Residents press Trenton council over annexation, proposed data center and 15-year tax break

A large turnout of Trenton residents pressed city leaders on June 18 about proposed annexations and a pending agreement that would grant a developer a 15‑year, 75% property‑tax exemption under a community reinvestment area (CRA) arrangement.

Donald Le fever, a resident who addressed the council during public comment, criticized the city for proposing annexation and a CRA while basic services remain strained, saying the council was being asked “to approve two emergency annexation resolutions affecting more than 600 acres and a CRA agreement with prologus that grants a 15‑year 75% property tax exemption.” He urged the council to require comprehensive studies of cumulative impacts — on water, power, noise, traffic and emergency services — before accepting more development.

Mayor Perry and staff responded that several items were for first reading and that the specific annexation service ordinance under consideration tonight relates only to the annexation parcel under discussion and not to an adjacent data‑center site that was annexed years earlier. “That has nothing to do with the Prologus site,” the mayor said when explaining which parcels each legislative item would affect.

City Manager Nichols and other staff described the rationale for pursuing annexation negotiations: annexed properties can generate permitting, tap‑in and withholding revenue and, the city says, allow industrial partners to contribute toward infrastructure projects such as a second firehouse, a potential overpass and water‑system upgrades. Council members framed annexation as a way to secure outside funding rather than raise resident property taxes.

But residents pushed back on the affordability and sufficiency of projected benefits. Barry Blankenship asked council to table annexation until all seven members could attend and questioned apparent inconsistencies in job and payroll projections, including shifting headcount estimates. Several commenters also said construction appears to be proceeding in places where residents had been told site plans were not final.

Councilmembers emphasized that most items on the agenda were first readings and would have to return for a second reading on July 9, and that no final votes on the annexations were scheduled for this meeting. The council voted later in the evening to move into executive session to discuss confidential economic‑development information tied to the project.

What’s next: Council indicated the annexation and CRA items will undergo further review, will be read again on July 9, and that the council will continue closed‑door negotiations with the developer while public questions about jobs, tax revenue and infrastructure remain unresolved.