UPDATE: WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE PROPOSED DATA CENTER NEAR AMBER

AMBER-POCASSET, OKLA. (TUC) — Hey y’all, we’ve heard your concerns, we’ve seen the posts going around, and we wanted to give everyone an update on what we actually know so far regarding the talk of a proposed data center coming to the Amber area.

There’s been a lot of information circulating online, and naturally, people have questions and very valid concerns. So, instead of repeating what’s being shared on social media, our team personally reached out to Amber City Hall this morning to ask some questions and get information directly from a local official.

We were able to confirm directly with Amber City Hall that the Town Hall meeting tonight at 6:00 p.m. is open to the public.

However, there is a separate meeting taking place at 4:00 p.m. From what we were told by a city official, that meeting will not be held at the Amber Community Center and may be invite-only. We were told it is expected to involve representatives connected to the proposed data center, along with residents or farmers whose properties are adjacent to the proposed site. We were also told that Amber City Council members will not be present at the 4:00 p.m. meeting.

And just to make sure there’s no confusion between the two meetings, according to the information we received, the representatives connected to the proposed data center who are expected at the 4:00 p.m. meeting will not be attending the public Town Hall meeting at 6:00 p.m.

So to be clear, there are two separate meetings happening today. The 4:00 p.m. meeting appears to be limited, while the 6:00 p.m. Town Hall meeting is open to the public.

And while we had City Hall on the phone, we also asked about one of the biggest questions we’ve seen floating around: Where exactly is this proposed data center supposed to go?

According to the City Hall official we spoke with, the land that was reportedly purchased is not currently inside Amber city limits. That being said, we also want to make something very clear, just because the property is not currently within Amber city limits doesn’t mean the concerns from people in the area aren’t valid. They absolutely are.

And that’s exactly why tonight’s meeting is so important. From what we were told, city officials will be discussing possible ordinances and regulations surrounding data centers, and potentially what regulations could be put into place if a data center were ever to come within Amber city limits.

This gives the community a chance to hear directly from local officials, learn what regulations are being considered, ask questions, voice their concerns, and hopefully walk away with a better understanding of what a project like this could mean, not only for Amber, but for the surrounding communities as well.

And y’all, we completely understand why people are concerned. When something this big is being talked about in or around your community, of course people are going to have questions, and they absolutely should. Asking questions, wanting answers, and wanting to know how something could potentially affect the place you call home is completely valid.

So, if you live in Amber or one of the surrounding communities and you have questions or concerns, tonight is a good opportunity to show up, listen, ask those questions, and hear the information directly for yourself. At the end of the day, the best thing any of us can do is stay informed, get the facts, and make sure our voices are heard.

As always, we’re going to keep digging, asking questions, and sharing what we can actually verify. If we learn anything new, we’ll keep y’all updated.