Data Centers and Smithfield TIF

I value collaboration, asking questions, and critical thinking for decision making. Working with a new mayor and other councilors will be a great opportunity to use the teamwork skills that I have developed as an engineer. I look forward to listening to constituents, asking questions, and sharing reasons and analysis for each decision made. I hope to bring discussion and dialogue to our city council meetings.

Hyperscale Data Centers

Data center construction uses resources like concrete and hardware, and also requires long term use of energy. We should make sure that energy use for transportation, manufacturing, food processing, water, wastewater, commercial and home electricity use remain priorities. Concrete materials are used for roads, bridges, airports, dam repairs, food storage/processing plants, manufacturing, water & wastewater plants, and the list goes on... Hardware purchases should remain feasible for local and/or small businesses. Here's a few questions I have regarding data centers:

Are incentives for data centers hurting costs/competition for materials in other industries?

How are data centers funded? Any subsidies?

Who decided we need them and how many did they decide we need?

Where do we need them and why? Is it okay for data to be processed 100, 300, or 600 miles away?

What categories of AI use drive the need for data centers? How much AI use is projected for things that we didn't necessarily need in the past and may or may not truly 'need' in the future?

I'd like to see more data on categories, current needs, and projections, weighed against impacts on energy, steel, concrete and hardware costs.

Smithfield Relocate

This relocation is a topic that continues to be discussed and here's a few questions I still have. Are there other American owned hog processors that want to build in Sioux Falls? Would they need a TIF as well?

Understanding TIFs

A TIF district captures increased property taxes from development and returns them to the project owner. Here, a $90M TIF means that an anticipated $4.5M of taxes paid annually by Smithfield will be returned to Smithfield for up to 20 years. Only the tax increment above the existing property value (on the undeveloped land) at the new site will be sent back to Smithfield.

Smithfield will pay their new significantly higher property tax (due to the cost/value of a new facility) to the county, and the county will send that increment to the City of Sioux Falls, then the City will return it to Smithfield. This will happen for up to $4.5M for 20 years or until a total of $90M in property taxes paid by Smithfield have been returned to Smithfield. This raises questions about impacts to neighboring entities like housing and schools in the Crooks area.

Not paying taxes is what a TIF essentially is. We should talk more about where tax dollars go, transparency, and government efficiency.

Summary

Data Centers - I don't currently see the need for the vast number of them, too many resources used for unknown product produced.

Smithfield Relocate - A relocation to a new site offers a great opportunity for growth near downtown Sioux Falls after a new plant is built and operating at a new location.

Smithfield TIF - not for this TIF.

Please reach out to me if you have answers to the questions above!