SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Residents are pushing back against a proposed data center that would be built in West Shreveport.
An online petition, created by the Shreveport Democratic Socialists of America, calls on Mayor Tom Arceneaux and the city council to do the following:
- Pause all negotiations with the data center company.
- Reveal, and where possible break, the terms of the NDAs that the city has signed regarding these data centers.
- Create a new negotiation process that centers the will of the people and focuses first and foremost on the wants and needs of those potentially impacted by said project.
“Our city ‘leaders’ are trying to push through unpopular policies surrounding a huge data center!” the petition states. “They’ve signed NDAs to hide their motivations and beneficiaries, all while doing no work to hear the public out on their concerns—especially of those most affected by this project, the residents of the Greenwood area.
“We’ve heard from our mayor and others on the council about the proposed benefits of this data center, but not once have we heard them express concern about the impact of the data center on residents living near it. Concerns about noise, air pollution, increases in utility rates (while the grid continues to degrade), and wastewater have not been addressed at all! We say NO to unwanted, undemocratic data centers! We say NO to quarter-century tax breaks and NDAs! Sign this petition to call on our leaders to put a stop to this in favor of a more democratic process!”…