×îÐÂÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´

Hundreds of area residents flooded city hall to hear the pitch. Dozens spoke against it. 

But Ryan Sanders, a partner with Atlanta-based Beltline Energy, said the heated dialogue wouldn't derail his firm's plans.

"It gets ugly sometimes — how the sausage gets made — but this was a critical step for us on this project," said Sanders. He described Tuesday's meeting, which featured more than an hour of public testimony almost unanimously against the proposal, as a "super positive."

"Pacific is a community that cares and that means a great deal to us," Sanders told the Post-Dispatch after the meeting.

The campus, dubbed the Meramec Valley Technology Park, would take several years to build, along Highway O in rural Franklin County south of Pacific, he said. Construction would create 1,000 jobs per year, Sanders said; each building would then employ between 30 to 40 people full-time.

Beltline is pitching the campus on land owned by William McLaren, a Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission member. 

People packed into Pacific's board chambers on Tuesday and spilled out into the hallway. Among them was James Allen, who lives a short distance from the proposed site. He said this quiet community along Interstate 44 has been in an uproar ever since news of a proposed data center was circulated in an anonymous letter from a concerned citizen to nearby residents. 

"This is a community of nature enthusiasts, who love our state parks, who love the river," Allen said. "This has upset everybody."

More than two dozen speakers raised concerns about noise from the facility and harm to the environment, wildlife and the nearby Meramec River. One speaker specifically worried whether Beltline planned to build a floodwall along the property — and if that meant water from the flood-prone river would be pushed onto nearby properties. 

Jessica Gustafon said she was "dead set against the proposal."

"There is nothing that they can say that will convince me that this will be good for us," Gustafon said. 

"It doesn't matter if we are Democrats or Republicans, we all know we are going to be affected by this," she said. "We're looking out for each other, just like we always have."

Questions about the Meramec River

The Beltline project is separate from the 600-acre data center proposed in Gray Summit near the Shaw Nature Reserve, Sanders said. That project was tabled for six months last week by the Franklin County Planning and Zoning Commission.

McLaren, the land owner, was not present at last week's meeting. 

The ultimate size of the Pacific-area project hinges on approval from the state's largest electricity provider, Ameren. Those negotiations are ongoing, and if the two companies can't reach an agreement then it would likely mean fewer data centers built on the campus, Sanders said. 

On Tuesday, Sanders faced pointed questions from city leaders about the gallons of water the facility would discharge into the city's lagoons. He did not specify how much, but pledged that the water would go through two purifications and would not be released into the Meramec River.

Officials also questioned Sanders on where the facility plans to draw its water — through private wells, from the river or from another source. 

But Sanders said Beltline does not plan to use wells. It could get water from the river, but the company is not discussing that option now. 

Many of those attending the meeting, including Tim Hennessy, said they felt betrayed by McLaren, their longtime neighbor.

"He is turning his back on us," Hennessy said. "It all comes down to greed."

Sanders said Beltline plans to submit its proposal to Pacific this week. That would trigger another round of public hearings in February and March.

Mayor Heather Filley said a decision on whether to bring the site into Pacific's city limits and whether to approve the data center plan likely wouldn't happen until April or May. 

Based on what company officials heard Tuesday, some details of the plan may be reworked or altered, Sanders said.

"That's why we are not coming in with a permanent marker, but with a pencil," Sanders said. "We want the feedback."