AWS to host Manchester open house on data center plans

Amazon Web Services will face Manchester residents directly June 18, when it holds a public open house from 5 to 8 p.m. at Manchester High School, 130 Wayne Frye Drive. For families trying to size up a possible data center buildout, the key questions are practical ones: how many jobs would follow, how much water and electricity would be used, what the traffic and noise could look like, how tax rules might change, and how soon any project could move.

The Adams County Board of Commissioners said the open house is meant to give the public accurate information about how data centers operate and what they mean for nearby communities. Attendees will be able to talk with AWS representatives and ask about infrastructure, daily operations and local impacts, a sign that county leaders want the discussion to happen in public rather than through rumor.

The setting itself carries local weight. Manchester High School is a familiar gathering place for residents from Manchester, Seaman and nearby parts of the county, and it puts the meeting in the center of the community most likely to feel the effects first. The county’s decision to use a school venue also comes as Manchester Local School District leaders have been pressing for more direct involvement in any development discussions that could affect district finances.

Those concerns have been building for months. In February, an overflow crowd turned out at a commissioners meeting demanding transparency about a possible data center project. More recently, the Manchester school board approved a resolution opposing any data center tax abatement agreement made without direct involvement between the property owner and the Board of Education, a clear signal that school officials are watching the tax side closely.

Commissioners and economic development officials have said the county has done due diligence with the Adams County Regional Water District, Manchester Board of Public Affairs, township trustees, the county engineer, ODOT District 9, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Ohio EPA, ODNR, the Ohio Department of Commerce, Manchester Local Schools and Manchester Fire and EMS. Paul Worley has said the former power plant sites are unusually well suited for heavy electrical users because they include a high-capacity switchyard built for a 2.3-gigawatt generating station and would likely require cooling water from the Ohio River.

The open house arrives after months of rising interest. County officials said Amazon representatives approached Adams County about Sprigg Township but that no formal proposal had been submitted, and they said no agreements, financial commitments, site plans or incentive requests had been publicly approved. Emails reviewed by The People’s Defender showed developer interest dating back to January 2025, with companies including Stream Data Centers, Arcange USA and Next Generation Land Company in the mix. State lawmakers, meanwhile, have said roughly 200 data centers already operate in Ohio, and legislation in Columbus is now weighing a study commission, tax exemptions and electric-cost rules that could shape whatever happens next in Manchester.