The Ventura County Fairgrounds Board of Directors rejected a controversial proposal to build a parking garage, vertiport and a self-contained data-processing unit in a project that unleashed community-wide fears of a large data center.
In a 5-to-3 vote on Sept. 15 that brought cheers from community members, the board decided to send a 30-day notice that it is terminating discussions with Global Stack USA. The Orange County infrastructure development company wants to bring data units, vertiports and computing units to 40 fairgrounds across the state, creating a connected statewide emergency services network.
Fairgrounds leaders acknowledged in August that it had entered a memorandum of understanding with the company in a non-binding agreement designed
to start conversations. The board's vote signals the end of the memorandum.
The meeting brought about 200 people to the state-owned fairgrounds in Ventura, the vast majority of them opposed to the project partly because of fears about massive water use and huge environmental impacts.
“Thank you for coming," Adriene Coulter of Ventura said to Global Stack leaders, "but we don’t want or need the environmental nightmare you are selling.”
The company presented its project for the first time to the fairgrounds board, asserting the edge computing center would be the size of a shipping container and would not use local water or exert large pressure on the power grid. It is not a data center, they said.
They said the project's goal is a blackout-proof emergency resilience system that improves responses to massive disasters and allows helicopters and vertical aircraft to play a role in the evacuations of millions of people if necessary.
The public-private partnership would use up to 5 acres of land, would cost the fairgrounds nothing and would create new revenue streams that could keep the underfunded, dilapidated sites alive, they said.
“Mission No. 1 is keeping these (fairgrounds) as community assets for generations to come,” said Nick Kovacevich, Global Stack president and a former Orange County Fair Board member.
A split vote
The issue divided the board. Directors Dan Long, Leslie Cornejo, Miriam Mack, Betsy Chess and Shanté Morgan-Carter voted to end discussions with Global Stack and reject the proposal. Directors Guillermo Ceja Jr., Leah Lacayo and Gloria Martinez voted to keep the non-binding memorandum of agreement intact and gather more information about the project.
“This project was not right for the fairgrounds, and the way it was presented to us raises serious concerns in my mind about transparency and conflict of interests,” Mack said.
Other board members also asserted the proposal didn’t fit a beachside site with a mission of public use.
Cornejo complained about the fair board's talks about the proposal, asserting they were wrongly kept behind closed doors with the California Department Food and Agriculture taking a hands-on role. She noted a CDFA official made references to coming decisions by fair boards at a Taste of the Fair event at the Ventura fairgrounds on the eve of the site's 12-day fair.
“It was a pitch in my opinion,” she said.
That same official, Deputy Secretary Michael Flores, has a connection to Global Stack. His daughter, Ellesse Flores, has worked as a consultant with the company on issues including communications. Michael Flores reportedly played a role in introducing Global Stack to different fairgrounds. State officials have said contracting decisions are left to fairgrounds.
Many say too many questions remain
Some directors also complained about the length of a lease they characterized as 100 years. Global Stack leaders said the exact length like many other aspects of the project was still to be determined.
Cornejo expressed frustration that the Orange County company had not begun discussions with the California Coastal Commission about the proposal. Long questioned the planned vertiport.
“The last thing we need is helicopter pad at the corner next to the 101, the beach and downtown,” said Long who contended the project seemed rushed and would be a mistake for the fairgrounds. He made the motion to end discussions with Global Stack.
Martinez, who voted to keep discussions going, expressed frustration that more information on project details hadn’t been provided. She also cited the need for projects that generate revenue for the fairgrounds.
The site’s building and infrastructure needs are significant, said Lacayo, also asserting more parking is needed.
“I see every reason to continue with a non-binding memorandum of understanding,” Lacayo said. “I myself do not have enough information.”
The vote to reject the proposal was greeted enthusiastically by the residents who stayed for the entire nearly three-hour meeting. Earlier in the meeting, the hall was nearly full. Spectators complained bitterly and loudly about the project, asserting it's a land grab.
Ceja, the board's president, told public speakers to focus on the Global Stack proposal and not to talk about data center fears, asserting the project is not a data center. Speakers largely ignored the direction. Early in the meeting, one man walked in front of the crowd with a sign that read, “Build Your AI Data Center at Mar-a-Lago.”
Union members weigh in
Other people echoed board members, asserting there are too many unknowns about the project.
“We don’t know what it is,” said John Hankins of Ventura.
A group of union members came to the meeting, too. Juan Serrato, member of the Laborers International Union of North America, told the board he supported the proposal in part because it would bring local jobs.
Global Stack CEO Dan Kang said the project was designed to build a statewide emergency resilience network that would stay intact for decades and provide long-term support for fairgrounds.
Kang said he will respect the decision to end discussions with the fairgrounds but noted talks with other fair boards will continue. Private facilities, including multiple entities in Ventura County have also expressed interest in having their sites used, Kang said, declining to offer any details.
“We’re not going away,” he said.
Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Fairgrounds board rejects parking garage, vertiport proposal
