By Ryan Applegate
Approximately 260 community members attended an Amazon informational open house Thursday, June 18 at Manchester High School, where company representatives discussed a potential data center campus in Adams County and fielded questions about jobs, water, infrastructure, taxes and environmental impacts.
The event was held from 5 – 8 p.m. in the Manchester High School gymnasium. About 20 Amazon representatives were positioned at 11 stations around the room, allowing residents to move between displays and ask individual questions about workforce development, power, water use, noise, community investment and the potential construction process.
While residents could speak informally with representatives at each station, the event was not equally open to public scrutiny through the media. The People’s Defender was told by Jim, an on-site media liaison, that only three of approximately 20 Amazon representatives had been vetted and authorized to speak on the record with reporters.
That policy did more than streamline interviews. It prevented reporters from obtaining attributable answers or pursuing follow-up questions with the representatives assigned to technical stations involving water, environmental issues, infrastructure and site operations.
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