CRANBERRY TWP — State legislators, county commissioners and other local officials voiced their opinions on a variety of topics Friday at a legislative roundtable discussion hosted by the Southern Butler County Business Association.

Participating in the forum at South College Pittsburgh were state Reps. Marci Mustello, R-11th, and Brandon Dukes, D-12th; Butler County commissioners Kim Geyer and Kevin Boozel; Adams Township manager Mike Tylka; Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung; Middlesex Township manager Chris Frye; and Cranberry Township supervisor Karen Newpol.

Data centers and artificial intelligence are separate subjects; however, both should be regulated, Dukes said.

He said data centers should not be allowed to draw water from waterways and operators should have to pay for development costs. Data centers’ use of electricity could result in higher rates for other customers, he said.

Dukes said he is leery of AI and does not want it to become heavily relied on. He said AI could be used to eliminate jobs, and protections for students are needed.

Geyer said she learned during a recent visit to Virginia that the state has 600 data centers. She described one she visited as huge and looking like an office building. She said the data centers generate $3 billion in taxes per year, including $1 billion for school districts in Virginia.

Nearly all cellphone functions involve the use of data centers. Business data storage also uses data centers, Geyer said.

She said the commissioners encouraged municipalities to prepare ordinances to address data center development, and some did.

“Some listened, some didn’t,” Geyer said.

Newpol said data centers provide data storage for AI.

“Embrace it. Understand it,” Newpol said about AI. “The more you understand, the better.”

She said data centers should be built at old building sites and not on farmland.

Boozel said the workforce should be prepared for changes that could come from AI. People might not have to shop in grocery stores in the future because they could order groceries online and have them delivered.

A question about affordability drew a wide range of responses.

Boozel said health insurance costs are increasing by 20% while employee pay is increasing by 2%. He said those figures don’t add up for young people and young families.

Geyer said high school students in the commissioners’ student leadership program tell them they don’t think they will be able afford the homes being built in the county.

Residential development models should be changed to accommodate housing affordable to younger residents, she said. Many young residents don’t want homes that require a lot of maintenance, she added.

Frye said developers should include housing affordable to young and older people in housing developments.

Hartung said a lot of young people make their first homes in the borough and then move when they can afford to. On the other hand, the borough has older residents that have lived there for many years.

Dukes said corporate greed is a factor driving the economy. Private equity firms buy restaurants and other businesses and then sell them at higher costs, he said. He added that he would like to address price gouging by big corporate conglomerates.

Young people have difficulty coming up with money for down payments on homes, he said. Dukes recalled buying his home during the COVID-19 pandemic when interest rates were 3%, and said he wouldn’t have been able to afford the home otherwise.

Mustello said government should not interfere with energy development and singled out permits required by the state as an issue.

“The government should get out of the way,” Mustello said.

Coal-fired power plants have closed due to a false narrative about air pollution, she said. Westinghouse is building nuclear power plants, but none in Pennsylvania due to government regulations, she said.

Newpol said the township is making sure commercial development coexists with affordable housing.

Grocery stores being built with apartment buildings behind them accomplishes two goals — making housing affordable for young residents and reducing vehicle traffic, she said.

Hartung said grocery stores don’t open in small towns due to lack of space. Communities like Mars have to think of other ways to help their economies.

Tylka said Adams Township has been hit with a 37% increase in employee health insurance costs that “pushed back” spending on projects.

Someone asked the panel if the absence of revenue from electronic skill games is impacting state transportation funding.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court found skill games to be slot machines that can only be operated by casinos under the Gaming Act. It gave state lawmakers an Oct. 13 deadline to pass legislation allowing business to continue having the games in their establishments. Lawmakers did not produce the necessary legislation.

Mustello said the legislature couldn’t find a solution, but skill games did not generate enough revenue for the state to address all transportation projects.

Citing the Route 228 expansion project, she said the cost of upgrading the last few remaining miles will cost multiple millions of dollars, which she called “absurd.”

Skill games are not the answer to transportation funding, she said.

Dukes said some people told him they are concerned about the impact removing skill games will have on social clubs.

He said he would have supported legislation governing skill games and imposing taxes on them.

In addition, he said construction costs for the Route 228 project will continue to rise while county commissioners try to secure federal funding to go along with the $50 million commitment they obtained from the state.

Geyer said a lot of state money designated for transportation was redirected to state police for many years. She said she is not against police, but that money was intended for roads and bridges.

She said there is more opportunity for transportation funding from the federal government than there is from state government, and it can take years to assemble enough money for large projects.

Workforce development was another topic.

Dukes said he hasn’t had the opportunity to use the political science degree he received in college in 2008 until he recently won the special election for the 12th District. He said he could have done more with job training, and he supports building trade unions and jobs, especially for young people.

Mustello said Butler County Community College has a great workforce development program.

Boozel said businesses are not using the resources of the Tri-County Workforce Investment Board for hiring employees. He said unions use the board and recruit high school students in their schools, and businesses should do the same.