The Spotsylvania County and the Caroline County boards of supervisors approved separate joint resolutions this week to take another step forward in constructing the Mattameade Tech Campus, a total of 11 data centers that are expected to be built in Caroline but will use Spotsylvania water resources.
The resolutions refer the proposed Economic Growth Sharing Agreement to the Commission on Local Government for review of the effects on those living in the area.
According to the agreement, Caroline will receive $57.5% of the revenue associated with the project, and Spotsylvania will bring in the remaining $42.5%.
The resolution was added to the Spotsylvania board’s consent agenda Tuesday night and Caroline approved it at its meeting on Thursday.
Spotsylvania entered a performance agreement with Amazon Data Services for the project Dec. 12, 2023, and Caroline engaged with ADS a little over a month later on Jan. 23.
The terms of the performance agreements incentivize ADS to construct, develop and operate data centers in the two counties with the goal of economic growth. The Mattameade project, which will be located in Woodford on Orrock Lane and Stonewall Jackson Road on the counties’ border, is expected to generate $371.1 million for Spotsylvania over the course of 40 years.
A summary of the project from the Spotsylvania administration states that while the vast majority — if not all — of the data centers will be on the Caroline side of the border, the project is not viable without Spotsylvania’s water utilities.
The performance agreement that Spotsylvania entered dictates that it provides water for Mattameade as well as any data centers wholly located in the county. The county entered a Wastewater Services Agreement to provide water for the Cosner Tech, Carter’s Store Tech and Summit Crossing Tech campuses in August. On Oct. 22, the county entered a wastewater agreement to serve Mattameade, providing potable water, recycled water and sewer for the 11 data centers.
In other business at its most recent meeting, Spotsylvania supervisors unanimously approved a budget amendment for the school division, allowing it to appropriate $223,739 of federal grant funds to support students from Afghanistan.
Board Chair Jacob Lane pulled the item from the consent agenda for further discussion. The grant covers two years of support for Afghan students in the county, and half must be spent this year and in fiscal year 2026.
The Virginia Department of Social Services Office of New Americans awarded SCPS the federal funding without a request. Lane said he supports the Afghan students having the resources they need to succeed but expressed concern about how that will continue after the grant expires.
“In Spotsylvania, our No. 1 priority is the students of Spotsylvania County,” Lane said. “Now we have 30-plus students from Afghanistan.”
Lane said he plans to seek information from Spotsylvania County Public Schools Director of Teaching and Learning Maria Lewis so that he can take it to state and federal representatives and advocate for more funding. He questioned if the grant is adequate to fund all the Afghan students’ needs.
“Is this grant covering what is needed to properly educate, properly care for and properly take care of these students that are in Spotsylvania County?” he said.
On Tuesday, the supervisors also unanimously to table the Roxbury Commons subdivision project after a public hearing. The project consists of 60 single-family detached units that would be located on the west side of North Roxbury Mill Road, less than a mile from its intersection with Larkin Chew Road.
Supervisors wanted to have a discussion with Superintendent Clint Mitchell to discuss the project’s impact on schools and a possible sidewalk. The discussion was tabled until the December meeting.
The board also voted 5-2, with Lane and Lee Hill District Supervisor Lori Hayes dissenting, to approve Andora Oaks a 150-home subdivision on 56 acres between State Route 3 and Old Plank Road.
