Email Address:
Email Subject:
Speak at Public Hearing on Data Centers
Testimony Example 1:
My name is ___, I live in Merion Village and would like to testify in person at the public hearing for data centers. As well I am including a digital copy of my testimony:
I am against data centers being constructed in Columbus and Ohio. Data centers have proven to be a blight on the environment, not only do they utilize an unlawful amount of water, but they also pollute it. There is false promise of jobs being created, however data center take more jobs than they create. I am a web-developer and have already lost my entire career to Ai obsessed companies and so-called solutions. Data centers provide no future for humanity.
The City of Columbus spent $2.9 billion in capital funds in 2025, yet none of that went towards any concerted effort towards environmental protection. People across Ohio & America are experiencing polluted air, extreme heat, and unprecedented negative weather patterns, and yet somehow there is no effort taken to stop or slow this devastating degradation. Data centers only expedite the destruction. There are already 237 data centers in central Ohio, organizing a public hearing after that many have been constructed in an insult and a farce. Opinion should be gathered before action is taken, not afterwards. The people of Columbus do not want data centers, we want clean air, clean water, clean food, healthcare, and housing with a clear & fair definition of “affordable”.
There is a future beyond greed & environmental destruction. You need only to allow it.
Testimony Example 2:
Hello, my name is ___and I’d like to testify in person at the hearing on data centers Wednesday the 22nd. My testimony is as follows:
I oppose the construction of data centers. I oppose the use of AI by our city government. I oppose all governmental financial support to big tech companies. I do not believe the claims that these companies and the construction of their data centers create jobs and economic growth.
The government that claims to represent us has allowed the construction of 200 data centers in the state of Ohio alone, none of which we were asked permission for. Companies of which we citizens do not know the owners' names have profited off tax payer dollars, contributed to the elimination of people’s jobs, ruined communities water sources, polluted the environment in their construction and their operation, raised electricity bills, raised land prices, and worse.
I am a farmer. I cannot afford land in the state of Ohio because of the land grab that this city and this state have allowed. More than that, I am a naturalist, and I am forced to watch as the natural world is destroyed for the sake of profit and unchecked industry. We are being sold a lie of a “technologically advanced society.” This “technologically advanced society” will be run on diesel engines and it will drink our water and spit it back out poisoned. This lie is being bought with our water, our air, our animals, our plants, our trees, our land, our jobs, and our money. The only thing this lie isn’t being bought with is our consent. 200 data centers have been built in Ohio, and now that the hour is so late, we are seeing these hearings. What will you do now that you have stolen our futures from us? Will you have the courage to return them to us?
You do not need my testimony. You already have every reason to turn your backs on these tech companies. But since you have given someone like me a few moments to state the obvious, I ask you from heart to heart, to reconsider your priorities and do the right thing for Columbus, for humanity, for the world. If you need help knowing how to go back, just ask. We will help you.
Additional Information:
Chelsea Golterman (City Council Member)
Legislative Aide
(614) 645-3091
clgolterman@columbus.gov
https://www.columbus.gov/Government/City-Council/Directory