UPDATED at  11:57 p.m.  The Salem City Council voted unanimously to extend the council meeting to 12:30 a.m. A few scenes so far from tonight’s meeting: James Sitton holds a notebook with the words “No Data Center” written on the cover while gathering outside the Salem Public Librar y before a Salem City Council meeting during a public comment session on a proposed data center, Monday, July 27, 2026, in Salem. (BROOK FERRIS/Salem Reporter) Franklin Chappell gives a thumbs-down gesture during a Salem City Council meeting as residents provide public comment on a proposed data center, Monday, July 27, 2026, at the Salem City Library in Salem. (BROOK FERRIS/Salem Reporter) People opposed to the proposed data center gather outside the Salem City Library before a Salem City Council meeting during a public comment session on the project in Salem. (BROOK FERRIS/Salem Reporter) UPDATED at  11:25 p.m.  The Salem City Council voted unanimously to extend the council meeting to 12:00 p.m. UPDATED at 10:57 p.m.  The Salem City Council voted unanimously to extend the council meeting to 11:30 p.m. UPDATED at 10:41 p.m.  Marcus Axford of Dallas, the founder of the Oregon Voices Network, a history podcast, said during public comment that local archeologists interviewed on his show told him that the prospective property for the data center is on an archeological site. Officials previously told Salem Reporter that part of the approval process requires the city to consider historical or archeological components when making land use decisions. UPDATED at 10:27 p.m.  The Salem City Council voted unanimously to extend the council meeting to 11.00 p.m. UPDATED at 10:13 p.m.  The data center is “another opportunity for the mega rich to profit,” said Sandra Hernandez, the director of the youth-led Latinos Unidos Siempre.  UPDATED at 10:01 p.m.  The Salem City Council voted unanimously to extend the council meeting to 10:30 p.m. and public comment has resumed. UPDATED at 9:55 p.m.  Councilor Deanna Gwyn asked why Verrus officials, who originally planned to answer questions about its project from council, were no longer in the building. Planning and Director Development Director Kristin Retherford said the Verrus officials “did not feel safe,” at the Salem Public Library and left the building. UPDATED at 9:51 p.m. Council President Linda Nishioka said she and her fellow councilors were not aware of the city’s NDA with Verrus until July 10 and said she understands the public’s frustration. “It became the decision of our city manager to make sure the public was aware of this and that is why we are here today. I want you to all realize that this is a process for all of us,” Nishioka said. “I just want you to know that you are being heard.”  Salme City Councilor Paul Tigan asked the planning and development director Kristin Retherford who pays for all of the staff time spent doing the work of verifying Verrus’ claims that its data center would be more environmentally friendly. Retherford said standard studies are often covered by the city’s permitting costs, but costs associated with additional studies needed to verify Verrus’ claims would likely fall on the city. UPDATED at 9:38 p.m. While the ultimate approval of the Verrus project is expected to be an administrative land use decision based on what is currently known, it is still possible that the project could come before the city council who could potentially be in a position to make a final decision on the matter, according Salem City Attorney Dan Atchison. That however, would depend on what type of land use applications are submitted by Verrus, and whether city decisions on those applications can be legally appealed. UPDATED at 9:11 p.m. The council has paused public comment while Kristin Retherford, Community Planning and Development director, provides more details on the Verrus proposal and the city’s land use process. “This proposal is not currently at a land use approval stage,” Retherford said. Retherford explained that no decisions or commitments occurred under the city’s NDA with Verrus. She said NDAs exist to facilitate exploration without resulting in what can be negative consequences for the community. She said NDAs allow the city to get the “full picture” on whether a potential company looking to invest is the right fit. She said not signing an NDA could mean businesses won’t want to work with the city, and agreements help avoid false hope about a potential project or “economic whiplash” for the community. UPDATED at 8:25 p.m. May Hernandez, a lifelong Salem resident, said there are not a lot of places with environments as unique as Oregon’s. She said she was concerned that the proposed Verrus project is the first of its kind for the company. “If it was so sustainable, why have we been kept in the dark?” Hernandez said. “Our environment and our health matter. And I understand the desire for jobs. I get it…We want a future for the children of the world. Because it doesn’t just stop with us. It’s not just about our jobs…it’s about the generation that comes after us.” “If we allow this one to happen right now, we are just opening the door for more to come?…We don’t need to learn more. We don’t need to be another guinea pig,” Hernandez said. UPDATED at 8:14 p.m. Geovanny Tolentino, a Salem resident and member of the Salem chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America told the council that allowing a data center to go through is signing the “city’s death warrant”. UPDATED at 7:43 p.m. As the city council meeting continues inside, a sizable group remains gathered outside the building. Many are watching public testimony live on their devices and cheering or booing after each one. The vast majority of testimonies have been in opposition to the data center. UPDATED  at 7:15 p.m. The first individual to speak in favor of the proposed data center was Aaron Stickney, co-founder of SilverSphere Capital, the firm hoping to redevelop the Truitt Bros. cannery site in Salem’s North Waterfront district. Stickney said there are many things misconstrued about data centers. He supported the idea of a data center city task force, and said the community needs to be better educated on data centers. During Stickney’s testimony people jeered and booed and one person threw a balled up piece of paper at the podium as he spoke. UPDATED  at 7:13 p.m. The first few people who provided public testimony at tonight’s council meeting testified in opposition to the project citing concerns over sound, pollution and strain on water and electricity resources among others. Those who opposed the data center were also dismayed by a non-disclosure agreement the city signed with the Verrus, the company proposing the data center, in March 2025. UPDATED  at 7 p.m. The Salem City Council meeting has begun and Council President Linda Nishioka, who originally indicated public comment would go until 9:30 p.m., said publicly that the city expects five hours of testimony. The room erupted with applause at the announcement. It wasn’t clear if everyone who signed up tonight would get a chance to speak at tonight’s meeting or at future meetings. Original story below: 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 proposed $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 UPDATE AT 11:25 p.m.: Verrus representatives ‘did not feel safe’ at city council meeting appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less