Jasper Chamber hosting informational talk on data centers Nov. 17

The Chamber plans on providing an updated flyer with more information about the speaker and the updated location. During a phone interview, Chamber Director Nancy Eckerle confirmed the location as the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center, as noted in the story below.

Organizers say the event is meant to inform, not to take sides

The Jasper Chamber of Commerce will host a public presentation on data centers Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the Thyen-Clark Cultural Center atrium. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The talk starts at 6 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. No RSVP is needed.

The speaker is Paul Wyman, a real estate developer and former Howard County commissioner. Wyman served 16 years in Howard County government as a councilman and commissioner before leaving the board at the end of 2022.

Wyman recently requested a zoning change for property adjacent to an industrial development in Kokomo tied to a data center campus and has appeared at informational events for the development. https://kokomolantern.substack.com/p/data-centers-stay-in-the-spotlight

Jasper Mayor Ryan Craig heard Wyman speak at an Indiana Association of Realtors conference in Indianapolis about two months ago. Wyman’s talk covered data centers, solar and battery energy storage developments, important topics in Dubois County and other areas right now.

Craig said Wyman’s talk didn’t take sides and was “just information on how to be prepared,” he said in a phone interview today.

Wyman shared how communities were handling these developments through regulations and economic development incentives like tax abatements.

Based on the information and the continued development of these types of projects, Craig asked the Jasper Chamber to host a seminar with Wyman because he wants the public informed about these developments before they knock on Jasper’s door.

“I just want to get ahead of this,” Craig said. “And I want the public to hear the exact information that I hear.”

Craig confirmed this was simply an informational event; no large-scale data center or energy development is on the horizon. “I’ve not had any data centers calling me begging to come to Jasper,” he said.

Regarding the seminar, Craig said he wants a big turnout. “I want that room to be full.”

Craig reiterated he wants people to be informed. And he wants the city to be ready if a development is proposed. “If we can learn from what other people have done, other communities have done, and how other communities have negotiated to come out ahead, that’s a win,” he said.

Nancy Eckerle, Chamber Director, confirmed the seminar is informational only.

“This is strictly a come and learn, come and get educated, come and find out about data centers,” Eckerle said, adding that the chamber does not have a position on their development in the community and she would stop the seminar if it turned into an advocacy for their development.

“You know there are people, of course, that have opinions on both sides. The ones we’re hearing from typically are the ones that are against the data centers, and that’s fine and I respect everyone’s opinion,” Eckerle said. “But I’m asking that people come with an open mind to learn and get educated on what data centers are.”

Eckerle said attendees can submit written questions during the seminar, and a moderator will pose them to the speaker.