Festus Council Meeting Draws Hours of Public Comment as Data Center Fight, Recall Questions, and City Projects Take Center Stage

Residents pressed city leaders over the proposed data center, recall petitions, meeting decorum rules, downtown improvements, and several major city projects.

By The Jefferson Review

The Festus City Council meeting stretched into a wide-ranging and often emotional session Tuesday night as residents again packed City Hall to speak about the proposed hyperscale data center, the ongoing recall effort, public meeting rules, city legal representation, infrastructure projects, and the vacant Ward Two council seat.

The meeting opened with approval of the consent agenda and bills totaling $477,740.33, but the heart of the night came during the public comment portion, where residents continued to challenge city leadership over the proposed data center project and the recall petitions filed against Mayor Sam Richards and several council members.

Several speakers pushed back strongly against recent public statements questioning the recall effort, particularly suggestions that outside funding, software, or foreign entities may have been involved. Residents repeatedly described the effort as local, volunteer-driven, and carried out by Festus citizens going door to door, standing at polling places, and gathering signatures by hand.

Christy Stites opened public comment by raising concerns about traffic safety and stop signs near County Road CC and Gamble Cemetery Road before turning to the data center issue and the recall. She said residents opposed to the project were not “bots,” but everyday citizens worried about utility costs, lights, noise, vibration, water use, and property values.

Mary Fakes also challenged the idea that the recall effort was outside-funded, saying residents paid for their own gas, paper, pens, and printer ink. She said the recall was accepted by the Jefferson County Clerk and described the petition effort as a citizen-led response to the data center issue.

Erica Carter, another resident involved in the recall effort, said the group collecting signatures did not have outside help and joked that the effort relied on “Jeffco Intelligence,” not artificial intelligence. She said residents had organized themselves, spent time away from work and family, and paid for small expenses out of pocket.

Data Center Fight Remains at the Center of Public Comment

The proposed data center remained the dominant issue throughout the evening. Speakers raised concerns about energy demand, water use, environmental impacts, diesel generators, noise pollution, light pollution, construction dust, property values, and whether the project fits the character of nearby residential areas.

Andrew Smucker argued that the data center debate is about more than local land use, framing it as a question of constitutional values and whether residents have a meaningful voice in major decisions affecting their community. Other speakers said the project had turned residents who were not previously political into organized citizens determined to protect their neighborhoods.

Festus Main Street Project Offers a Positive Moment

While much of the evening centered on conflict over the data center and recall effort, Tom Vogel, president of the Festus Main Street Association, shifted the room’s attention toward a downtown improvement project he said could benefit businesses, tourism, and public safety.

Vogel presented plans for string lights over Main Street, describing the project as a way to encourage more evening shopping, help businesses stay open later, make the area more inviting, and create a downtown atmosphere that people would want to photograph and share. He told council that Festus Tourism had agreed to fully fund the first phase of the project, estimated at $18,750 for about 1,000 feet of lights.

Vogel said he had already worked with J Co Holiday Lighting LLC, a Festus-based company, and that the company had hired an engineering firm to design and install the anchors on buildings. He told council the lights would be placed more than 20 feet above the street and that Festus Main Street Association would handle maintenance. The estimated annual power cost, he said, would be about $252 because the project would use LED lights.

He also said he had spoken with building owners along Main Street and had not received a single objection. Owners were being asked to sign agreements allowing anchors to be placed on their buildings for the lights.

The presentation gave the meeting one of its few broadly positive moments, with Vogel laying out a privately organized, tourism-backed project aimed at strengthening downtown Festus. If approved, the lights would add another visual draw to Main Street and support the larger effort to make the city’s historic downtown a more active destination after dark.

Ward Two Vacancy and Decorum Rules Draw Scrutiny

Laura Harris questioned why the vacant Ward Two council seat had not been placed on the agenda and asked why meetings could not be moved to a larger venue, such as the high school, given the crowds attending recent meetings. She also raised concerns about whether city tax dollars could be used in connection with the recall fight.

Mary Yeomans, who lives in Ward Two, publicly announced that she had emailed the mayor and council members asking to be considered for the vacant seat. She said Ward Two residents deserve full representation and urged the city to move forward with the appointment process.

