By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com
Clark Countians have been strongly opposed, at least on social media, to the prospect of a data center operating in Gum Springs. In the eight days since the county’s economic development board green-lit an agreement to sell its 1,000-acre industrial site to an unidentified buyer, some outspoken citizens have formed a Facebook group, Take a stand for Clark County- NO DATA Centers, opposed to the sale. The group had attracted 400 followers in the week since news broke of the data center prospect. The group is planning a community meeting to be held in May, the details of which had not been finalized at the time of this writing. Similarly, proponents are planning a community engagement/listening meeting, also sometime in May.
Of the hundreds of comments below The Arkadelphian’s Facebook post of the news, a vast majority of users sounded a collective “No Thank You” to the idea of a data center, citing concerns of environmental impacts and noise pollution from an industry that provides few jobs given the facilities’ large footprint. The news in Clark County comes on the heels of announcements that data centers are being planned in at least seven other Arkansas cities as the state experiences a surge in data center development.
Shelley Short, CEO of the Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance since 2022, admits that she anticipated public pushback. “I didn’t fully expect for it to be as pointed and tense at times,” she said in an in-person interview she requested Friday with The Arkadelphian. Short responded to a number of our own inquiries, as well as those from citizens, on an array of topics. Short was not provided our questions until they were asked during the interview.
Project Pulse picked Clark County
Developers representing the end buyer established contact with the Alliance office — not the other way around, Short said.
Other data centers had shown interest in locating in Clark County, Short said, noting that her office was contacted by five or six data center operators or developers, of various types, in the past year. She referred to those prospects as “tire kickers” who, after “significant” due diligence on her part, never materialized, mostly because the financial backing or end user was not in place. Eventually, one prospect was serious about doing business in Clark County.
For now, Short is the only person in Clark County who knows, with certainty, the identity of the end buyer, which has been narrowed to Google, Amazon, Vantage Data Centers, CoreWeave, Oracle or DC Blox.
Developers said at the April 16 meeting that the end buyer has an ongoing project in Wisconsin, where it has invested $175 million in infrastructure there. A Google search containing that information points to Vantage Data Centers, which is developing a $15 billion AI data center campus, known as “Lighthouse”, in Port Washington. An AI overview of the search notes a $175 million upfront investment in local infrastructure upgrades, part of a Tax Incremental Financing agreement where Vantage is reimbursed by the city over time using tax revenue generated by the project.
Until the company publicly identifies itself in an official announcement, prior to closing at the end of September, it will be referred to as “Project Pulse.” After closing, the buyer will have 180 days to start building and/or procure governmental approvals. Failure to meet that deadline could invoke a clawback clause in the agreement, which would allow the EDCCC to repurchase the property at the purchase price.
The land sale is already in motion. A week into the project, DC Devco LLC — the Atlanta, Georgia-based developer representing the end buyer — has been connected with a local escrow agent to use for depositing the first of two $200,000 installments of earnest money. Next, Short said, the developers will ascertain power availability and costs to learn whether the project is viable and whether alternative power sources could bridge their needs in the meantime.
Water impact
As with any industry, the end user of the Southwest Arkansas Mega Site must abide by local, state and federal regulations regarding water pretreatment and wastewater discharge, Short said. “They are going to have to live within the same environmental parameters that are in place for any of our industries that operate here,” she said. Regarding the water usage, the quoted 50,000 daily gallons needed to cool the data center “sounds like a lot, but there are industries operating all over the state that use considerably more than 50,000 gallons,” Short said, adding that quantity is a drop in the bucket compared to other users; for instance, two prospective manufacturers that visited the site in recent months needed upwards to 1 million gallons of water daily, she said.
The 50,000 gallons of water usage is for the entire operation — both for cooling and ancillary use. “I have been told that it is for the entire site,” Short said. “There will be an initial fill of the closed loop system. That will be a one-time thing.”
Short admits she’s no expert on the finer details of a data center operation, but did acknowledge that the many industry-standard closed-loop cooling systems rely on coolants to cool the water continuously. “That water does not come out of the loop … If they do need to refill it, it’s minimal, especially in modern facilities that are being built today.”
A swift decision?
The Economic Development Corporation of Clark County consists of 15 members, each appointed by the county judge. The entity oversees a fund from a voter-approved 1/2-cent economic development sales tax. When the tax began in 2008 it was projected to collect an estimated $1.25 million annually. To date, the EDCCC has $15.5 million in total assets, with $9.27 million available to incentivize prospective industry or to retain existing ones. The fund can also be used for infrastructure improvements to buy, sell and develop property.
