Chillicothe — Council will continue discussion on the data center issue in their regular session this evening, after a long and well-attended review session a week before where the developer of the proposed data center gave a presentation and answered questions.
On September 8th, 2026, Council held a review session after passing a “data center moratorium” the previous week to legally block development of the controversial industry within city limits for 60 days. The event in the auditorium of Chillicothe High School hosted about 350 attendees and lasted two hours.
The company that is planning to build the site in the Chilpaco division of the former paper mill – Alignment Engine of Canton, Ohio – gave a presentation in the session, then answered questions from the public. Questions and applause implied that about 75% of the audience was not opposed the the project, with several former paper mill workers speaking out.
Chillicothe Council president Kevin Shoemaker emceed the event, and council members also spoke briefly – manly to state that none of them had signed controversial non-disclosure agreements when visiting the paper mill property.
In addition, council member Kathy Dunn pushed back against Jeff Creed for scheduling the event. Dunn chairs council’s engineering committee that has been looking into into the data center issue, while Creed chairs the finance & technology committee – and who called for the review session along with three other council members.
Stay tuned for a companion story on the public participation in the review session and council’s statements.
After introducing himself as their Chief Technology Officer of Alignment Engine Inc., David Stanfill showed 19 slides in a presentation about half an hour long.
Stanfill said he was not a spokesman, but is an engineer: He leads the design and planning for this project, and is executing it. He said he and his family are from Ohio, and he has been building high-tech companies in Ohio for several years – running “high density computing companies” and employing more than 500 people within the state.
He said that Chillicothe had not heard from Alignment Engine until now because of lot of factors, especially because they were being merged into a public company, and that process restricted what they could say…but they can now can share broad information. Stanfill said they should have found a way to be here sooner.
The main points in his presentation were:
- This is not a mega-scale data center like the one being built on the south side of Columbus – this is a “data hall.”
- They are reusing paper mill buildings, instead of building on farmland or even clearing the industrial site.
- This is only one part of the “reindustrialization” of the site.
- The paper mill can generate its own electrical power, has its own large water supply, and has its own large wastewater treatment.
- The closed-loop cooling system will use only their own water supply and be processed through their wastewater treatment.
- Noise production will be negligible for the even nearest neighborhood.
- EPA permits have been kept current.
- They will be filling 240 permanent jobs on the site.
- No tax abatements will be requested.
- Income from Alignment Engine to US Paper Mill LLC will allow USPM to continue their commitment to helping with pollution controls.
- This development will provide significant tax revenue to help support local schools and government.
- The moratorium and other possible restrictions are “very impactful to the project.”
Julie Madalinski of US Paper Mill LLC, which owns the site and is leasing part of it to Alignment Engine Inc., pointed out that they are not a formal business partner with Alignment Engine – but are happy to work with them. Stanfill said that US Paper Mill LLC chose Alignment Engine because of their deep Ohio roots and commitment to Chillicothe.
I was able to videorecord only part of the event – about two-thirds of the Alignment Engine presentation, plus council president Kevin Shoemaker’s closing – which I present below in four parts. (I will be sharing slides from their presentation as part of my finished stories.)
The best video coverage of the event, with clear audio and showing the presentation slides, is a video reel from the Facebook page “Richard McQuirt for 4th Ward.” The handheld vertical-format video lasts an hour-and-a-half, until the end of the Q&A.
The most complete video coverage is the semi-official videorecord (a live feed at the time) volunteered by the Greater Chillicothe Ross County Film Commission. The vertical-format 2:12 video starts awkwardly but after about six minutes is moved to the front of the auditorium. It includes everything to the closing address by council president.
Council meets in Chillicothe High School Auditorium again tonight, with the main session starting at 7pm. Before then will be committee meetings, with Engineering (including research on the data center) at 4:15, and City Facilities (considering moving council chambers) from 6:15 to 7:00.
