October Edition: More Details on Amazon Data Center Project Come Out
By Percy Dunagin
Some recent reporting has suggested that the Town’s Commission on Open and Transparent Government has been a waste of money and time, especially since they have yet to produce anything. However, the Commission did in fact release three documents on August 12th, 2026, which bear some attention. You can view these documents by going to the blog for this news outlet (wpac.blog.)
The three documents were: (1) A detailed timeline of the Amazon data center project, (2) a report, drawn from the timeline, covering potential process and ethics considerations related to the Amazon matter, and (3) a transcript of the exchange with Mr Jay Reinke, the Amazon representative, with Town Council members during the January 10th, 2023 Town Council work session.
The timeline, a 16-page document, is very informative as background to remind everyone what has happened (from 2007 to present). It was compiled from Town records, FOIA releases, meeting minutes, correspondence, contemporaneous news reporting, court opinions, and Commission analysis. Each entry carries a footnote with a short excerpt from its source. This factual account of events is a potent reminder to all interested in the Amazon matter that this is not a “nothing-burger” but a complex series of events involving many players, some of whom would rather forget (or obscure) the past.
The second document is a product of the Commission, something substantive that we would expect to justify their existence. The report identifies specific provisions of the Town of Warrenton Code of Ethics, the Town Council Handbook, and the Code of Virginia that may bear on the process followed at each stage, together with a brief, non-accusatory justification for why each provision is potentially relevant to the documented facts. This report (Commission update) does not conclude that any law, ordinance, or ethical standard was violated, but merely states that certain provisions are potentially relevant; to identify a breach of ethics, more fact-finding would be necessary, that are beyond the current scope of the Commission.
Finally, the third document, the partial transcript of a Town Council working session conversation with Mr Jay Reinke of Amazon Services, was released as one example of the reason the Commission found that there are potential ethical issues.
This transcript (see wpac.blog) is enlightening because it may shed light on the internal decision making of Amazon to purchase the land for the data center. As the records indicate, Amazon purchased the land on 9/27/21, which was long before they had secured the necessary SUP (special use permit) to build a data center. The council members (McGuire and Semple specifically) asked about the “business need” Amazon had for building in Warrenton. Mr Reinke declined to explain that, instead stating that it was “a business decision.” In a follow up question, Mr Semple asked specifically “why did Amazon decide to go ahead and purchase the land before knowing the SUP was even approved?” Mr Reinke answered by claiming the purchase was a “business risk,” especially given that they paid 10 times its value. This clearly raised the eyebrows of Mr Semple, who pressed on to ask why Amazon would purchase land in a small town that required an SUP, when other land options in northern Virginia (not requiring an SUP) existed. This evoked a curious response, one that requires the reader to use their common sense, human intuition and experience in evaluating the true meaning. Here it goes: Reinke – “We understood that there was a…we had rumors out there was a phenomenal Town Council to deal with, that made it attractive, partly, um, I say that tongue in cheek. It was…there are business needs at times to move quickly—”
Mr Semple attempts to clarify by interrupting – “Excuse me, you said a phenomenal Town Council?”
REINKE: Yea, I was trying to give you a compliment, but…
SEMPLE: Why was the Town Council “phenomenal?”
REINKE: It…was tongue in cheek…purely tongue in cheek…yea. Purely a business decision to be here in this area.
I provided the actual transcript here so that you, the reader, can see for yourself what to make of this exchange. Some might interpret this to mean that Amazon had a legitimate business decision making process that we are not privy to, and that we should leave it at that. No foul play. But others might read this conversation as the attempt by Mr Reinke to first suggest (perhaps jokingly) that Amazon was assured of a Town Council that would be favorable to approving the SUP (which did in fact occur the next month in February 2023); and then (for some reason) switch to provide Amazon’s actual (and more ethical) reason as “purely a business decision”. Human nature is often very transparent, despite attempts to disguise true intentions.
It is also noteworthy from the timeline that the then-Town Manager, Brandie Schaeffer, resigned her position on 7/17/22 and immediately took a position at Amazon Web Services (as Town liaison). A curious reader may want to further investigate the details on her and others involved in this complex matter.
You be the judge. Many facts are coming out now that you can read in these documents (and more to come). We will all be able to make our assessment of what happened in Warrenton (transparency?), which should inform us of what we should do in the future, and even for whom to vote in the upcoming election. I think that’s what the Commission was chartered to do.
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