League of Women Voters hosts data center talk

TIFFIN — On Wednesday evening, the Tiffin Area League of Women Voters hosted a data center panel discussion at Allen Eiry Senior Center. Residents were invited to join a discussion with local leaders who answered public questions and discussed the economic and community impact of data centers. Lee Wilkinson, mayor of Tiffin, and Bryce Riggs, CEO and president of Seneca County Collaborative, were in attendance. The event began with a recorded video from Upper Sandusky Mayor Kyle McColly, who offered to tell about his city's dealings with data center development. According to McColly, Upper Sandusky was "caught flat-footed" by a potential data center being built on a 147-acre property that was being developed for commercial or industrial use. In the video, McColly explained that when the public was informed that a data center was planning to operate in their city, interest sped up "overnight." "What used to be a 10-minute meeting turned into a two-hour meeting. What used to be one email a month for a public records request turned into three a day." In July, Upper Sandusky City Council enacted a six‑month moratorium on new data center development. The Planning Commission is now evaluating existing zoning rules for "high resource demand development," infrastructure strain (power, water, waste), resource consumption, environmental impacts and quality‑of‑life effects for residents. On Nov. 3, 2026, voters in Upper Sandusky will decide on a charter amendment to prohibit all new data center construction. McColly ended his recorded speech by commending the efforts of Tiffin officials for "being ahead of the game" and keeping an open dialogue between elected officials and the city's residents. McColly's video was followed by statements from Wilkinson and Riggs, who said they have spent time learning about data centers first-hand. Wilkinson began the conversation by telling the audience about a visit to Lima that he and Riggs took to see a data center in person. He talked about what a data center is, what is inside of them, and their resource consumption. He and Riggs both spoke about training seminars and classes they have attended with JobsOhio. Riggs followed by sharing that no companies have reached out to the city with interest in bringing a data center to Tiffin. He told the audience that, not only is there not much developable land left in Tiffin for a data center, but he said that companies are looking for land that already has utilities in place and fast access to major highways and infrastructure. "In all reality, in the city of Tiffin … I'm not going to say never … but we're not really in a great position for a data center. I know there has been some conversation recently about zoning and annexations, but in all reality if we're going to see a data center, it's probably going to be more in the county itself (rather than in Tiffin)," said Riggs. After Riggs and Wilkinson spoke, the floor was opened to the audience to ask the two speakers questions. Some of the concerns attendees inquired about were zoning issues, environmental concerns and transparency. One member of the audience urged everyone in the room to thoroughly research PFAs. According to the EPA, PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s because of their useful properties. One common characteristic of concern of PFAS is that many break down very slowly and can build up in people, animals and the environment over time. Research suggests that exposure to certain PFAS may lead to adverse health outcomes. However, research is still ongoing to determine how different levels of exposure to different PFAS can lead to a variety of health effects. Research is also underway to better understand the health effects associated with low levels of exposure to PFAS over long periods of time, especially in children. Others inquired about how city officials will handle guidelines around zoning rules, power and water use, and quality‑of‑life effects for residents, specifically noise pollution issues. The League of Women Voters' next public forum will be held in the third week of November, and according to LWV member Terry Nibblett, the topic will focus on the use of Flock cameras in Seneca County, with appearances from local law enforcement officials and a representative from the Columbus ACLU.