By Michael Butler

There has been a lot of talk about town with the recent idea of a data center locating here. That possibility has since diminished according to Tallassee Mayor Joey Wiginton.

“They’re not as interested now,” he said. “I’m not against a data center because I don’t know that much about it. There are rumors out there about the noise it makes, about the water being contaminated and the power bill going up. In Alabama, they have a law that you can’t do that. I want to bring in experts and get educated even if we don’t do this one, which we probably won’t.”

Wiginton was approached about the concept of building a data center where the shell of the 1852 mill on the Tallapoosa River is located, next to Alabama Power Company’s Thurlow Dam.

“It’s two guys, one in South Carolina and one in Florida. They’re familiar with Tallassee. They contacted me about a 20-megawatt data center. They said the mill would be a perfect place, the west side.”

Wigington said that if the idea came to fruition, despite the potential negative aspects, there would be positives.

“They say the tax dollars for the city are one of the advantages. You do have the construction that would bring a lot of jobs here. Once it’s built, I understand it would be 15-30 well-paying jobs.”

Among the most notable changes could be the reuse of the historic structure and cleanup on the grounds around it.

“We’re a city that’s trying to make things happen. We’ve sat back long enough. It’s easy to be complacent. In some ways you’ve got to break the mold and go after something. I’m not content with leaving it like it is.”

Wiginton is hopeful that something can still happen at the location, data center or not.

“I was excited about something going in that mill. I’d much rather have an apartment complex or hotel, but I’ve not been able to find one so far. When somebody says I want to fix up the mill, Joey gets excited. That could be a real diamond for us. I think the mill will be a major part of that. I want Tallassee to grow in the right way.”

Wiginton added that work is slated to restart on the east side mill property soon.

“I got word that he’s coming in three to four weeks. I was told that they were going to chip up the concrete and move it to places that need to built up. A lot of people doubt that. I’ve got to be positive.”