#BerksIdeasFest Tammy White, president of the United Way of Berks County, says the honorees "remind us that service is not a one-way transaction .... we learn, we grow we understand our community a little bit better."

Unlike other states, PA does not have government operated animal shelters, Steven Martinez says. Municipalities do not have to sign contracts with the nonprofit shelters, which can impact their income and ability to operate, he adds. #BerksIdeasFest

Set back requirements (distance from other buildings) mean that only smaller data centers could be possible in Reading, Wayne Jonas Bealer says. #BerksIdeasFest

Muth says there aren’t many state resources for how to handle data centers, but Showers says Berks County has advice planning documents that can help municipalities plan. #BerksIdeasFest

“It’s not about (data) storage. It’s about processing,” says Joe D’Ascenzo. He adds that the Amazon purchases we make, the searches we do, all go through data centers. The technology varies. #BerksIdeasFest

Ashley Showers, of the Berks County Planning Commission, says that vacant warehouses could be redeveloped to data centers — but they have to go through the permitting process. #BerksIdeasFest

“Cats are going to be in the community, whether we like it or not,” Steven Martinez says. But, he says it’s important to decide how communities will approach them and limit harm. #BerksIdeasFest

“There is no end game right now. It is how do we manage it together in the best way possible,” Dan Cody says, because there are an estimated 30-40 million community cats, and only about 2% are spayed or neutered. #BerksIdeasFest

The Titus Development data center is planned to take up about 50 acres, but the setbacks are “meaningless” in its case because the closest residential neighbors are about a mile away, Joe D’Ascenzo says, so it will be in compliance. #BerksIdeasFest

Technology is continually changing which affects how big data centers need to be related to the amount of energy they use. Panel experts say that makes it hard to conceptualize how much space a data center may take up. #BerksIdeasFest

Thousands of people will be employed to build the data center, but there will be fewer employees when it’s built, D’Ascenzo says of the Titus Development center. He tells attendees he cannot discuss who will be the final user of the center if it is completed. #BerksIdeasFest

Wayne Jonas Bealer, with the Reading Planning Commission, kicks us off by talking about the City Council’s 180-day moratorium on data center development to allow for time to enact a zoning ordinance. He says they expect a tight deadline because of how complicated the issue is. #BerksIdeasFest