Taylor representatives and consultants were on hand this week to provide information and listen to community input about infrastructure plans and concerns.
Topics covered include data centers, water and wastewater resource planning and land development code changes.
Organizers said the comeand- go Digital Infrastructure meeting Aug. 26 at the Main Event Center, 3101 N. Main St., was well attended.
The booths providing information about data centers were the most crowded, officials said.
Visitors learned about the city’s restrictions on data centers already in the works and the restrictions the city is planning to impose on potential facilities in the future.
Daniel Seguin, Taylor’s executive director of community services, noted questions about data-center noise were addressed at one booth.
“It compares our proposed noise restrictions to other communities around the country and around the state,” he said. “It also talks about (data center) setbacks, what those setbacks mean, how they will look to an average neighborhood based on what we’ve currently proposed. And it also talks about the financial impact of data centers in Taylor.”
Visitors walked from table to table staffed by consultants who answered questions and provided information on specific topics.
For the first time, the city also provided on-site childcare, staffed by the Taylor Public Library, for parents and guardians visiting the information meeting.
“The goal of the meeting is for folks to come out,” Seguin said. “If they already know about all of these details, great, we’re here to listen to the community and receive their feedback on our proposed restrictions and ordinances.”
Those who wanted to know more had a chance to visit the stations “and learn about the subject matter directly from the experts,” Seguin added.
Taylor resident Pam Reeves said she attended the event to stay informed.
“I came out just to find out what this was all about, to get more information, so I’m familiar with water demand,” Reeves said. “That concerns me the most, the water demand on the city and our prices to reflect paying for more water or electricity or whatever.”
Reeves added that while she was most concerned about the city’s infrastructure, the idea of so many data centers in the area worried her.
At least three data centers are in the planning stages for Taylor with many in the community voicing stiff opposition. Those include the Blueprint Projects Center, Project Comal and Project Mustang.
Residents have filed a court petition to force Taylor leaders to place an amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot allowing for more stringent zoning governing data-center development.
