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DeShundra Jefferson, chair at-large of Prince William County’s Board of Supervisors, delivered her first remarks Tuesday, January 9, on the State of the County. She was elected in 2023 and assumed office on January 1.

Jefferson started her remarks by sharing her hopes for the future as she began her tenure as chair. She said she was hopeful for the future of the Board, community, and county.

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Village Place Technology Park in Gainesville, approved by the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in 2022

“As data centers continue to proliferate across Virginia, the General Assembly this winter is poised to take up a host of bills intended to address their impacts, including increased electricity costs and environmental pressures,” reports Charlie Paullin at The Virginia Mercury. “Virginia is home to the greatest concentration of data centers in the world. While the centers can be found around the state, most are in Northern Virginia, which has more than 300. Eastern Loudoun County, where the facilities cover roughly 573 acres, is known as Data Center Alley, and Prince William is increasingly becoming a hot spot after local officials recently approved a campus of 27 centers that would sit on 270 acres.”

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Prince William County Gainesville District Supervisor Bob Weir [Photo: Mike Beaty]
“Retired NASA scientist John Lyver, a fierce critic of the massive Prince William Digital Gateway data center development, was appointed to the county planning commission Tuesday during the Prince William Board of County Supervisors’ first meeting of the new year,” reports Shannon Clark at the Prince William Times.

We incorrectly posted a photo of Brentsville District Supervisor Tom Gordy in an earlier version of this post. 

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[Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash]
Stafford County officials said it's about to start raining data center money.

The Board of Supervisors approved a new tax agreement with Amazon Data Services for the next 25 years to generate nearly $1 billion for county tax coffers.

In exchange for tax breaks, the data behemoth will invest $392 million into the county's utility system, upgrading water infrastructure to handle the demands that data centers place on the system, which require large amounts of water to cool the computers inside. Amazon and other utility customers will enjoy the upgrades the data giant will fund.

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[Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash]
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors didn't give Amazon Web Services the Christmas gift it wanted during a specially-called meeting today, December 28, 2023.

The data center behemoth pushed the board to waive its bylaws and approve financial incentives to benefit the company for 25 years. During that time, Amazon promises to build server farms in various spots across the county.

An estimated $6 billion in water and infrastructure upgrades are needed before Amazon can begin to build. Under the proposal, the county would provide tax breaks for up to 60 percent of annual tax revenues generated by the server farms in exchange for Amazon to make the upgrades, to power the water and power-hungry data centers that power the internet.

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Jeanine Lawson and Ann Wheeler, seen here holding plaques, attended their final meeting as members of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors on December 19, 2023.

Two of Prince William County’s public servants, Ann Wheeler and Jeanine Lawson, were recognized by the Board of County supervisors amid their retirement from public service. The two were honored at the board’s December 19 meeting in Woodbridge. 

Chair-At-large Ann Wheeler, a Democrat, is leaving the board after losing a Primary Election to Deshundra Jefferson, a Democrat, in June 2023. Wheeler served as the Chair at-large on the board for a four-year term starting in 2020. 

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Amazon wants to build 510,000 square feet of data center space, prompting a special Stafford County Board of Supervisors meeting on Thursday, December 28, 2023.

Supervisors will be asked to approve 510,000 square feet of data center space on 50 acres next to Stafford Hospital, the Potomac Church site. Two server farms will sit on the site if approved.

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