Sartell Would Consider a Data Center if Proposed

Communities across the United States have addressed the issue of data centers coming to their communities.  Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum says the city of Sartell doesn't not have a moratorium on data centers in their community.  He explains the city has not received a proposal for one but he wouldn't be surprised if that were to happen at some point considering the size and scale of the city of Sartell.

Conditional Use Permit

Fitzthum says the action that the Sartell City Council has taken is to require a conditional use permit for any data center.  He explains what that means is that a data center can't just stop into city hall and get a permit and start building.  Fitzthum says this would require staff, city council and public engagement with a developer to make sure the product they are bringing meets the needs of the community.  He says if a developer brought a data center plan to the city, they would consider it.

Former Sartell Paper Mill site (photo - Jay Caldwell)

Possible Location

The location of a potential data center in Sartell is would need to be in one of their commercial/industrial areas.  Fitzthum would not rule out the mill district as a possible site for a data center.  He would not like to see a large data center take up the majority of that site.  The mill district consists of approximately 25-26 acres.

Facts About Data Centers

There are more than 12,200 data center across 179 countries worldwide with the United States housing more than any other country with approximately 4,800.  Data Centers use large amounts of electricity and water.

Walking Path on Mill Site

The walking path on the mill district site has been completed according to Fitzthum.  The path connects to the pedestrian bridge across the Mississippi River on the west side.  He says the path isn't open to the public yet but anticipates that happening in the spring of 2027.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Ryan Fitzthum, click below.