Salem Reporter will report live from tonight’s council meeting updating our initial post.  Monday night’s Salem City Council meeting at the Salem Public Library is already at standing room only by about 5:30 p.m. as residents pack the Loucks Auditorium to voice their frustrations over a prop osed $5.1 billion data center project. Hundreds of people have already submitted written testimony opposing the data center, and city officials expect many more to sign up to testify in person when the council meeting begins at 6 p.m.  Council President Linda Nishioka told Salem Reporter that the council is likely to curtail public comment at 9:30 p.m. so that the council can get to other city business. She said the council is legally obligated to get through its entire agenda. City Spokesman Rob Layne wanted to remind people that the data center project is only in the beginning stages and that the Google-funded California-based company proposing the project, Verrus, still hasn’t submitted its land use application. Tonight’s council meeting is far from the only opportunity to comment on the proposed data center, he said.  “There’s no decision being made at this particular meeting,” Layne said. “Part of the conversation is that there will be other opportunities to present testimony. This isn’t one-and-done. This is a long conversation.”  The city announced the project publicly at a city council meeting on Monday, July 13, after the city was released from an non-disclosure agreement, or an NDA, with Verrus that had been in effect since March 2025.  While Verrus has yet to submit its site plans and application, the company said it planned to soon. The project is likely to gain land use approval granted the company’s plans are in line with city code and because the zoning at the Mill Creek Corporate Center allows data centers. Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected].  SIGN UP: Salem Reporter is dedicated to covering the people, issues, and stories that shape our community. Stay connected to Salem. Subscribe today.  The post CITY COUNCIL LIVE: Residents pack city council meeting to voice frustration over proposed data center appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less