Councilman Keely Holding Data Center Public Meeting 12-29

Council Member Patrick Keely will hold a Data Center Development Community Meeting on Monday, December 29, 2025 from 5:30-6:30 pm at the Downtown Library in the Brooks & Bates Room.  The subject is the proposed Skybox Data Center on Highway 67 just north of city limits.  Council approved the sale of 350 acres of city owned land to Skybox in March 2025.  

Issues are noise pollution, water use, appropriate zoning, need for city services while residing outside city limits, traffic safety and electrical power use for the proposed 1.5 million square foot development distributed across six buildings (each of which is four stories high).

A flyer for this public meeting states the item will be voted on at Council's next meeting on January 13, 2026.  

Mayor Tom Thompson has been circumspect in his communications regarding the proposed data center, calling local information inaccurate without providing any meaningful information on the project or parameters Council plans to use to balance citizen needs with data center desires.  

The City has chosen thus far to prioritize Skybox's need for privacy regarding proprietary information and trade secret claims over sharing information with the public (based on City's response to my 12-8-25 public information request).  

Developers are usually not the end user of any project.  West Texas has been through a number of boom and bust cycles.  When projects go underwater, the owner hands the keys over to the bankers (the entity that provided the financing).  One giant financial juggernaut already compared data centers to shale.  

Enough communities have been through the data center development process for San Angelo's City Council to use an open, up front process where citizens' needs are clearly prioritized.  A Chamber video and an interview with the Mayor discounting social media information do not meet that standard.

Council may rise to the occasion on January 13, 2026 but citizens should be prepared to nudge them if they don't.  Attending Councilman Keely's community meeting on the topic tomorrow night is a great start for those who can attend.