It came as a surprise to many this summer when it was revealed a massive data center going up in south Cheyenne belonged to Meta, the owner of Facebook.
Although the facility itself had been openly discussed in public meetings for at least a few years, it wasn’t confirmed until first reported by Cowboy State Daily late this spring that the $800 million, 715,000-square-foot data center would be used and owned by Meta.
During the official groundbreaking ceremony for the facility in July, Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins referenced having to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) regarding the project.
“Anybody who knows me knows it’s been killing me not to be able to say,” Collins said in his speech. “I think my NDA is done now, right?”
His challenger for mayor, perennial candidate Rick Coppinger, is now calling Collins out, saying that he would have never signed an NDA if he had been mayor.
“When constituents ask if I would ever consider signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for corporate dealings, my answer is unequivocal: absolutely not,” Coppinger said. “I stand for open governance that invites community engagement, not secrecy.”
The issue came up during a mayoral forum last week where Collins said the NDA he signed was not with Meta, and Coppinger accused Collins of not being transparent.
“As mayor, I pledge to end the practice of secretive agreements and to ensure that the interests of our city are always transparent,” Coppinger said. “It’s time to restore trust and openness in our local government, and that’s what I aim to do.”
Coppinger unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2020 and the state Legislature in 2022. He finished a distant second in this year’s nonpartisan primary, advancing to the general election for a square off against Collins.
Hidden In Plain Sight
Collins clarified to Cowboy State Daily that he only signed a NDA with Cheyenne LEADS on Meta’s behalf, but not Meta itself.
LEADS is a private nonprofit that works to bring economic development to Cheyenne and Laramie County. It has a roughly $100,000 annual partnership agreement with the city and worked to try and convince Meta to bring their project to Cheyenne, an effort that dated back to 2017.
Collins, who is an ex-officio member of the LEADS board, sees no problem with signing an NDA if it means protecting the opportunity to bring a massive investment to his community. He said Meta insisted on anonymity throughout the process.
“If it means bringing a billion-dollar investment into the community with a significant amount of jobs, I will respect a company’s wishes to keep that quiet,” Collins said.
Collins said he knows of an instance in Cheyenne in the past where an elected official spilled the beans about a food service company potentially coming to the capital city. That company ended up choosing a location on the Front Range of Colorado, a decision Collins firms believes was influenced by the reveal.
“There’s no question in my mind,” he said.
The data center, which is slated to open in 2027, is expected to create about 100 operational jobs and more than 1,000 temporary positions.
But some in Cheyenne, particularly those living near the data center, have expressed frustration about it coming to town and the changes the data center will bring to their way of life. Many conservatives, in particular, also have a generally negative opinion of Meta.
When speaking before the Cheyenne City Council in November 2023, LEADS CEO Betsey Hale mentioned that she and many others were required to sign a non-disclosure agreement for the project, but speculated that most of the council members had not.
The council passed the development agreement for the 960-acre enterprise at this meeting with no debate. While commending the project, council member Michelle Aldrich commented that what’s “even more impressive is the ability by the committee to keep a secret.”
Hale first appeared before the council in November 2022 to start the process for the High Plains Business Park where the data center will be located.
The project had long been referred to as “Project Cosmo” by city officials in Cheyenne, organized by a mysterious company registered in Delaware known as Goat Systems LLC.
But besides revealing the true owner of the project, the council had openly discussed the nuts and bolts of the data center, including its water access and road development needs around the project site.
Collins believes the fact that Facebook was going to be running the facility was a poorly kept secret.
“While we knew who it was and it was not a very good kept secret, other companies might not have known,” Collins said.
Is It Common?
Ashley Harpstreith, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, said it’s fairly common for public officials in Wyoming to keep their mouths closed about a potential business coming to town.
“That’s economic development,” she said. “It’s a very common practice when people are trying to recruit top wages and don’t want to signal to other communities until the ink is dried on the paper.”
Harpstreith also said private companies often like to keep secret where they are moving their business until the deal is done to protect their trade secrets, a particularly sensitive matter for a massive company like Facebook.
With a multibillion-dollar company like Facebook, she said there is also a particular incentive to keep things quiet, when considering that competing entities may offer more lucrative options to the business if they know the competing cities and counties they are going up against.
“Generally, communities don’t want to get in wars with other communities,” she said. “You don’t want to drive the bidding up because you want the best economic deal for each community.”
Cody Mayor Matt Hall said although he doesn’t have much experience courting Fortune 500 companies like Cheyenne did with Meta, and typically doesn’t sign formal NDAs himself, he does keep quiet about potential businesses coming to his town until they say he can spread the news.
Hall said he expects most companies considering coming to Cody are also likely also considering competing locations throughout the region.
“I usually get that information and keep it to myself to try and keep a lower profile on it,” Hall said. “When those companies are around, they’re usually not just looking at Cody, Wyoming.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
