{"id":220613,"date":"2026-06-16T18:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/220613\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T18:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T18:04:13","slug":"wildcat-ridge-data-center-concludes-testimony-turning-floor-over-to-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/220613\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildcat Ridge Data Center concludes testimony, turning floor over to residents"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARCHBALD \u2014 The fight against the controversial Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus is now in residents\u2019 hands.\n<\/p>\n

Representatives of Brooklyn-based Cornell Realty Management LLC concluded their case Monday night after five hearings and more than a dozen hours of testimony and cross examination. They seek conditional approval from Archbald Borough Council to build 14 data centers across 574.2 mountainside acres above Business Route 6.\n<\/p>\n

At least 500 residents and local officials filled the Valley View High School auditorium for the 2\u00bd-hour conditional use hearing. The charged crowd, many of whom wore yellow-and-black T-shirts, erupted into applause and jeers throughout the night, reacting to additional testimony on the data center campus\u2019s traffic and sound.\n<\/p>\n

Valley View School District continued its opposition to data centers. Solicitor Kyle Callejas of Joyce, Carmody & Moran PC requested and obtained party status at the start of the hearing, giving the district legal standing to challenge Wildcat Ridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel we have unique concerns, independent of the concerns held by the residents,\u201d Callejas said.<\/p>\n

Council did not reach a decision Monday, instead scheduling its next hearing for July 6 at 5 p.m. Attorney Justin Richards, who represents residents opposing data centers in the borough, will then present his own case about why the project should be denied.\n<\/p>\n

Although council previously took early public comment at its May hearing, Monday\u2019s hearing concluded without time for testimony from residents, despite a long list of speakers signing up to address council, including Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti.\n<\/p>\n

Wildcat Ridge attorney Edmund Campbell guided testimony clarifying the certification of equipment used to measure decibel levels in the vicinity of the campus. Additional testimony from a traffic engineer clarifying remarks from a different engineer at a previous meeting followed.<\/p>\n

\"Attendees<\/p>\n

Attendees listen during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An attendee holds a sign reading \u201cDENY\u201d during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"Archbald<\/p>\n

Archbald borough officials listen during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"Councilwoman<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Erin Owen asks Attorney Edmund Campbell a question during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"Scranton<\/p>\n

Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti and Lackawanna County Controller Gary DiBileo, left, attend a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"Tamara<\/p>\n

Tamara Misewicz-Healey, co-founder of \u201cStop Archbald Data Centers\u201d, speaks during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"Traffic<\/p>\n

Traffic engineer Frank Tavani, center, listens as Attorney Justin Richards, foreground, questions him during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"Attorney<\/p>\n

Attorney Edmund Campbell, right, discusses the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus with Archbald borough officials during a public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

\"Archbald<\/p>\n

Archbald borough officials discuss the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus during a public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 9<\/p>\n

Attendees listen during a public hearing on the proposed Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus at Valley View High School in Archbald, Pa., on Monday, June 15, 2026. (ISAAC DIAZ\/STAFF PHOTO)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Check back for updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ARCHBALD \u2014 The fight against the controversial Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus is now in residents\u2019 hands. Representatives…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2117,2116,201,182,139,28,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-220613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-archbald","tag-data-centers","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}