Public speakers also focused heavily on proposed changes to the city’s rules of decorum. Several residents said the proposed language was too broad and could restrict protected speech. Concerns centered on provisions dealing with repetitive comments, loud speech, irrelevant comments, limits on speakers addressing the same topic, and the current deadline residents must meet to speak on non-agenda items.

Matt Rahn said the city should preserve order at meetings but warned that broad language could be used to limit criticism of elected officials. He said residents discussing the same issue should not be treated as a disruption, but as a sign that the issue matters to the community.

Later in the meeting, council voted to table Resolution 4878.5, which would have amended the rules of decorum and the city’s request-to-speak form. The issue is expected to return at a future meeting.

Special Counsel Approved After Recall Language Removed

The council did move forward with hiring special counsel, but only after narrowing the scope of the engagement. Bill 4878 originally would have allowed Armstrong Teasdale LLP to advise the city on recall petitions and the city’s rights, responsibilities, and risks under the development agreement with CRG related to the data center.

City Attorney Brian Malone told council he did not have a legal conflict, but said his advice could be questioned because he had been primarily responsible for negotiating the development agreement with CRG. Councilman Belvo moved to amend the ordinance so the special counsel would only address the development agreement and related issues, removing recall petition assistance from the engagement.

That amendment passed, and the council later approved Bill 4878 as amended. Malone also clarified that a separate attorney from Stinson was not representing the city, but was representing individual officials subject to recall petitions.

Zoning, Infrastructure, and Street Work

Council also handled several development and zoning matters. Bill 4879 rezoned two undeveloped parcels from I-1 industrial to R-1 single-family residential, with the proposed development expected to include ten single-family home parcels. The bill passed with Councilman Boyer voting no.

Bill 4880 approved an updated planned unit development overlay for 1381 Shapiro to include hotel and restaurant uses. City staff said the property is part of the Festus Commerce Business Center and that the change would give the owner more flexibility for future development. The bill passed unanimously.

Bill 4881 approved a minor subdivision of a parcel at 2000 Pounds Road, splitting the property for future development. Staff said an engineered retaining wall separates the lots and that the applicant requested utility easements not be placed near the wall. The bill also passed.

Infrastructure spending also drew discussion. Council approved a $99,900 proposal from Burns & McDonnell to design 2026 water main improvements in three areas of the city. Staff said the work involves sections requiring horizontal drilling, which city crews do not perform in-house.

A larger street improvement project was tabled after discussion over the recommended contractor. Staff recommended Spencer Contracting for the 2026 street improvements project, citing past problems with Joker’s Paving on previous city work, including delays, complaints, traffic-control issues, tack material on roads and vehicles, and closeout paperwork problems. After a representative of Joker’s Paving asked for a chance to respond, council tabled the asphalt overlay project until the June 8 meeting so city staff and the company could meet and provide more information.

Red Barn Phase Two Raises Cost and Funding Questions

Council also heard a presentation on the Red Barn Phase Two project and a proposed new parks building. Representatives from Navigate Building Solutions and Bond Architects outlined plans to continue improvements at the historic Red Barn, repurpose the nearby annex building into a hospitality and event space, and replace the existing parks office and shop with a new approximately 6,000-square-foot pre-engineered metal building.

The estimated project cost has increased to about $4.7 million, with stormwater detention, foundation work, and expanded project details contributing to the higher number. Council members asked questions about heating and cooling, possible value engineering, stormwater options, salvage of demolished materials, and funding sources.

Other City Business

The council also considered other city business. A citizen appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission resulted in a divided vote, with Mayor Richards breaking a tie in favor of appointing Jim Tennant. A fireworks sales license application for Jake’s Fireworks was tabled because of safety and location questions tied to a prior incident at the proposed site. Council approved a temporary liquor license for Tanglefoot Dance Hall, contingent on state approval.

Near the end of the meeting, council members raised additional local concerns, including the delayed splash pad opening, the importance of the countywide transportation sales tax, the location of fireworks tents, and truck traffic on Gamble Cemetery Road and Pounds Road.

Councilman Belleville asked city staff to research what could be done to limit large semi-truck traffic on certain roads, saying the roads are not built for that level of commercial traffic and that children, pedestrians, bicyclists, and residents are being placed in unsafe conditions.

The meeting closed after nearly three hours, reflecting the intensity of a city government still working through the fallout from the data center proposal, a historic recall effort, and a growing public demand for transparency, accountability, and a larger role in decisions shaping Festus’ future.