All's quiet on the Google Front

Google by night Photo by Cole Goodwin

By Tom Peterson 

The silence is deafening for some.

Two months have passed since the first self-imposed deadline to ink a deal that would bring $1.2 billion in Google investments for two new data centers in The Dalles.

By some estimates, the “strategic Investment program” (SIP) agreement could bring as much as $126 million to the City of The Dalles, Wasco County and local tax districts during the next 20 years.

Wasco County Commissioner Kathy Schwartz

The agreement is a mix of fees, payments and reduced property taxes. Learn more about it here. 

The deal could also sustain a growth trend in the City as it could bring multiple years of additional construction, with contractors pumping the local economy.

Wasco County Commissioner Kathy Schwartz said she has seen a draft agreement with “favorable terms” and is excited to complete the deal.

“Absolutely, yes,” she said of her willingness to sign if the terms remain the same. 

Wasco County Administrator Tyler Stone said the deal was very close to being complete. Originally, City and County officials intended to have an up-down vote on the agreement by March 8, and if passed, the deal was to be signed.  

“On the county and city side we're probably 98 percent done with the SIP,” said Stone. “Google may have some minor changes.” 

The Dalles City Mayor Rich Mays

The Dalles Mayor Rich Mays said the deal on behalf of the City “is pretty much  done.” 

“The SIP agreement is almost 100 percent complete,” he said. “We're still negotiating for water, and they need to get permits from Federal and State and the Federal Aviation Administration, and they’re working with the fire department to get their fire protection.”

So why is the deal not done?

“I don’t really know what is holding this up,” Schwartz said this afternoon, May 11.

And so far Google is not divulging much.

CCCNews reached out to Google asking them about the current state of negotiations between Google and the Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue District.

Google’s Michael Appel, Global Communications and Affairs manager

“Thanks for reaching out,” said Google’s  Michael Appel in an email. “Discussions are ongoing so we don’t have anything to share right now,” the Global Communications and Affairs manager said. “But please reach out in the future, and I'll let you know if we can share anything.”

Google and Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue  

Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue and Google have both signed non-disclosure agreements about their negotiations at the request of Google.  

Under City of The Dalles ordinances, the Fire District has the authority to negotiate separately to provide fire service to companies erecting massive buildings.

David Jacobs Mid Columbia Fire & Rescue Board President

City and County officials have both stated that the fire and SIP negotiations need to come together at the same time. 

Fire Board President David Jacobs, Chief Bob Palmer, Chief David Jensen and Assistant Chiefs Fred Coleman and Jay Woods have been working with a designee of Google’s on the negotiation.

They met with a Google representative to discuss an Emergency Management Response plan and what is required of Google to be approved by the district, according to March Fire Board meeting minutes. 

Jacobs said they have met with Google officials on two occasions thus far. Negotiations are “ongoing,” Jacobs said, noting the “tone was amicable with each other as we hope to find a solution.” 

Bottom line: Google needs to “provide an emergency response plan and make sure it is an acceptable plan,” he said.

CCCNews has been told the Fire District is asking for a new substation and permanent staff as part of the negotiation, at an expense that would cost millions of dollars. 

However, the Fire District and Google would not comment on the information.

Rather, the Fire District said it is addressing concerns around National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards 1510 which deal with development standards of large buildings.

Assistant “Chief Jensen compiled a letter referencing the NFPA standards to reflect the deficiencies that Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue has identified, which are significant,” according to the March minutes. “President Jacob’s and Chief Palmer drafted a letter to Google stating the deficiencies identified must be addressed before the district would consider moving forward in the permitting process.”

The letter was not made available to CCCNews. 

“It’s in Google's lap,” Jacobs said last week referring to the negotiation timeline. “It depends on how quickly they want to resolve it. It’s not specific on our end. We’ll talk about it as long as we need to talk about it.”

CCCNews asked Jacobs, are you concerned that you might prevent the SIP agreement and the construction from occurring by requiring Google to meet these standards?

“I can't say,” Jacobs said on Thursday, May 6. “I really don't have a good answer for that. It all depends on where the negotiations land.”

Jacobs said they are not asking Google to come to “full level NFCA standards” which could be astronomical in cost. Rather, they were attempting to bring Google ``incrementally closer,” noting the standards put the onus or cost on the business to bring the emergency management plan up to safe levels for the protection of the data center buildings.