Mayor Mark Dahlquist on data center, yard sales and more issues facing Pocatello

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – Pocatello swore in its first new mayor in over a decade in January – Mayor Mark Dahlquist. As he approaches six months in office, Dahlquist gave insight into some of the biggest challenges Pocatello is facing today and his plans to improve the city.

From the beginning of his term, the mayor has been focused on city improvements in many areas, including economic development.

"We want our children and grandchildren to keep living here, to have a place where they can have a career and grow their career," Mayor Dahlquist said. "With economic development, there's a lot there we've been focusing on."

He said the city has a larger advisory board with Portneuf Valley Development, including new hire Jamie Gilliam as executive director. The revitalization of Portneuf Valley Development is one of the mayor's most exciting accomplishments in his first months in office.

LA Semiconductor Receivership

On April 10, LA Semiconductor, a major employer in Pocatello, let go the first wave of employees from the company. On May 1, the second round of layoffs ensued, causing 342 total employees to lose their jobs. The layoffs came as a result of a contract dispute between two semiconductor companies, and LA Semiconductor was placed into a receivership in December 2024.

In April, Mayor Dahlquist expressed his support for the viability of the facility, stating that Pocatello stands by to help in any way as the comapny searched for a buyer. Now, he stands by that statement.

"We're not sitting by idle as a city, just watching and waiting to see what the outcome of LA Semiconductor is, that's a really important employer and potential growing employer for Pocatello," Mayor Dahlquist said. "I think some good things are happening now that we're past this receivership process. That's a really important industry and we need to get it up and running."

He added the city is rolling up their sleeves to be a resource for them by guiding them to tax incentives the state offers. He remains optimistic for a good outcome at LA Semiconductor.

The Potential for an AI Data Center

Lex Developments, an Arizona-based company, applied for a conditional use permit from the City of Pocatello to build an AI Data Center at the old Hoku plant. At a public hearing for the issue, hundreds of people showed up to City Hall to voice their opinions against building a center in the city. After being denied the CUP, the developer has appealed the decision, leaving the issue as a pending topic for both residents and the City of Pocatello.

The mayor commented on this as the most important issue to residents during his first half-year in office. Residents have asked to meet with the mayor personally to talk about the consequences and benefits of building an AI data center.

"This issue is not going to go away," Mayor Dahlquist said. "We need to be one of the communities that's proactive and that we address new technologies like data centers in our code. We've got to have code where the city is more in control. The city with citizen input sees where we need to go and where we need to tweak our land use policies."

Currently, the mayor said the land use policy in the city code is vague and fails to address data centers. As this is a new and developing proposal, the city is attempting to stay efficient with updating city code to accomodate new technology.

"The big lesson with this is that this issue won't go away and we need to be proactive, we need to study our land use policy so we're prepared in the future to give this the right look," he said.

Prior to taking office, Mayor Dahlquist thought of AI as a tool the city could potentially use to streamline processes and make work more efficient. He didn't expect for the prospect of a data center to evolve so quickly from an out-of-state developer. Now, the mayor and council are working to be prepared for similar situations in the future to not be caught off guard by new development proposals.

Beautification, Curb Appeal and Yard Sale Restrictions

One of the mayor's main focuses since his campaign is curb appeal for the city of Pocatello. The beautification process remains a top priority for the council members as well.

"We're out there doing the little things that make a difference, I'm really pleased with the green spaces and the areas around town and like parks and things that the city owns that they're really elevating," Mayor Dahlquist said.

He added that community entrances are extremely important and have been underwhelming for years. In particular, the Clark Street interchange is where students and families often come into the community for the first time to reach Idaho State University. Rebranding and making sure the "wow factor" is present right when people enter the city is part of the council's curb appeal planning.

Part of curb appeal means encouraging residents to follow city code. Two weeks ago, the city posted on Facebook about the city code for only hosting two yard sales per year. This post sparked negative comments online, with residents claiming yard sales are extremely important to the community.

It's important to make clear this is not a new city code restriction; the yard sale limitations have been in place since the 1980's, however, drawing attention to them during the summer season caused controversy.

"We're definitely not against free enterprise," Mayor Dahlquist confirmed. "But sometimes, when there's these ongoing garage sales and you live next door and there's traffic and people and clutter in the yard...I think we were trying to address it from that perspective that sometimes we just need to be courteous of our neighbors."

Mayor Dahlquist added that when residents are aware of city code, there is an over 90% compliance rate, so they are not concerned about rule enforcement.

"We're not in the mode right now where we're going to drive around and take addressed and count your yard sales," he said. "We just are hoping for some self compliance there for reasons that it does affect your neighborhood, sometimes negatively."

Budgeting and Money Priorities

Mayor Dahlquist brought up the budgeting process, which the council is nearing the end of, and the difficult decisions the city is making. He said the city has had to be very strategic and tight with their budget cuts and setting money aside for separate projects.

"I think we need to take a strategic look at the services we're offering, and rather than going line by line, I'm excited that there's the wherewithal right now where we can look at some systemic changes with the city," he said. "For example, is there a service out there that's maybe not efficient and is a real money drainer for the city? I think we have to take a tough look at those and decide if that's the way we're going to go forward."

The City of Pocatello has several "big city services," meaning things like the library, zoo, transit systems and the functioning airport. For a smaller city like Pocatello, these services are heavily funded for a larger community, and the Gate City runs on a "small city budget." Because of that inconsistency, the Mayor is interested in carefully examining each service offered for budgeting purposes.

He said the residential input is crucial in making city decisions. "We've talked about some surveying by an outside company to get accurate data where we look at these services against the cost so that we've got the public involved to help us determine the best way forward," Mayor Dahlquist said.

The Mayor called these "tough decisions" for his next six months in office, however they take priority.

Keeping Pocatello Green and Healthy

The mayor emphasized that Pocatello is a green community and a place people enjoy living because of the outdoor recreation.

"We are a mountain community, we're blessed with great terrain around us," Mayor Dahlquist said. "We can get dragged down by the negativity sometimes, but I'm feeling more of a sense of optimism."

The City has adopted the Parks and Recreation Open Space Trails Plan in further efforts to maintain the recreational feeling of Pocatello.

"The quality of life is really important, open space and recreation, that's what makes our community so great, the parks and open spaces," he said. "Moving forward, we know that's really important for members of the community to retain that good quality of life that Pocatello has."

He added that he believes the city is on a good trajectory to balance the quality of life with the growth and sustainably job market to keep new graduates in town.