Retzke Attends Packed Milan Town Hall to Listen to Residents on Environmental and Economic Risks of Mega-Data Centers

MILAN, Ohio — As concern grows over industrial expansion in Northern Ohio, Easton Retzke, candidate for Ohio House Distrtict 89, attended a community town hall at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Milan to hear directly from local residents and environmental experts regarding the real-world impacts of industrial-scale data centers.

Organized by Conserve Ohio, the informational event drew a standing-room-only crowd that filled both the main sanctuary floor and the balcony. Area residents gathered to listen to the presentation, review technical data, and voice concerns about how hyperscale facilities affect local water security, the regional energy grid, and prime agricultural land across Erie and Huron counties.

Ohio currently ranks fifth in the nation for data center operations, with over 200 facilities active statewide. During the presentation, community members reviewed key operational metrics associated with hyperscale facilities:

• Energy Demand: Individual hyperscale data centers can consume upwards of 25 megawatts per month—with the largest facilities drawing equivalent electricity to 100,000 residential homes—placing upward pressure on regional utility rates and grid capacity.
• Water Consumption: Cooling systems for massive computer server arrays can require 1 to 5 million gallons of fresh water daily, raising critical questions about local groundwater preservation and discharge management near local watersheds.
• Farmland Loss: Ohio has lost nearly 1 million acres of agricultural land over the past two decades, a trend accelerated by non-agricultural industrial rezoning.

Attending the forum to listen to neighbors’ perspectives firsthand, Retzke emphasized the need for strong state-level oversight to protect community interests.

“When decisions shape our land, water, and energy infrastructure, community protection must come first, not corporate convenience,” said Retzke. “Seeing so many neighbors show up in Milan to ask tough questions and get the facts proves how deeply our community values our natural resources and agricultural heritage. Once in office, I am committed to establishing strict state-level oversight over mega-data center developments, and protecting the land we call home.”

The contrast on this issue between candidates could not be clearer. While state lawmakers in Columbus, including Retzke’s opponent, have voted to greenlight tax incentives, corporate subsidies, and deregulation for tech conglomerates, the Retzke for Representative campaign advocates for holding corporate developers accountable to local communities. Rather than rubber-stamping industrial expansion that risks local aquifers and farmland, Retzke continues to stand with District 89 families demanding accountability before development moves forward.

Additionally, Retzke outlined three core regulatory safeguards for Ohio House District 89:

1. Protecting Local Waterways & Lake Erie: Implementing a zero-tolerance policy for untreated wastewater discharge into rivers, streams, or Lake Erie, ensuring public water supplies and aquatic ecosystems remain uncontaminated.
2. Preserving Prime Farmland: Enforcing strong zoning safeguards and state land-use protections to prevent productive agricultural acreage from being converted into non-agricultural industrial sites.
3. Ending Closed-Door Deals & Protecting Taxpayers: Requiring full corporate transparency, mandatory public hearings, and local impact assessments so utility burdens and tax exemptions are not shifted onto local homeowners and small business owners.

Retzke and his campaign expressed gratitude to Conserve Ohio for presenting the research, St. John’s UCC for providing the space, and the many residents who attended to stand up for the future of District 89.