My name is Heather Fletcher, and I am a candidate for the Frederick County Board of Education in Frederick County, Maryland. I live in Point of Rocks, just a few miles from Adamstown, and I am deeply concerned about the well-being, safety, and future of our community.

Amazon’s hyperscale data center development in Adamstown is bringing significant changes to our community and raising serious concerns that deserve attention, transparency, and action. We are asking Amazon to listen to the people who live here, take responsibility for the impact of its operations, and be a good neighbor.

We are asking Amazon to take the following five actions:

1. Please build Carroll Manor Elementary a new school in a safe location.

The Bauxite II data center, currently under construction, is approximately 1,900 feet north of Carroll Manor Elementary School.

Carroll Manor Elementary was built in 1965 and was never designed with today’s hyperscale data centers and large-scale industrial infrastructure in mind. We have serious concerns about the potential impact of continuous industrial noise, low-frequency vibration, substations, high-voltage transmission lines, and electromagnetic fields on our students and staff.

Carroll Manor also has a special needs program called Expressions that serves many children who may be particularly sensitive to noise and vibration. We ask Amazon to carefully consider the safety and well-being of these students, as well as the children and families at nearby childcare facilities, including Creating Memories Children’s Learning Center and Almost Home Childcare, and those who enjoy Green Hill Park.

2. Use the safest available backup power technology.

Amazon, please commit to using the safest backup power technology available. No diesel generators.

We want our children and families to grow, learn, and thrive in a community with clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment. Backup power technology should reflect the highest possible standards for protecting our community.

3. Be transparent about our water and electricity resources.

Our community deserves clear, open information about where the water and electricity needed for Amazon’s operations will come from, how much will be used, and how increased demand could affect local residents.

We also need assurance that the costs associated with meeting Amazon’s energy and water demands will not be unfairly passed on to local families, businesses, or taxpayers.

For residents who have already experienced well damage or water-quality problems, Amazon should help ensure they are made whole and that their concerns are addressed promptly, fairly, and transparently.

Our community’s resources must be managed responsibly, with the long-term interests of residents in mind.

4. Provide independent environmental monitoring and make the results public.

Amazon, please pay for independent, third-party environmental firms with no financial or other conflicts of interest to conduct ongoing air, water, and soil monitoring.

Please make all results publicly available. Our community needs transparency, accountability, and confidence that its environment is being protected.

5. Be satisfied with the land you already have. NO EXPANSION.

Please respect the community you have chosen to become a part of.

I urge Amazon to listen to the people of Adamstown, take meaningful action, and show us that it is committed to protecting our children, respecting our community, and being a good neighbor.

By signing this petition, you stand with me and your neighbors in calling on Amazon to act responsibly, protect our community, and preserve the place we call home.

Sincerely,

Heather Fletcher
Candidate for the Frederick County Board of Education
Authority: Citizens for Heather Fletcher; Treasurer Michael Fletcher