The EDCCC contract for services with the Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance. The publicly funded EDCCC has a service contract with the private Alliance, which operates from 25% of the sales tax revenue collected monthly. That figure fluctuates. In the first quarter of 2026, the EDCCC took in $685,323 in sales tax receipts, equating to a budget of $171,330 for salaries of the Alliance’s three full-time employees and an intern, as well as operating expenses.
Regular meetings of the EDCCC, which are held every other month, are open to the public. The next regular meeting scheduled for June 2.
EDCCC board members first heard mention of an upcoming project during its March 31 meeting, but they didn’t know what the project entailed, Short said. “I informed them that we would probably have to call a special meeting to consider a project. At that time we and project team were not fully ready to ask for the board to make a decision.” Once attorneys for both parties had drafted an agreement, Short called the special meeting and provided board members with the drafted contract.
State law requires a two-hour notification of special or emergency meetings. Short notified The Arkadelphian of the meeting in an email sent early Tuesday morning, two days before the meeting. One item on the agenda was Project Pulse; no other language or details gave indication to what the project entailed.
“I don’t necessarily think that [EDCCC board members] were aware of the exact nature of the project,” Short said. “It would have been inappropriate for me to share with them, outside the public, any details about the project before I did.”
While legal requirements were met to notify the media and EDCCC of the meeting, Short admitted there “was probably more we could have done” to communicate to the public. “That will be part of any process moving forward,” she said. “Never has it been the intention of me or anyone on the board to act in such a way that does not protect the county’s interest or care about the public in any way, shape, form or fashion. On behalf of the board, we acknowledge those feelings.”
Asked if the board was given adequate time to research the topic before making a decision, Short said, “I’m not second-guessing my board at all, but at any time they could have asked for a different scenario, could have asked to table the motion, or could have asked for more time. I don’t want to put fault on them, because they made a decision with a unanimous vote based on the information they had in front of them. With any decision of this scale, there will always be more to learn and no amount of study about a particular industry will answer all questions.”
The board member who motioned to move forward with selling the property for a data center was Brian Kirksey, who also sits on the board of directors for South Central Arkansas Electric Cooperative, one of Clark County’s two power providers. Short maintains that Kirksey had no conflict of interest in making the motion or voicing his vote.
“While Brian may represent South Central and serve on that board, it still remains to be seen if South Central will receive anything from this,” Short said, explaining that the end user will be completing utility intake forms and may or may not be the data center’s provider. “At this time, I don’t believe that a conflict exists,” Short added. “Going forward, if there are things the EDCCC needs to decide that clearly have a connection to South Central, I can see where that might come into play. But right now, in the due diligence gathering phase that the company is under, there have been no commitments made with South Central at all, or with Entergy, or with Summit, or with any of the utilities. He was there that day as an EDCCC board member. He’s not a party to the contract, nor is any member of his family. People can think what they want to think, but the fact is, I don’t believe that, at that moment, there existed a conflict of interest because of where we are in the project.”
Public input
Given the short notice of a special-called meeting at which the county’s economic development representatives favored a highly controversial industry, some have alleged there was a conscious decision to avoid public input. Short said that wasn’t the case.
“During the economic development process, there is a level of confidentiality that exists to protect the process,” she said. “Companies would not do business here if they knew — data center or not — that all of their business was going to be out in a public setting until a decision was needed to be made.” Furthermore, Short argued that EDCCC board members are “entrusted, appointed [by the county judge] and approved by the quorum court to conduct the business of the EDCCC.”
The discussion has only begun, Short said, reiterating the “community engagement” meeting planned in May. “While there wasn’t public input into the board’s decision to sell the property for this particular project, that conversation isn’t over.” Short said, however, that the community engagement meeting will not invalidate the board’s decision, “but I think it will help inform the board and the developer on how the community would like to see the data center progress further.”
Why choose controvery?
Knowing that data centers have been in the national spotlight over a multitude of environmental concerns, why entertain the idea when it’s a given that the public will be against it?
“My role is to bring industry of whatever type,” Short replied. “My job is to bring capital investment and employment opportunities to Clark County, and it is the board’s responsibility to review those insofar as it aligns with the mission of the EDCCC.” Regardless of the industry, Short said, there will be opposition.
And while opposition tilts the public perception scales on social media, Short said most of the people she’s talked to in person have been “directly supportive of the effort to bring industry, jobs and investment to Clark County.”
