近距离内射合集

A recording of a private meeting in August reveals behind-the-scenes discussions of Sierra County鈥檚 recent data center moratorium and an effort to modify it so a proposed data center at Spaceport America can move forward after all.

The 80-minute audio file was released by the city of Elephant Butte as part of its response to a public records request, which also included a handwritten list of attendees and notes about the discussion retrieved by the city鈥檚 records custodian.

The candid discussion turned to political strategy, managing public reaction and ways to change the moratorium without triggering New Mexico鈥檚 open meetings law.

The recording also offers a rare glimpse into discussions among private capital and public officials about advancing a potentially controversial industrial development, including marketing and political strategy. Some speakers expressed hostility toward community opponents. At one point an unidentified speaker referred to them as 鈥淐AVE people,鈥� a pejorative acronym for 鈥淐itizens Against Virtually Everything.鈥�

Among those participating in the Aug. 19 meeting, per meeting notes and recognizable in the recording, were Truth or Consequences Mayor Rolf Hechler, Elephant Butte Mayor Richard Holcomb, Sierra County Commission Chairman Jim Paxon and Truth or Consequences City Manager Gary Whitehead.

Also participating were James Prendamano, an investor with extensive holdings in the county and a member of the Spaceport Authority鈥檚 , and Jason Bak, CEO of Vancouver-based Green Data.

Bak is heard delivering a slide presentation about his proposed 11,000-square-foot solar-powered data center for the spaceport campus. The project has been under discussion with spaceport leadership since 2021, and a requested sublease is under review by the State Land Office, which has the authority to grant or deny the agreement because the spaceport sits on state trust land.

The project hit an obstacle when Sierra County commissioners unexpectedly enacted an 18-month moratorium on data center development on July 21. The State Land Office has stated the sublease remains under review, but noted that Spaceport America鈥檚 own lease includes a provision that it will abide by local ordinances even though it sits on state land. 鈥淭he sublease application remains in limbo,鈥� a spokesman for the office told the Journal on Wednesday.

Green Data CEO makes case 

Bak said on the recording that Green Data was considering a factory in Santa Teresa to build solar power equipment for the spaceport installation. He said the factory plus the data center would employ approximately 500 people in total 鈥� but only if the spaceport project comes to fruition.

The data center would supply its own electricity through solar power and battery storage, Bak said, but would be connected to the electric grid for when the site鈥檚 resources are low. 鈥淲e model for 25% cloud cover, but if there鈥檚 50 or 60% cloud cover over town for three weeks in a row, then we need to use the grid,鈥� he said.

Bak鈥檚 presentation on the recording differed in some details from what the spaceport disclosed in July after queries from the Journal, although the spaceport also acknowledged the design was subject to change. 

Bak said in the recording that the initial phase would require 5 megawatts of power and that the closed-loop cooling system would require 15,000 gallons of water for an initial fill.

In July, the spaceport said the estimated fill-up was 30,300 gallons with an annual top-off of 15,300 gallons. Bak contradicted that at the Aug. 19 meeting, saying, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have 15,000 gallons per year: We need 15,000 gallons for one time.鈥�

Asked about the data center鈥檚 prospective tenant, Bak said it would likely be a commercial cloud artificial intelligence infrastructure provider, or neocloud, although talks were also underway with a 鈥済overnment group鈥� he did not name.

Bak did not respond to requests for an interview.

Pulling water from the air

The project would rely on an atmospheric water generation system that would extract water from the air, Bak said in the recording. 

The spaceport previously stated that AWG technology had been proposed as a supplemental water source, but Bak placed it at the front of the project鈥檚 water plan at the August meeting. He said one AWG unit could produce 125,000 gallons over a year 鈥� not far below the of an American household of four.

Bak told the meeting Green Data could produce surplus water for the spaceport or other users, that the technology works in desert environments and that Green Data was ready to install equipment for community demonstrations.

鈥淲ith the amount of water that we're able to produce, we could actually get another group to create fuel from that water, and they would be able to have enough fuel to send three space shuttles into orbit,鈥� Bak claimed in the recording.

He said the cooling system would not require a flush until 鈥渕aybe after 10 or 15 years,鈥� and that the water would contain only 鈥渇ood-grade chemicals,鈥� though he also said it would contain plastic and metals such as lead.

According to the recording, Whitehead asked Bak for proven models of the technology and others in the room questioned how it would work in Sierra County鈥檚 climate.

Earlier in the year, when the Socorro project was under discussion, Bak faced skepticism over the fact that Green Data had yet to launch a successful data center. Yet in the recorded meeting, Prendamano expressed confidence in the company, telling Bak, 鈥淚f you guys work with hundreds of millions of dollars 鈥� I鈥檓 fairly certain you would have the right engineers and access to the people who understand if it works or if it doesn鈥檛.鈥�

Backpedaling on moratorium

Paxon, who participated in the meeting over the phone, said the moratorium reflected public input the commission had received. The original agenda item was a resolution opposing only the development of 鈥渓arge-scale data centers,鈥� but it was modified at the suggestion of Commissioner Sandy Jones.

After Bak鈥檚 presentation, Paxon said he would support carving out an exception for the Green Data project, as heard on the recording. He also said a state legislator was working with him to avoid violating New Mexico鈥檚 Open Meetings Act, which forbids commissioners from discussing public business outside of publicly noticed meetings.

鈥淪enator Crystal Diamond (Brantley) is contacting the other two commissioners, because I can鈥檛 talk to them,鈥� Paxon is heard telling the meeting. 鈥淪he is approaching both of them to see if we can do a letter of modification that includes technology that does not take any scarce water resources away and does not pose a risk of increased electrical bills on the grid for the residents of Sierra County.鈥�

Amanda Lavin, legal director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, told the Journal that using an intermediary 鈥渁s a proxy to talk to the other commissioners about modifying whatever it is they voted on鈥� would violate the law by establishing what鈥檚 called a rolling quorum.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no good reason to discuss matters of public concern, such as use of natural resources as they relate to construction of data centers, behind closed doors,鈥� Lavin added.

