Data center initiative gathers signatures, Chief Executive voices concerns

Currently, the idea of building a data center in Butte is on hold, as an initial buy-sell agreement with Washington-based company Sabey Data Centers fell through, after the land that they had been offered by Butte-Silver Bow was purchased by REC Silicon via a right-of-first-refusal clause in their contract with the county.

Still, residents have remained on edge about potentially bringing a data center to Butte in the future. One such resident is Denise Kelly, who opposes data centers due to concerns over water usage and potential energy rate increases.

She and the 406 People First coalition are behind the initiative, which must gather 3,652 signatures before the 90-day window expires at the end of August in order for it to appear on November's general election ballot.

As Kelly says, the signature collection process is ahead of schedule.

"We started officially on June 2 at the primary election," Kelly said. "Right now, we're only about 500 signatures away from getting it on the ballot."

"Almost everybody is very happy to sign it," Kelly continued. "They think it should be our choice. Whether they're for or against it, it should be our choice as to whether or not we bring in a data center."

However, city officials are less enthusiastic. Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher has supported the data center project, citing the potential to create hundreds of new jobs and stimulate the local economy.

Gallagher is concerned that the wording of the initiative could violate state legislation such as the Right to Compute Act or Montana Code 76, as well as scare away other businesses looking to build in Butte.

"It has really broad language in it," Gallagher said. "It says that a data center is essentially anything that stores or sends out data within a building... that has a kind of climate control. The way we read it, this is an issue that could really restrict other businesses from coming in, such as banks, or anything that stores data."

Kelly rebuts that the initiative isn't meant to be anti-business, but rather a means to put more power directly into the hands of the Butte people when it comes to making such a big decision.

"It's absolutely ludicrous to think that it's going to drive businesses like mine away," Kelly said. "I'm a small business owner. There are plenty of small business owners that have signed the ballot initiative. They are not afraid of it. This isn't a be-all, end-all, take-it-or-leave-it. This is a start."

Still, Gallagher worries that the initiative may force residents to make a choice too quickly. He says that the language of the initiative, if it gathers the necessary signatures to appear on the next ballot, cannot be altered between now and November.

"When they sign that ballot initiative and they get the signatures, that's the initiative," Gallagher said. "It's not changeable."

"I'm not telling people not to sign the ballot initiative--that's up to them," Gallagher continued. "But I really ask them to read the ballot initiative and understand what they're signing before they sign it."

Gallagher says that although the initial buy-sell agreement with Sabey Data Centers has been discarded, the company remains in talks with Butte-Silver Bow.

If the initiative gathers enough signatures to be put on the November ballot, and a majority of voters vote in favor it, then all future proposals for construction or expansion of a data center in Butte-Silver Bow must be put up to a special election and require a two-thirds majority vote to pass.