LETTER: Port mayor made best choice  by pushing for data centers

To Ozaukee Press:

Port residents, have you seen your property tax bill? Much higher. That’s because we have limited industry to offset the tax burden. 

So, what’s a mayor to do? Manufacturing? Auto companies can’t decide on electric or gas. Generators? We still need supplies: steel, aluminum from Canada, and managing a volatile global supply chain for electronics. 

Once parts are at the factory, we will stamp, punch, form, weld, paint, injection mold, assemble, integrate and test before we have a finished product we can package and ship via truckload nationwide.

In contrast, the finished product for the Vantage Lighthouse data centers is intelligence. You don’t have to strap that to a skid and load trucks driving through Port to secure tax revenue. AI is in great demand and will continue to be for years.

Our mayor chose the best alternative to increase industry in Port. The Lighthouse Campus is not a start-up. Vantage has 35 data centers worldwide and currently has designers from around the world designing this campus for our environment, our region. It will have the highest standards for power, cooling, environment and sustainability. They will use Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in the development.

It will be so far north of Port you won’t even know it’s there. What you will notice is a new vitality in the downtown. The Ozaukee Press says downtown is the heart of our city. Lighthouse will attract talented professionals and their families who will bring energy and innovation downtown.

You will also see improvements in city services to support changing requirements.

You won’t even know it’s there, but Lighthouse with touch every entity of human existence. Research, medical research, cancer research, energy, manufacturing, environment, robotics, farming, space, government, security and others.

The Lighthouse Campus will be Port Washington’s gift to the world.

Andy Allen

Port Washington