(Estherville)--The Estherville City Council Monday evening heard a presentation from a company interested in locating a data center in Estherville. Gyles Uhlenhopp of Path One Companies explains why the company became interested in Estherville.

Uhlenhopp says Path One wants to build small data centers that fit in rural Iowa.

The data center would employ about 15 to 25 people. Proposed data centers in other communities have drawn opposition from the public concerned about the large amounts of water and electricity required as well as noise concerns. He says there are bad actors in every industry.

Uhlenhopp says Path One’s data centers use a closed loop cooling system.

He explains the next step in the process.

He says construction on a data center would take 12 to 18 months to complete. Path One currently has proposed data centers in Sioux County and Ida County. Members of the council asked questions about the project but took no formal action. City Administrator Penny Clayton says the Planning and Zoning Commission plans to meet on Thursday at 4:30 to discuss development of an ordinance regulating data centers.