Tax revenue, community benefit agreement
The buyer will be exempt from sales and use tax for construction and electricity costs, a state-enacted exemption that applies to data centers. Short explained that the sales tax exemption applies to the state sales tax, and that the buyer may petition local governments for a tax back resolution.
But estimating tax revenue over the course of a decade or two, once all incentives are applied, is a tall order. “That’s hard to answer right now,” Short said, “because while tax abatement has been discussed, nothing has been confirmed. There has been no offer from the county of a certain amount of tax abatement. There has been no request for a certain amount. [The buyers] have indicated they would like tax abatement, but the county has not agreed to that. … I would say that the financial impact will be substantial as far as the revenue to the county and schools.”
Assuming a $1 billion investment and structured amortization over 30 years (the maximum allowed for tax abatement in Arkansas), and the county were to provide the maximum allowed 65% abatement, would equate to about $100 million, based on Short’s calculation. Removing abatement from the formula would pull in $250-$300 million over the same timeframe, according to Short.
Short added: “The proposed data center project represents a significant opportunity to strengthen our county’s tax base, generating new, long-term revenue to support essential and expanded county services and the school district — delivering lasting benefits and creating opportunities to do things that have never been possible before.”
Tech companies that erect data centers have deep pockets, and the one expected to build on the Gum Springs site reportedly doled out $175 million for infrastructure improvements in a Wisconsin community where the company built.
The company is willing to ink a community benefit agreement for infrastructure development, utility usage, workforce development and community reinvestment, Short said. “Not just where the site is located, but the entire county. What they’ve told me from day one is that they want to know what our community needs are outside of all the infrastructure, and to help with needs above and beyond whatever they’re paying in tax revenue.”
Speaking of infrastructure, Short reiterated that the company will be fully responsible for costs associated with long-term infrastructure associated with the project.
And the $11.4 million paid to the EDCCC for the land? Short plans to create a separate fund the EDCCC could use as allowed by the Public Corporations Act, such as acquisition of additional land and improvements to the Clark County Industrial Park to recruit other industries.
Makin’ some noise
Water and power usage aside, one thing is certain: data centers create noise pollution. Just how loud Project Pulse will be is only known to the end buyer and its developers, who shrugged it off as “negligible” noise. Yet the company is buying 991 acres, while Georgia-Pacific’s Gurdon sawmill — and all the whirring machinery that comes with manufacturing wood products — occupies roughly 150 acres.
“Part of the reason that they have requested the entire property is to be able to locate the majority of their facilities in the center of the property to mitigate noise or interference with any of the surrounding users as much as possible,” Short said. Due to the sensitive nature of the data stored there, the Devco representatives explained that the user will limit ingress and egress to the facility.
Early discussions with the prospect included a 2023 noise ordinance passed by the Clark County Quorum Court to ward off any would-be noisy cryptocurrency makers. So what happens if Project Pulse generates enough sound that nearby citizens launch complaints, and who enforces the ordinance?
There are penalties outlined in the ordinance, Short pointed out. Violation of the noise ordinance could also prohibit or cease the operation until the facility is in compliance with the law. The county would have to enforce the ordinance, likely with means of its own law enforcement.
Asked if she would build a home or live in or near Gum Springs once a data center is operating, Short replied, “As of right now, I have no reason to say I wouldn’t.” That likely wouldn’t happen anyway, as Short is set to build a home in one of Arkadelphia’s two new subdivisions.
Remembered for Project Pulse
Each of Short’s predecessors had a legacy project.
Some projects never pan out. In 2013, when Shawnie Carrier led the newly formed Alliance, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe spoke at the Vikon Farms announcement that the Asian-export chicken plant would create 172 jobs at the former Petit Jean Poultry facility. The initiative ultimately failed before the operation began.
Under Stephen Bell’s leadership came the 2016 announcement that the Chinese-owned Sun Paper Company would invest $1.5 billion to build a pulp mill at the site where the data center is now planned. The project went belly-up in 2020 due to political frictions and trade tensions with China.
Then there are other projects that do materialize, like the 2022 announcement that Hostess Brands was turning the old Danfoss facility into a bakery. That project happened under J.L. Griffin’s interim as Alliance CEO; Griffin is now a board member of the EDCCC.
The data center, whether or not it comes to fruition, is likely to stand out as Short’s legacy.
Asked if she’s comfortable with this, she said, “If this project does all that it is intended to do, from the investment that the company is going to make in the community, from the tax revenue that will be available to the county to provide for the citizens in ways that they’ve never done before, to helping this company achieve a top-notch data center, then yes, I’m very comfortable with that.”