(PENSACOLA) --- I showed up to the Pensacola Escambia Promotion & Development Commission meeting on May 26th, ready to fight.
I had a speech in my hands. Three minutes, practiced, aimed right at the issue: data centers in Pensacola and the demands they take on our local resources. I was going to tell the board that the people here don't want them. That we're in a drought. That they don't create real jobs.
(Photo: FloridaWest EDA at 418. W Garden St.)
But with no quorum due to a lack of board members' presence, the meeting was canceled, meaning my speech would be for naught, which is why I walked right up to CEO Chris Platé of FloridaWest Economic Development Alliance (EDA).
My fight became even stronger due to the empty room at 418 W Garden St., since when the public doesn't show up, and when the board doesn't show up, the business of this county still moves forward, just not in public.
I got right to the point, letting Plate' know FloridaWest's is violating its own mission.
(Photo: Florida West EDA website)
Their mission, in their words, is to "develop community assets to position our area as a rich and fertile location for individual, community, and corporate growth that is sustainable."
Specifically, FloridaWest, Escambia County's lead economic development agency, is funded by the county to recruit business, grow jobs, and build our economy.
They work hand in hand with the Pensacola-Escambia Development Commission (PEDC), which owns and markets industrial property in the county. They run CO:LAB, the startup hub where local entrepreneurs get space, mentorship, and help building companies that actually hire here.
In April, Platé told the county that their work had returned 444% on investment and created thousands of high-wage, high-quality jobs.
That's the standard he set.
So I asked him whether FloridaWest is currently recruiting or facilitating a data center project in Escambia County? And if so, how does that meet the mission of sustainable community assets and the 444% ROI you cited in April?"
He declined to comment on the record.
(Photo: FloridaWest EDA CEO Chris Plate')
That silence is deafening.
If FloridaWest is courting a data center, the public deserves to know how a server warehouse with a skeleton crew and massive water and power bills fits the definition of "sustainable community assets."
A typical hyperscale data center uses 3 to 5 million gallons of water per day for cooling, as much as a town of 30,000 people.
The Escambia County Utility Authority put us on voluntary water restrictions last month. For those who are unaware, our aquifer, our bayous, our beaches; these are the community assets FloridaWest claims to protect.
We should not be handing anything to a server farm for out-of-state companies. That is not sustainable.
This is why showing up matters.
(Photo: QR code to make your voice heard on local data centers)
PEDC had "Project Activity" on the agenda on Tuesday morning. That's exactly the line item where a data center deal could live, but with no quorum, there were no votes.
No public discussion. No answers from Platé on the record. If the board won't meet, and the public won't watch, these decisions get made in the quiet. Pensacola deserves better than silence, which is why I'll be back, and I won't be the only one.
FloridaWest's aim is "sustainable community assets." If Platé won't say how a data center fits that mission, maybe it's because it doesn't.
The next PEDC meeting has not been announced yet, but according to FloridaWest's website, they generally meet on the fourth Tuesday of every month at 10 A.M. at 418 West Garden Street.
When we show up, they have to answer. When we don't, they won't. In the meantime, contact your Escambia County Commissioner, or all for that matter.
I have listed the contacts below to make it easier for you to protect your family's local resources, especially since they have already proven to be in high demand due to data center usage.
Board of County Commissioners Main Line: (850) 595-4902
District 1 – Steve Stroberger, (850) 595-4910 | district1@myescambia.com
District 2 – Mike Kohler, (850) 595-4920 | district2@myescambia.com
District 3 – Lumon May, (850) 595-4930 | district3@myescambia.com
District 4 – Ashlee Hofberger, (850) 595-4940 district4@myescambia.com
District 5 – Steven Barry, (850) 595-4950 | district5@myescambia.com
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