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — WPTV is staying on top of the future of data centers in Palm Beach County as commissioners rethink who should help develop new regulations for an industry that has already generated significant concern among residents.
County commissioners on Wednesday backed away from immediately moving forward with one consultant selected by staff, instead deciding they want to consider other options before making a final selection.
At the same time, commissioners agreed to bring back plans for a formal community task force, giving the public a greater role as the county considers what its future data center regulations should look like.
The discussion comes less than a month after commissioners approved a one-year moratorium on large-scale data centers on Sept. 24.
County staff told commissioners the clock is now running to establish regulations before that moratorium expires.
The county staff had proposed hiring VHB (Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.), an engineering and planning firm, to work alongside staff on a framework designed to protect communities, establish clearer expectations and create standards the county could administer and enforce.
It would cost $224,900 for VHB's services.
But the proposal quickly drew questions from residents.
“I have concerns today about the consultant who was chosen,” said Rachel Smith, an Acreage resident.
Resident Ben Brown questioned how the firm had been selected and whether enough alternatives were considered.
“I have many questions. When did you reach out to this consultant? Are you interviewing other ones?” Brown said. “They obviously work with data centers. You are putting the fox in the henhouse.”
County staff said they issued a request for information and received six proposals that were incomplete. Staff initially told commissioners the proposals ranged from $200,000 for a portion of the needed support to $2 million.
Later in the discussion, staff described the range as about $125,000 for an architect who would only be part of the process, requiring additional experts, to about $2.1 million.
Those concerns put particular scrutiny on VHB and its existing work involving data centers.
“Do you have clients that are a part of data centers?” Mayor Sara Baxter asked the consultant representative directly.
“We work for clients that have data centers in Massachusetts and Virginia,” answered Curt Ostrodka a VHB representative responded. “We don't have any clients in Florida building data centers.”
The firm's representative also told commissioners VHB had worked as a consultant for private clients providing civil engineering, utility studies and other technical services supporting data centers.
When Commissioner Gregg Weiss asked whether the company had ever developed regulations specifically for data centers, the answer was direct.
“Not for data centers," said Ostrodka.
VHB maintained it could serve as an objective third party while researching how other communities are handling data centers and studying potential impacts including noise, energy and water.
“We don't know the answers right now,” Ostrodka said. “We would do that collaboratively with staff, members of the public.”
The company outlined a nine-month process that would also examine applicable state and federal laws and determine thresholds and regulatory mechanisms for potential impacts.
Commissioner Maria Sachs was among those who wanted more information before committing to the firm.
“This is one company standing here I know nothing about,” Sachs said.
But county staff stressed that the push to hire a consultant isn't simply about getting another opinion. Staff told commissioners they need additional capacity and technical expertise to develop the rules.
“We are asking for this assistance because we are limited in our capacity to do the work,” staff told commissioners. “We need the technical expertise to help support the staff get this done.”
Commissioner Joel Flores asked what it might cost for the county to instead bring in its own people to handle the workload.
Staff estimated a dedicated team could require two employees, with an average annual salary of about $125,000 each, or roughly $250,000.
Flores said the need for specialized knowledge was part of the reason he supported hiring outside help.
“I'm not an expert on data centers and this technology is evolving so quick,” Flores said.
Flores said commissioners will ultimately decide what the county's rules look like, but expert information could help them determine what safeguards are necessary.
“Having someone on our side who is going to say these are the things you want to watch out for, these are the guardrails you want to put in place, I would feel more comfortable,” Flores said.
For some residents, the concern was less about whether the county hires a consultant and more about making sure it hires the right one.
“For me, at least, it’s less of a money issue and more of, I want quality information, not just necessarily what people want to hear,” Wellington resident Elizabeth Pandich said. “I want to make sure we pick a consultant that is maybe in an environmental and scientific aspect of it, not someone that’s just good at moving data around.”
The timeline also weighed heavily on the discussion.
Staff told commissioners the moratorium lasts a year. If it expires before the county has new regulations in place, data center applications would be handled under the regulations in place at that time. County attorneys said extending the moratorium could be possible under certain circumstances, but any extension would be limited.
Weiss put the urgency bluntly.
“Time is of the essence. The clock is ticking,” Weiss said.
What initially appeared to be a decision to move forward with VHB changed dramatically near the end of the discussion.
Commissioners first voted to proceed with the consultant, with Baxter and Sachs opposed. But moments later, Commissioner Bobby Powell moved to reconsider the decision.
Powell said he wanted commissioners to have choices before committing to a single company.
“My motion is not to consider two consultants,” Powell said. “It would be for us to have an option to not only consider this consultant but more options. One consultant, maybe there is another person or another consultant company.”
The motion to reconsider passed 3-2.
Commissioners then voted 4-1 to give the county the opportunity to look at other available consultants rather than immediately settling on VHB.
That doesn't necessarily mean VHB is out of consideration.
“I'm sure this gentleman may win out in the end,” Sachs said. “But then at least we would know. Let's find out.”
While commissioners debated which experts should advise them, there was considerably more agreement about giving residents a direct role in the process.
Several speakers called for commissioners to revive the idea of a community task force, arguing that the two public outreach meetings outlined by staff would not provide enough community involvement.
Baxter supported establishing a formal task force and suggested that because the regulations would apply countywide, each commissioner could appoint someone to represent their district.
“This new ordinance, it would be countywide,” Commissioner Marci Woodward said earlier in the discussion. “This isn't about a specific parcel.”
Baxter said the task force proposal could come back before commissioners at their Nov. 18 meeting.
Smith welcomed the idea of combining expert input with residents who could be affected by whatever rules the county ultimately adopts.
“I do appreciate that they are looking at expert opinions, although I do think that we have enough experts in this area who are actually affected that could be very beneficial,” Smith said.
Pandich said she and others who became involved after Project Tango have already formed the National Data Impact Coalition and hope to participate.
“I’m excited about the task force. A couple of friends of mine, after Project Tango, started a national data impact coalition, and we are doing that basically internally. So we are going to put our name in the hat and hopefully get a seat at the table,” Pandich said.
For Smith, commissioners' decision to take another look at the consultant while moving toward giving residents a more formal role represented progress.
“Yeah, I’d say it’s a victory for the residents,” Smith said. “Thank you to Sachs and Baxter for doing what they did, and Powell, who came in last minute and saved the day.”
WPTV reached out to VHB to address concerns raised during the meeting about potential conflicts of interest but has not received a response.
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