Verrus just put $10 million on the table — and Monday night, the City Council decides whether AI data centers are even allowed in Salem.
The offer, sent to the full council Thursday by CEO Nelson Abramson, includes binding caps on water, noise and power use, a clause letting the city shut off the company’s water if it goes over, and a $10 million local investment package with priorities set by the council and residents. Verrus projects 15–20 million gallons of water a year under normal conditions — about a 0.2% bump in demand on Salem’s system — but up to 3 million gallons a day on the hottest days.
Monday’s vote isn’t a code change. The council is interpreting what “data center” meant when it was written into the code in 2013-14 — conventional server buildings, not AI-scale computing. City staff say that interpretation would apply to Verrus’s pending Oakline at Mill Creek application. Verrus says it’s moving forward regardless, and that Oregon law requires the city to judge its application by the rules in place when it filed.
I have come to believe that there is no offer that Verrus could make that would satisfy most citizens of Salem. Here, they’ve offered $10 million and binding caps on water, noise, and power use. Maybe those caps are insufficient, I don’t know. But most people have already decided that they are. I think they’re opposed to the data center, because they’re opposed to data centers. That makes it hard to have a debate.
Everyone is entitled to believe what they will, of course. But it’s important to understand what we’re giving up: $10 million up front plus roughly $5 million a year in tax revenue for a city that is absolutely cash-strapped. When the Library closes and city parks are no longer maintained, I hope those who held steadfast against the data center will remember their opposition and understand what the real cost was.