Last year, Google announced they were behind the building of two separate multi-billion-dollar data center campuses in Muskogee County. Coined Project Scissortail, the primary campus sits just south of the Muskogee city limits on nearly 420 acres of land. And its boundaries are directly across from a row of residential homes – with only the width of a county road separating them.
It's now been almost a year since construction began.
“I think everybody on this road is gonna tell you they hate it, but we deal with it constantly,” said Muskogee County resident Adam Cotten.
Cotten gestures down his street, West Smith Ferry Road, just outside the City of Muskogee. He stands in his gated yard with his back turned to the structures behind him – the first of potentially four 300,000 square foot data center buildings planned for Google’s Project Scissortail.
Adam and his wife Crystal live with their two children. Just a few years after they purchased their home, construction for Project Scissortail began. Now, the Cotten's’ battle a rush of construction workers and truck drivers to get in and out of their driveway.
“The traffic is horrible in the morning. From 5:30 to 6:30 - 7 o'clock, it’s bumper-to-bumper,” said Crystal. "Then at 5 (p.m.), it's the same way."
Adam said they can barely get out on time in the morning when taking their children to school. It has become a constant issue.
“Before we let the kids out in the front yard by themselves, and now we won't,” said Crystal. “Somebody is constantly watching them. You don't know what's going to happen.”
Adam said they wouldn’t have bought their home if they knew what was coming – their front window once looked out at cows and open fields. Now, they see workers in high visibility vests, towering cranes rotating against the skyline and the slow build of several structures with no end in sight.
Adam's brother is the first person who told him about the multi-billion-dollar addition to the neighborhood. His brother also alerted him to a planned $1.2 billion lithium refinery to be located just a couple of miles from his children’s schools.
“And I’m like, ‘That’s great, that’s right down the road. This is gonna be good.’ And that’s the reason why we are gonna move because I have a 5-year-old little girl. I don’t want her to be around any of this stuff,” said Adam.
Adam worries about the potential environmental, health and economic impacts that may come from a cluster of new infrastructures so close to his home.
Just a few doors down, neighbors Kelly and Brian Morgan agree with Adam. Kelly said incessant dust from constant traffic has caused respiratory issues and stopped them from enjoying the little things.
“We can't raise our windows in beautiful weather like this. (We) can't wash the cars,” said Kelly. “We can go in the backyard - we've got a patio - and the grandkids come after school every day. We go in the backyard thinking it'd be okay, but the dust just -- you can see it. You can see the dust, like in the sun. Watch when a car goes by -- It's just a cloud.”
Kelly believes the dust is the result of a quick fix to multiple potholes.
“I called about the road one time because they were tearing the road up so bad, and the county guy came out and he put gravel down,” said Kelly. “Well, that started the dust. And we gave up on that because it didn't work. It doesn't do any good and it's just worse and worse and worse all the time.”
After multiple conversations with county and city officials when the issues first started, the Morgans say they stopped calling when nothing changed. And they are at a loss for what to do next.
The Morgans purchased their home in 1995 to raise their children and, now that they are grown, Kelly and Brian look to enjoy quiet lives. But, just like the Cotten's, their peaceful home is no longer.
Kelly said they chose their home so they could get away from city life, but it followed them.
“I mean, after 31 years -- (Brian)'s retired, I'm about to be retired. We're just, you know; this was gonna be our little peaceful part of Earth,” said Kelly. “And now we're wishing they'll come (to) buy us out so we can move. I can't stand it. He can't. Nobody can. None of the neighbors can.“
Their neighbor Adam is at his limit. He said all the disruptions have caused them to want to sell, but he doesn't think they stand a chance.
“All I see is us, not getting the best options. Because who wants to live next to a data center or a lithium factory or whatever? So, there's not much you can do,” said Adam.
And the Morgans – they want out, too, but not without something for all their trouble.
“Well, they need to buy us out. I mean, they pay us what the house is worth, but with compensation, because it's not right,” said Kelly. “Because we didn't plan on leaving here, ever. This was it.”
Project Scissortail’s first data center building is projected to be operational next year.
And, as construction continues, the Cottens and the Morgans hold on to the hope they are offered a way out. One that will allow them a chance to return to the life they were living, and out of the life changing decision they said was made for them.
