County supervisors hear traffic, Ems concerns at Oct. 26 data center work session

REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN) DUBUQUE COUNTY, Iowa - The Dubuque County Board of Supervisors held an Oct. 26 work session on its data center planning process, taking up traffic and emergency services concerns and acknowledging that some milestones in the planning process will not be met, including four planned town halls and a draft date. Steve Peak of Dubuque told the board some deadlines in the planning process would not be met, while Karen Hoffman and Mary Beth Decker of Dubuque raised safety concerns about traffic from data center construction and ongoing use. Deputy Sheriff Joe Kennedy discussed possible traffic and construction issues and told the board he reached out to other counties with data centers; issues there included increased traffic during construction and what Kennedy described as the unlikeliest of a terrorist attack. Supervisor McDonough compared policing at Field of Dreams events and asked Kennedy to bring back more information. Emergency Management Services Director Tom Berger reported that other areas with data centers saw an increase in EMS calls, and that some areas constructed storm shelters because of severe weather; fire departments already have specialized hazardous materials training. McDonough asked for more information on the types of chemicals and materials data centers use or have on site. On water monitoring, Planning and Development Director Ed Raber said the Board of Health already does testing and Conservation tests at some sites; information will be gathered to try to map private wells and other testing sites as a model for trending. The Board of Health has a meeting scheduled for Nov. 5. The Nov. 12 informational meeting has been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date. The session adjourned at 2:35 p.m.