Monday night in Montgomery City had all the makings of a classic Missouri town hall. Folks packed the room with a seriousness you could feel from the doorway. I had the privilege of serving as MC, and the evening began the way any proper gathering in this state should, with the Pledge of Allegiance.
The entire event owed its footing to Presiding Commissioner Ryan Poston, who stepped up to host the conversation. He did not have to do it and plenty of politicians would have dodged it (Hell, most politicians would have).
Poston stood there unshaken by tough questions. He is no slick talker. He is a farmer, and thankfully he speaks plainly like one, who leads with his boots on and whether the crowd agrees or disagrees he will do what he thinks is right for Montgomery County, come what may.
Despite all the online noise, the tone in the room was cordial and professional. Most folks came to learn, not to yell. It was the first real chance for citizens to put questions to the people who actually know the terrain around here.
Local experts on water, power, economic development, and infrastructure walked through what they did know and admitted what they did not. It made for a grounded and honest conversation. Folks brought real questions and got real answers.
One thing in the discussion was crystal clear. The property tax benefits of this project are substantial. If Montgomery County wants a stronger tax base without raising taxes on its own citizens, this project offers exactly that. You do not need a degree from Mizzou to see the upside. The numbers speak for themselves and they do it loudly.
But if the tax picture is clear, the water picture is muddy. And that is where the evening kept circling back. Missourians understand water better than most. You do not grow up watching creeks rise or wells run low without learning to respect it.
Folks have read enough to know that some data centers in other places use millions of gallons a day and they wanted straight talk about what this proposal might require. That is not fear. That is common sense. Nobody around here bets the farm without knowing how deep the well is.
There was a lot of emotion in that room, when your talking about folks wells that is gonna happen. To me folks simply want clarity. Where the water would come from. What infrastructure would be needed. Will there be impacts on the aquifer. These are bread and butter questions for rural communities. They deserve real answers.
And of course there is the usual online crowd calling the whole thing a wet dream cooked up by big tech and big government. That may play well on Facebook, but it did not match the mood in the room. Monday was not a circus. It was a community trying to get its arms around an opportunity and concern at the same time.
AWS now has to bring forward clear information. They do not need to charm anyone. They need to show their math in plain English and address the water concerns head on.
From my view there are going to be some folks whose land they currently lease that is going to be sold that will be unhappy no matter what anyone says. Everyone is for property rights, until they want the gubment to control someone else’s land for their benefit.
On the other hand there are some folks who might have their eye solely on the benefits to the school and the jobs and might not be taking enough time to consider the impact on water access for folks in the area.
Then of course there are some folks who have went way out one way or the other on Facebook and are only going to be looking for things that back up their last post, and that is just the way our current culture is.
When the meeting wrapped up, folks filed out the same way they came in, respectful and steady. I didn’t get the sense that Montgomery County is anti-growth, or is not anti-opportunity.
It is just a place where water still runs downhill and where every serious question in this debate runs with it.
Scott Faughn is the publisher of The Missouri Times, owner of the Clayton Times in Clayton; SEMO Times in Poplar Bluff; and host of the only statewide political television show, This Week in Missouri Politics.
