SUTTON, MASS. (WHDH) - Robert Kraft may have brought decades of winning teams to fans, but he isn’t winning any fans in Sutton, where a subsidiary of his organization wants to build a massive data center complex.
Tensions flared at a board meeting Tuesday after a proposal by Kraft Group subsidiary Unified Global Packaging Group to build a data center in the town drew many concerned citizens to express their opposition to the project.
The Kraft Group said it will bring millions of dollars in new revenue to town.
The Sutton town manager estimated the town would collect around $10 million in property taxes in 2031.
Once fully operational, the center could reportedly generate nearly $28 million dollars a year for the town.
“School funding is always challenging, protecting public safety, police and fire, public works, public health, parks and recreation – all the different critical things that local government provides in MA that tax revenue could and more than likely would support all of those things,” said Adam Chapdelaine, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association.
But at the packed select board meeting, things got tense as residents bluntly told the select board to stop the project now.
One man was even removed from the meeting.
Data centers have become controversial as people across the country voice concerns about environmental impacts, constant noise, and a surge in the cost of electricity.
While some members of the board want more information, others said they’re being hurried into making a decision ahead of Sutton’s town meeting in May.
“It doesn’t seem like when you’re rushed, you make the right decision,” said Select Board member Christine Watkins. “But it seems like it could be a decision we live with forever.”
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