Contacted by the Journal, Brantley, a Republican from Elephant Butte and a state senator since 2021, said she had had no contact with commissioners other than Paxon on the issue. She also said she had not met with Bak or anyone from Green Data.

Jones told the Journal in an interview no one had reached out to him to discuss modifying the moratorium and that he would not support doing so. He said he had not been invited to the Aug. 19 meeting, but subsequently met with the developer to learn about the project.

Sierra County Commissioner Hank Hopkins, who avidly supported a moratorium in July, did not respond to queries from the Journal, and neither did Paxon.

Jones, a Democrat who was appointed to the board last year, is running for a full term in the November election. His challenger is Republican Willard Hall.

Brantley argued the moratorium is overly broad, telling the Journal, 鈥淎 blanket moratorium 鈥� sends a message that Sierra County is not open for business. I believe there is a responsible balance between allowing development (with) appropriate protections and closing the door entirely to potential economic investment.鈥�

鈥榃here does it stop?鈥�

In the recording, Whitehead recommended Green Data and county commissioners use the moratorium period to develop studies that might prove Green Data鈥檚 claims before modifying the resolution.

Prendamano is heard objecting to the suggestion, questioning whether the commissioners had the expertise to judge such studies and asking, 鈥淲here does it stop? I own a lot of county land. Are my taxes going to go down because I can鈥檛 do a data center?鈥�

鈥淵ou know the answer to that,鈥� Whitehead answers.

鈥淚 know the answer until we all start to sue,鈥� Prendamano shouts back.

鈥淪ue for what? You have to have cause,鈥� Whitehead says. 鈥淭he public has a right to petition its elected leaders, has a right to bring those concerns to the elected leaders. It鈥檚 your obligation as elected leaders, and ours as administrators, to find the best walking path and workaround.鈥�

Prendamano is the founder of PreReal Investments, which has poured tens of millions of dollars into commercial and residential properties in Sierra County since 2022. His properties include Elephant Butte鈥檚 Turtleback Mountain Golf and Resort, formerly Sierra del Rio, which currently hosts the New Mexico Open with plans for a resort hotel. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed him to the Spaceport Authority Board of Directors in February.

In an interview, Prendamano acknowledged his comments in the recording and told the Journal his support for the Green Data project was not linked to his own business interests. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 profit from this in any way, shape or form at all. It鈥檚 just the right thing to do,鈥� he said, citing the county鈥檚 need for economic development.

Asked if the meeting compromised his objectivity as a spaceport board member, Prendamano said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a problem when you don鈥檛 have these discussions. 鈥� Because I鈥檓 an entrepreneur, because I鈥檓 a business leader, because I鈥檝e had success in big deals in the past, is why you want me in the room.鈥�

New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Rob Black, who chairs the spaceport board, said in a statement Monday, 鈥淲e are just learning of this meeting. However, if a board member has any financial or personal interests related to the board鈥檚 business they must disclose it before taking any action on the matter. New Mexico has clear conflict-of-interest laws, and the NMSA Board takes those requirements seriously.鈥�

鈥極ur Cold War鈥�

In the recording, Bak said intense opposition to data centers discouraged him from taking his case to the public.

He spoke of community pushback against Green Data鈥檚 proposed 10-gigawatt solar and data center collaboration with New Mexico Tech, which the university eventually paused. In June, Socorro County commissioners enacted their own data center moratorium.

鈥淎 forum like this is fine, but I鈥檓 just not going to spin my wheels addressing things from the community at this point,鈥� Bak said in the meeting.

In that discussion, several voices are heard discussing the influence of election-year politics on data center debates, suggesting lawmakers who support development would be loath to defend them before November.

During that discussion, Prendamano attributed data center opposition to 鈥渁n internationally funded effort of disinformation on social media鈥� as someone else in the room chimed in that it was a 鈥減sy-op鈥� 鈥� short for 鈥減sychological operation,鈥� a term for a campaign that manipulates an adversary鈥檚 beliefs.

Prendamano told the gathering, 鈥淚鈥檇 love for someone to do a study and find out, of the people who show up and speak out, what groups are they connected to? How are they funded?鈥�

Monticello resident Rebekah Parr, part of the local group Project Consequences that opposes data center development in the county, said in an interview that Bak鈥檚 comments demonstrated 鈥渁 complete lack of respect for the democratic process鈥� while seeking to 鈥渋nfluence our elected officials against the will of their constituents.鈥�

Prendamano raised democratic arguments of his own in the meeting and in his interview with the Journal, saying that elected bodies and boards such as the Spaceport Authority needed to uphold their authority to consider policy and make decisions about projects 鈥� including those that are not immediately popular. He also suggested that the county鈥檚 moratorium, initially introduced as a separate resolution and later changed during the meeting, lacked transparency and blindsided developers.

Prendamano also discussed the spaceport鈥檚 need for revenue following years of delays in anchor tenant Virgin Galactic鈥檚 spaceflight enterprise, among other factors. He referred to AI development as 鈥渙ur Cold War鈥� in reference to international competition to develop technologies marketed as 鈥渁rtificial intelligence.鈥�

鈥淚f we lose this, the grandkids will speak a different language,鈥� Prendamano said in the recording.

Yet Parr told the Journal that when commissioners enacted the moratorium, she and other community members felt heard by their representatives.

She added, 鈥淚 think we're worth the time, and we are informed and educated enough to understand what might be best for us and our future.鈥�

Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.