GYEDC says it isn't recruiting data centers. So what has it been doing?

By Dan Bustard | Yuma Informed

Data-center companies are interested in Yuma County. The region's economic development organization knows it, has been following the industry and even organized a public seminar about it.

But according to Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation President and CEO Greg LaVann, there's one thing the organization isn't doing: actively recruiting those companies.

“We do not actively recruit them. We do not actively market towards them,” LaVann said in a KYMA report published September 23, 2026.

That statement might seem at odds with GYEDC's earlier activities. After all, economic development organizations exist, in large part, to attract businesses. And data centers have been part of Yuma's economic development conversations throughout the year.

The question is whether those conversations amount to recruitment.

A look through county records, City Council minutes, news coverage and GYEDC's agreement with the City of Yuma offers a clearer picture.

Data centers were on GYEDC's radar months earlier

Back in February, GYEDC was already watching the industry.

A February 19 Yuma County Board of Supervisors record summarized the organization's midyear report. LaVann identified four areas of regional development activity: Opportunity Zones 2.0, major infrastructure investments, Foreign Trade Zone #219 and data centers.

The data-center discussion focused on appropriate locations for potential development, particularly the need to protect agricultural land, military operations and community resources.

That tells us GYEDC was paying attention. It doesn't tell us the organization was out looking for data-center companies to bring to Yuma.

By April, the discussion had reached Yuma City Council.

Minutes from the Council's April 1 meeting show officials discussing the enormous electricity demands associated with data centers, possible effects on utility rates and what such developments could mean for the community.

There was also discussion of potential natural-gas infrastructure and the role local governments would play in deciding whether projects moved forward.

The minutes described plans for a seminar, beginning with elected officials and expanding to investor groups and eventually the public.

Nine days later, GYEDC hosted a data-center seminar in Yuma.

According to KAWC's April 10 reporting, elected officials and residents attended, and LaVann acknowledged that companies were interested in Yuma County.

GYEDC also made its position clear: neither the organization nor its board had taken a position supporting or opposing data-center development.

Its stated role was to gather information, share it and coordinate with government partners.

That may sound like economic development work because it is. But there's a difference between understanding what an industry might bring to a community and actively trying to bring that industry there.

The City's agreement adds another piece

One document makes the distinction particularly interesting.

A September 2 outside-agency agreement between the City of Yuma and GYEDC describes the organization's economic development responsibilities.

Those duties include recruiting businesses, marketing Yuma to prospective companies, developers and site selectors, arranging site visits, supplying economic development information and coordinating with utilities and regional partners.

In other words, attracting businesses is part of GYEDC's job.

So why wouldn't data centers fall under that responsibility?

Because a general responsibility to recruit businesses doesn't mean every industry receiving the organization's attention is being actively recruited.

The September agreement doesn't identify data centers as a recruitment target. It doesn't name a data-center developer or establish that GYEDC conducted a campaign to attract one.

It describes what the organization is authorized and expected to do generally, not necessarily what it has done for any particular industry.

That distinction matters when evaluating LaVann's September statement.

What does the evidence actually show?

Put the records in chronological order and a fairly consistent picture develops.

In February, GYEDC was tracking data centers and considering where they might fit without interfering with agriculture, military operations or other community interests.

In April, city officials were discussing the potential consequences of data-center development, including electricity demand and utility costs.

That same month, GYEDC organized an informational seminar, acknowledged interest from companies and said it had not taken a position on whether those developments should proceed.

In September, the organization's agreement with the City outlined its broader business recruitment responsibilities.

Then LaVann publicly stated that GYEDC does not actively recruit or market to data centers.

KYMA published that statement on September 23, although its report did not identify the precise date of the board meeting at which he spoke.

None of those earlier activities necessarily conflicts with what LaVann said.

An informational seminar isn't automatically a sales presentation. Discussing infrastructure doesn't mean a developer has been invited to build. And a company expressing interest in Yuma County doesn't establish that GYEDC sought it out.

Those activities could form part of a recruitment effort, but demonstrating that would require evidence of the effort itself.

The public material reviewed by Yuma Informed does not establish that GYEDC recruited a named data-center company, launched a marketing campaign targeting the industry, entered a site-selection agreement with a developer or offered incentives for a particular project.

That doesn't mean such activity never occurred. It means the reviewed records don't demonstrate it.

Did GYEDC contradict itself?

Based on the available evidence, no clear contradiction has been established.

GYEDC has openly discussed data centers, monitored the industry's interest in Yuma County and helped local officials and residents understand what development might involve.

LaVann's September statement addresses something more specific: whether his organization actively pursues data-center companies through recruitment and marketing.

Both can be true.

There are legitimate questions about what large data centers would mean for Yuma, particularly when it comes to electricity, water, agricultural land and the infrastructure needed to support them. Residents have reason to expect clear answers about those consequences and about the role public agencies play in potential development.

But scrutiny works best when it follows what the evidence actually says.

For now, the public record shows GYEDC keeping an eye on an industry that has expressed interest in Yuma County. It does not establish that the organization has been actively trying to bring that industry here.

Watching someone approach the door isn't the same as inviting them inside.