by Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
The Amazon Data Services project in King George County can be “resurrected” if the company is willing to “entertain discussion” on four items, interim County Attorney Richard Stuart wrote in a March 15 letter to Charlie Payne, the attorney representing ADS.
First, Stuart wrote in the letter – which the Advance received from the County through a request under the Freedom of Information Act – the Board needs a commitment from ADS to provide “at least” 2,000,000 gallons of treated drinking water per day for county citizens. The Board also needs a commitment that the portion of the 869-acre property on the west side of U.S. 3 will remain undeveloped, and that “better” buffers will be installed on the east side of the highway to shield the complex from view.
“Finally, we would like to look at ways to have a more cooperative relationship between [Amazon] and the public in order to assist [Amazon] in improving its reputation amongst the citizens of King George County,” Stuart wrote.
However, ADS’s position, according to Payne, is that the performance agreement between the company, the county, and the King George Economic Development Authority, which the Board of Supervisors approved on December 20, 2023, remains in effect and cannot be renegotiated unless the county reaffirms it.
“As you are aware from my previous correspondences,” Payne wrote in his March 19 response to Stuart’s letter, “We take the position that the [performance agreement], which was negotiated in good faith between ADS and the County, and fully executed by ADS, the County and the County’s Economic Development Authority, is and remains in full force and effect.”
The performance agreement was signed on December 20, 2023, by Richard Granger, then the Board Chair, and approved “as to form and legal sufficiency” by then-County Attorney Kelly Lackey.
It was signed by Becky Gallamore, Chair of the County EDA, on December 29, 2023, and again approved by Lackey.
On January 2, 2024, the Board of Supervisors, with three new members and under new leadership by Chair T.C. Collins, voted to “reconsider” approval of the agreement, according to a letter Stuart wrote to Payne on January 3.
Also at that meeting, the Board “accepted the resignation” of Lackey and then-County Administrator Chris Miller.
ADS had not signed the agreement at the time of the Board’s vote to reconsider it, but the agreement contains a “counterparts” clause, meaning that a copy with only one party’s signature is enforceable to the same degree as one with all parties’ signatures.
Payne sent the agreement with ADS’s signature to Stuart on January 8, by email, noting that the agreement allows for “execution in counterparts.”
Stuart responded to reiterate that the Board had “reconsidered” the vote taken to approve the agreement, “which means there is no agreement.”
Payne, in his March 19 response to Stuart’s four requests, noted that the performance agreement states that ADS and the County will enter into a Water Services Agreement, which will include a commitment from ADS to provide 600,000 gallons of “raw surface water” to the County.
The performance agreement also states that ADS “will discuss … the possibility of the Company providing more than 600,000 gallons per day of raw surface water, as well as how to address meeting public water needs,” and that the results of these discussions will be included in the resulting Water Services Agreement.
Payne reiterated that ADS is prepared to move forward with the negotiating the water services agreement, but only if the County reaffirms the performance agreement.
“Thereafter, I believe the parties will be in a better position to address the County’s most recent requests,” Payne wrote.
In a statement provided to the Advance, an Amazon spokesperson wrote, “We worked closely with King George County through open hearings and forums. [We have] been committed to listening and understanding the community’s needs and priorities so that our data centers drive job creation, investment, and programs that specifically benefit King George and its residents.”
The Advance asked Stuart on Tuesday if he expects there to be litigation related to the performance agreement.
“I can tell you that I am preparing for it if it comes,” Stuart replied.
A discussion of Stuart’s correspondence with Payne is on the agenda for the Board of Supervisors meeting this evening, as is a discussion of rezoning the land where the data center project would be located from industrial back to agricultural.
The Board in September of 2023 approved a conditional rezoning of the land from agricultural to industrial.
