MUSKOGEE, Okla. — A Polaris Technologies representative told 2 News it was blindsided by City of Muskogee's decision to move toward annexing the land its data center sits upon.
"The City of Muskogee is seeking annexation of the remaining properties in the John T. Griffith Industrial Park, most of which have already been annexed in," a city official remarked during a June 9 city council meeting. "It has always been the intention of the city to annex the whole park."
WATCH: FUTURE UNCERTAIN: Polaris hits back at City of Muskogee after annexation vote
Item 13 on the agenda drew a line of speakers and a long debate over whether acquiring the parcels encompassing 40-acres of data storages and Bitcoin mining is the best decision for the city.
"My son works for Polaris," one resident against the annexation said during the public comments portion of the meeting. "As it is right now, they put down on Sunday (if) the company gets annexed, they're shutting down. So the whole company is going to be gone."
2 News first reported Polaris's move to the area in February 2024, when it was hailed as a major job creator for residents to earn more than $60,000 a year.
- Previous coverage>>> Polaris Technologies, Inc. invests $100M to build Muskogee data center
"But most importantly, (the company) typically wants to be outside the city limits for permitting and cost-effectiveness," Polaris governmental affairs director and Muskogee native Dan Chepkauskas told 2 News on June 11.
The 2024 arrival of the company in the area was agreed upon with the city under what Chepkauskas now calls false pretenses, and said the city council's vote to annex was done with no prior meetings with company officials.
The cost of being within city limits, he said, could put those planned jobs in jeopardy because the company would spend an additional $5 million within two years, and possibly $10 million annually after that.
"Can you imagine you've planned out your business plan to bring in a business, and you get tagged with another $5 million to your operating costs? That's not the way you do business," Chepkauskas added.
According to the city, the site already uses 6% of the city's entire water supply to cool its machines each day, and by far the most energy (from OG&E) as well.
City of Muskogee shared a statement with 2 News after the council's decision:
"It may have been part of their plan a long time ago, but did they share that with Polaris?" Chepkauskas said. "And I would just implore people to use their common sense. If they had shared it with Polaris, we would probably not be standing here today."
Chepkauskas told 2 News while the company ponders whether or not to abandon the Muskogee area, he said Polaris also won't rule out legal action against the city.
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