NORTHWEST TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — Leon County commissioners have a packed agenda Tuesday, covering everything from public safety technology to a potential 18-month pause on large-scale data center development.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
The first half of the meeting includes a report on how much authority the county has over automated license plate readers.
Commissioners will also review the school-zone speed detection program and a $16.8 million federal grant for safety improvements along North Monroe Street.
The meeting then shifts to public hearings, including one on an 18-month moratorium on large-scale data centers. The pause would give the county time to decide where these facilities could go and what rules they should follow before new applications come in. Water and power use are part of that discussion.
For a county sitting above a major source of drinking water, that concern is top of mind.
"Just because it's the latest thing out moving maybe some communities can tolerate that but we're sitting on the Florida aquifer," Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor said.
The Big Bend region is already showing there is more than one way to handle this. Madison and Jefferson counties have moved to pause data center development. Wakulla County has considered a ban. Taylor County has chosen to work on regulations without putting a moratorium in place.
Leon County commissioners are now deciding which approach makes the most sense here.
"What we're doing is consistent with pauses on data centers across the country, and right now, it has become a campaign issue in major elections all over the country from coast to coast. So we're acting in the interest of our community — the best interest of our community — to place this on pause until we've grasped the permanent damage, all the permanent good that they could bring," Proctor said.
Public hearings begin at 6 p.m. That includes the first hearing on the data center moratorium and the county's tentative property tax rates and budget.
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