WRIGHTSTOWN, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Voters will be submitting ballots to decide a number of gubernatorial and congressional races.
In Wrightstown, they’ll also shed light on community’s opinion of a data center project.
Tuesday, voters will get the chance to say yes or no to data center projects in the village through a referendum vote.
“I think the people are looking to have the representation of the vote just show really what the public’s or our resident’s feeling is on data centers,” Village Administrator, Travis Coenen said.
“It’s full of farmers, people who have grown up here like their entire lives and not really looking for a data center to come in and just disrupt everything that we’ve built here already,” said Sheldon Smith.
One Wrightstown voter who was on the ‘yes’ side of the referendum cited concern that a ‘no’ vote would discourage any future development. Some of the ‘no’ voters didn’t share that concern.
“I think that there’s a lot of ambition in the village and the village administration to bring in industry. I just disagree with a data center being that type of industry for us,” said Cynthia Shell.
Cloverleaf, a real estate development company that specializes in data center projects, has been exploring putting a data center in Wrightstown.
In a statement they said:
Northeast Wisconsin offers the right mix of infrastructure and workforce talent to attract investment and support long-term growth. We look forward to continuing our dialogue with community members as we pursue opportunities that will create quality jobs, generate new tax revenue and deliver lasting benefits for residents, schools and first responders.
Although the referendum isn’t binding, it’s outcome could still guide the village’s future.
You can check what is on your ballot Tuesday at this link.
