OWASSO, Okla. — The Tulsa County Board of Commissioners voted to approve tax exemptions for "Project Clydesdale" in four financial incentive districts worth 25 years, all but guaranteeing a data center gets built in Owasso.
"We could do better with community investment, community improvement investment," Commissioner Kelly Dunkerley said during one of the votes. "I share the concern of local labor. I think that's very important. Having said that, the project is in District 1. District 1 supports it. My vote is yes."
WATCH: Labor leader reacts to Owasso data center approved for construction
- Previous coverage >>> Green Country workers ask for representation on Project Clydesdale
Eric Lemley of Iron Workers Local 584 said conversations with Beale Infrastructure to ensure that at least 30% of its workers for its 400+ acre data center would be Green Country residents produced a memorandum of understanding.
"I mean, our goal at the end is just to get local labor working, and I mean, I would hope that the county commissioners would have saw that and would have joined in a little bit more," Lemley told 2 News via Zoom on Sept. 29.
"I think we can work well together (given the memorandum). We've been told that this is not the first project they're going to have in this area."
Lemley and consultant and county Democratic Party chair Sarah Gray believe there is conditional cause for optimism.
"It's very important for the public to stay engaged when we've got big developments like this coming into town, not just because your tax dollars are putting the bill for some of the costs," Gray said. "But also because big jobs like this should create generational careers that benefit Oklahomans."
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