On June 8, during the Flint City Council meeting, members of the council approved the resolution for a moratorium on data centers. This would prohibit any permit applications, site plans and construction plans for any potential data centers for a year.
Before the resolution was approved, during public comment, some residents voiced their concerns about data centers and how they could affect the community
Abigail Marley, a Flint resident, said residents should wait for additional information before supporting new data center construction.
“There’s not enough research to know how it will impact the people in our community, the ecosystems that surround it, the animals that will be affected and humans,” Marley said.
Some residents urged council members to approve the moratorium resolution so that additional research can be conducted regarding its potential impacts on Flint neighborhoods.
Mari Copeny, a community activist also known as “Little Miss Flint”, said that if data centers were to be built in Flint, city leaders would put community members in another crisis like the Flint Water Crisis from 2014.
“Twelve years later, our city leaders may be setting us up for yet another crisis in our community that is still recovering from the first crisis!” Copeny said. “But unlike the Flint Water Crisis, you, our elected leaders, have the power to protect our community, but some of our leaders seem to see dollar signs!”
Copeny also played a viral TikTok video by creator Bo Grant (@marriedtoalunatic), who questioned why data centers were put in “good communities” and said they should be placed in Flint because it has “toxic water”. After receiving criticism online, Grant deleted her initial video and apologized.
“Now, this is what someone that lives in a good community thinks about data centers coming into our community,” Copeny said.
Audrey Muhammad, a Flint resident, said that the vacant Buick City site was rumored to be a potential data center location, but Candice Mushatt, City Council president, said she could not confirm that.
“I can’t confirm that. All I have is the same information that everybody else has. I think this is the craziest coincidence that it’s coming out,” Mushatt said. “ I think at the end of the day the point is for us to give ourselves a chance to get more information.”
Mushatt motioned to have an independent study conducted during the moratorium, and that the findings will be open to the public for discussion, added to the resolution. Which was approved.
The meeting concluded with a 7-1 vote in favor of adopting the resolution, with Councilwoman Judy Priestley being the only one to vote against it.
Priestley said she understands the concerns voiced by the community and is not in favor of removing farmland from production, but that the former Buick City site is the best place for a data center.
“I am not in favor of removing farmland from production,” Priestley said. “We have a site in Flint that I think, personally, is the best place to put a data center if one was to come to Michigan… I’m referring to the Buick City.”
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Hello my name is Ramla Ouedraogo and I am the editor-in-chief of the Michigan Times.
