When the topic is data centers, Ravenna city officials seem split. Local administrators say a proposal to site a data center within city limits is no big deal, but City Council’s planning committee is racing to impose a one-year moratorium on such facilities.
At issue is local landowner Ray Harner’s apparent plan to use his property on state Route 14,...
Read moreThe Shalersville Township Trustees were discussing data center in several of their meetings, apparently holding improper executive sessions “[t]o consider confidential information related to the marketing plans, specific business strategy, production techniques, trade secrets, or financial projects” on about 20 occasions. That violates the Open Meetings Act. On April 8, 2026, I filed a lawsuit, case no. 2026CV00338, for enforcement of the Act. Since the executive sessions were illegally held, any actions resulting from them the are invalid by operation of law. It is likely that the violations while the location of a data center in Shalersville Township.
It is important to note that violations of the Open Meetings Act do not require proof of intent. For that reason, I make no representation as to the intent of any trustee.
It is highly unlikely that a data center would bring any jobs whatsoever to Ravenna. Any work required would be performed remotely, perhaps from India. It is inevitable that a data center would place a burden on city services.
What needs to be remembered is that all electrical power going into a data center comes out as heat. That is a direct consequence of the laws of thermodynamics. While power companies can guarantee the provision of power, they do not alleviate any local climate changes that result from the heat a data center creates.
I hope that they do block the construction of the data center. There have been several examples across the country of how data centers do not benefit the community and instead just create larger utility bills while only a small number of people profit.
As for the comment by Dennis West, the quote as its state in the newsletter is very thin and sounds like a person who’s got a check from the developer waiting to be cashed once the data center is approved. Data backups locally will not help local companies. This data center will sit empty, most companies in the area use larger cloud providers for data backups because their cost is, and always will be much cheaper and more reliable thanks to their large scaled networks.
I was listing to 404 Media’s podcast and they discussed investigating contractors that are going around the country and trying to build data centers in communities with less than 50,000 people but they have no tenant for the data center. Often when you inquire about who will be using it they have very vague answers. If a company like Facebook or Google is behind the data center they will usually answer the question directly.
Data centers are often sold to the communities as jobs, future employment, and economic prosperity but in reality most data centers require minimal workers and usually drive up utility bills with the main benefactor being the data center builder and or the company(s) leasing the data center.
Keep yours eyes on where the puck is going to be— happening now: Ohio lawmakers are considering stripping local governments of the ability to block new nuclear plants to power AI systems and data centers. If you value local control, better speak up now.