City manager: stalled permits threaten Hamlet’s ability to support announced $10 billion Amazon AI data hub

The city manager told the Hamlet City Council that two permitting actions critical to supporting a recently announced Amazon AI data hub remain unresolved and that the council should seek political help to speed the process.

"As you know, the $10,000,000,000 Amazon AI data hub recently announced in our region... Currently, we have 2 outstanding permits: 1 for our water treatment plant and 1 for our wastewater treatment plant. One of which has been stuck in the queue with the state since 2022," the city manager said, urging council members to contact state representatives and the governor’s office to help move the permits along.

The city manager framed the permits as essential to the city’s ability to meet the increased demand the development will bring and said delays were directly affecting preparedness. He also briefed the council on other infrastructure items: a finalized memorandum of agreement for the city school resource officer with Richmond Community College, work on system development fees with public-works data and consultants, and a completed emergency sewer repair at McKinnon and Oak Street.

Council members did not vote on the permits during the meeting; the manager asked the council to consider outreach to state-level officials so the city can secure the approvals it needs to support anticipated growth tied to the private development.