Box Elder County commissioners face data center questions in their reelection bids

BRIGHAM CITY — As Lee Perry seeks a second term as Box Elder County commissioner, he's faced plenty of comments and questions about the controversial data center project proposal in the county.

"That seems to be the predominant question," he said.

Some are upset with him, he said, while others understand the rationale behind his May 4 vote for two resolutions that allow the proposal, the Stratos Area Project, to proceed. The long-range proposal, which has sparked concern from some worried about its potential environmental impact, calls for a data center in the Hansel Valley area of Box Elder County and development of up to 9 gigawatts of power-producing capacity to serve it.

"I'm getting all sides," said Perry, seeking his second term as commissioner.

With mail-in balloting underway, the data center project is on the minds of many voters in the Republican primary races for two Box Elder County Commission posts, the one now held by Perry, Seat B, and the post held by Boyd Bingham, Seat A. Both Perry and Bingham voted in favor of two resolutions permitting the data center proposal envisioned by O'Leary Digital and Utah's Military Installation Development Authority to proceed.

Bingham and Boyd "are both up for election, and there is certainly a lot of public discussion about transparency, public process and the Stratos approval," said Farrah Pliley, of Box Elder Accountability Referendum, or BEAR, which opposes the data center plans. The project "has become one of the most discussed political issues in Box Elder County this year, and it would be surprising if it didn't affect voter sentiment toward the incumbents."

The third commissioner, Tyler Vincent, also voted for the measures, but he isn't up for reelection this cycle.

Whatever the case, the impact to the campaigns of Perry and Bingham remains to be seen, though Perry recognizes the concerns could sway things.

"It might. That I don't know," he said. Primary balloting ends on June 23.

Bingham, Bingham's GOP challenger Vance Smith and Perry's GOP opponent Nathan Tueller didn't respond to queries seeking comment on the matter. The campaign websites of Smith or Tueller don't specifically reference the data center project let alone take aim at their opponents on the issue.

Bingham, though, mentioned the issue in a public Facebook post on Thursday, referencing an election flier recently sent to Box Elder County voters saying neither he nor Perry should be reelected because of their votes on the data center issue. "They didn't listen to you," reads the mailing from the Majorities Matter Political Action Committee, led by Thom DeSirant, who's active in the Utah Democratic Party and a member of the Millcreek City Council.

In his post, Bingham, echoing comments Perry has made, defended his vote, suggesting that had commissioners rejected the data center resolutions, project opponents could have sued to force the project forward anyway, costing the county taxpayer dollars. He also noted that state officials through the Military Installation Development Authority, or MIDA, had already given the project their blessing, limiting Box Elder County officials' options.

"What I ask of you is to carefully consider your vote. Please don't waste it on a statement vote when there are so many other important issues at hand," Bingham wrote in his post.

'I don't second guess my vote'

While the data center issue may be on the minds of many in Box Elder County, it's not clear if it's mobilizing voters for or against any of the candidates to any significant measure.

In his campaigning, Perry said when he's explained his votes on the data center project, some people understand his perspective, "which I really, truly appreciate."

As he sees it, Box Elder County officials had limited sway in the matter given the approvals MIDA had already granted. The best they could do was insert provisions into the accords protecting the county and establishing guidelines for development.

"My yes vote was to protect our county," Perry said. "I don't second guess my vote at all."

He noted the clamoring and opposition in Salt Lake City to the inland port project there a few years back, which moved forward anyway given the support the initiative had at the state level. "A no vote doesn't always mean no," Perry said.

In comments to the Tremonton Leader newspaper published Monday, Smith, who's challenging Bingham, indicated that local officials' options were limited on the issue.

"Our county needs business-minded leaders who will understand, evaluate, negotiate or disallow future projects coming our way. While local leadership could not stop this particular project, they could set clear expectations to protect our surrounding community," Smith said.

While Tueller didn't respond to KSL queries seeking comment, Brenna Williams, of BEAR, the group opposed to the data center project, understands he's "extremely pro-development." Smith, she said, "has been very, very, very, very careful about the wording of every statement he's made."

The outcry against the Box Elder County data center project has led those leading the initiative to scale back its footprint from 40,000 acres to around 20,000 acres, only a half of which would see actual development. Still, opponents are suing so they can petition to force a vote on the May 4 county resolutions central to the project's future in a bid to halt it.

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