Wiscasset resident Anne Leslie told selectmen Aug. 18, she didn't think she'd heard of data centers a year ago. "(That's) amazing now because the whole past year there's been this tsunami of information coming out from across the country about (their) impacts ... and boy, there's a lot of negative information and ... I'm so proud of you guys for saying, 'Wait, wait, wait. Let's think about this and learn about this. Find out what it really means before we roll out the red carpet, because it seems very complicated."

Leslie and some other residents were thanking the selectboard for considering offering voters a moratorium, or temporary ban, on accepting applications for data centers. Fred Robinson's inquiry into one is over, with no proposal planned, Robinson has told Wiscasset Newspaper. The inquiry sparked a year of questions and concern from area residents at the prospect of a data center on Old Ferry Road, and at Robinson's non-disclosure deal with the town.

Selectman Heather Jones said she was proposing the moratorium because during her campaign she repeatedly heard concern about data centers, and she thinks when you're hired to do a job, you should do it.

"So this is me doing it."

She said a moratorium would allow time to learn what data centers entail, including their possible impacts, and then to update ordinances "to control those impacts and decide what we're willing to tolerate and what we won't. So the main goal of this is to create the conversation where everyone who has an opinion or information or data to share may do so through these various discussions ..."

Board members praised the proposal. Chair Alyssa Eason said town legal counsel has reviewed it and it is "defendable" should someone challenge it. She said a moratorium makes fine sense.

For anyone who does not want a data center, this would be "only a good thing," Selectman Sarah Whitfield said. She said there is no data center proposal and none the town is expecting. "I think we're all on board with this moratorium" to update ordinances on a topic that is changing every single day, "in terms of how harmful (data centers) are, where they're going, who's doing what, what the national level's doing, whatever. This (moratorium) just gives us more time and it makes sense," Whitfield said.

Selectman Cassaundra Rose also supports it. "I applaud Heather for bringing this, and everyone's work on developing this for consideration." She added, given the town's experience receiving the inquiry from a prospective data center developer, Wiscasset could help inform the work of the advisory council planning recommendations about data centers to the legislature.

Rose said she talked to someone involved, and "they really would love to hear from us (as they) develop guidance or guidelines for them to help support towns ... I think we have a good opportunity to give some feedback to the state, which we can do in writing and ... at the public listening sessions as well. So I would love personally to work with the staff on maybe just gathering what our lessons learned were from this entire experience and sharing that with the state."

If voters nod a moratorium, it would run 180 days and the selectboard could extend it. After a first round of talks that night, another was set for Aug. 25 as part of a selectboard workshop. The board can make progress on, but not vote on, the possible November ballot question in the workshop. Plans call for the board to consider voting Sept. 1 to put the question to voters. It would have to be by then to make the November ballot, Town Manager Dennis Simmons said. 

Resident Ed Polewarczyk opposed a moratorium. A data center would greatly cut people's property taxes, he said.

"It's a significant help to the people of Wiscasset who are struggling with property taxes and struggling to make ends meet. This moratorium starts off by saying, 'We don't want you,' and if people are listening to us who are considering Wiscasset ... they're going to walk away. I think starting off with a moratorium is the wrong answer," Polewarczyk said.

On a question from the public about the would-be moratorium's definition of a data center, Simmons planned to check with town counsel. A new draft released ahead of the Aug. 25 workshop removes references to square footage and electrical capacity.

The new draft defines a data center as "any facility which may be a freestanding structure or a facility within a larger structure, that primarily contains electronic equipment used for data processing, data storage, cloud computing or similar computing infrastructure services that uses environmental control equipment to maintain the proper conditions for the operation of electronic equipment. 'Data center' does not include a facility or portion of a facility containing electronic equipment that is incidental to and used in support of a business whose primary business activity is not the performance of data processing, data storage, cloud computing or similar computing infrastructure services."

The draft also cuts some wording that specified the planning board's involvement in studying impacts of data center development and in drafting the report of findings and any recommended ordinance changes. Polewarczyk had questioned putting those tasks on the planning board.

The 6 p.m. workshop at the town office was also set to include a discussion of a proposed directive for the wastewater treatment plant outreach committee; and possible ordinances for the fire department to be able to recover certain costs and for the town to create a mobile home park rent stabilization board. 

Find the Zoom link on the workshop agenda at wiscasset.gov