Benjamin DeClue, who was recently hired as the new Festus city administrator, said he comes into the job willing to follow the guidance of elected officials concerning the proposed data center development project in town.
DeClue, currently village administrator for New Baden, Ill., will take over as Festus city administrator June 28. DeClue, 44, grew up in Crystal City and said he looks forward to working in the area where he grew up.
“It’s the opportunity to go home again and reconnect with the people in the places of my past and make that my future,” he said May 1. “I think that’s an exciting thing, and I can’t wait to reengage with the civic institutions and organizations and the community. I intend on rejoining Rotary and being a regular face in the community and appreciate getting to come home. It’s a very special thing, and I intend to make it the last stop in my career.”
Festus City Council members on April 30 voted 7-0 to hire DeClue, currently the village administrator for New Baden, Ill. According to the agreement, he will have a salary of $160,000, as well as a yearly vehicle allowance of $4,800. His current salary at New Baden is $85,000, with no vehicle allowance.
DeClue takes over at Festus during a time of controversy over a proposed data center development project.
CRG of St. Louis announced in late 2025 its plan to develop a data center on 361 acres north of Hwy. 67 and west of Hwy. CC in town. The announcement soon became a source of conflict in Festus, with a significant number of individuals and groups speaking out against the project, while others have come out for it.
CRG, the data center development arm for Clayco, will develop the property, and then a data center company will operate it, although no operator has yet been identified. Clayco is the same company that in August 2025 withdrew its plans to develop a 440-acre data center in St. Charles.
Opponents of the Festus data center project led a successful effort to unseat four incumbent members of the council during the April 7 election, electing four newcomers who all came out against the data center development project. The week after the election, Ward 2 Councilwoman Staci Templeton vacated her seat, and a recall effort that started before the election for the other three council members, as well as the mayor, has continued.
In addition, opponents of the data center development project have filed lawsuits seeking to stop it.
DeClue said it will be his job to follow the lead of the elected municipal leaders regarding the data center as well as any other issues.
“Generally, staff is somewhat divorced from political issues,” he said. “It’s my job to carry out the orders of the mayor and the City Council on the data center. I work at the behest of the council.”
He said he wants to communicate with the residents and he is an advocate of transparency in government.
“It’s my job to talk to and listen to everybody in the community,” DeClue said.
The search to replace former City Administrator Greg Camp, who left the position Feb. 20, started in January and generated 34 applicants, with the prior City Council whittling down that number to five candidates to be interviewed.
Mayor Sam Richards, on the advice of the city attorney, held off the final interviews until the April 7 election so any new council members could take part in the interviews. Those interviews took place the week of April 20, after the new members took their seats April 13.
In a May 1 interview, Ward 4 Councilman Michael Cook, an existing council member, said DeClue impressed him with his interview, which was among the factors why he thought DeClue was the right choice.
“He had a very strong interview,” Cook said. “He emphasized communications among the city government and employees to the residents. He had several good ideas on how to do updates on city projects and developments.
“The combination of his past experience along with his interview and ties to the community got my vote.”
At the April 30 meeting, newly elected Ward 4 Councilman Richard Belleville told the audience he and the other new council members believed it was time to choose a new city administrator as soon as possible.
Michael Christopher, the public works director, has served as interim city administrator along with his existing job since Camp’s departure.
DeClue glad to return to Twin City area to work
In a May 1 phone interview, DeClue said he looks forward to returning to the Twin City area.
He grew up in Crystal City and was on the Crystal City Council from 2005-2009, as well as served stints as an administrative intern in Crystal City and Festus.
“I’m excited to reconnect with the people where I grew up,” he said. “I’m beyond excited.”
He and his wife, Sandy Shore, live in St. Louis. As part of DeClue’s employment agreement with Festus, the council agreed to waive a municipal residency requirement for the city administrator position so the couple could stay in their current home and not affect her commute to work.
“My wife is airport director for St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia Heights (Ill.),” he said.
DeClue, who has been the New Baden village administrator since December 2025, has worked in government administration at several other spots over the years, including stints as interim city administrator both at Lebanon (Mo.) and at the city of Ozark, as well as city administrator at Glendale.
He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a master’s degree in public administration from Lindenwood University in St. Charles.
The Crystal City High School graduate said he has relatives and friends living in the Twin City area.
“Having grown up in the Twin Cities, I wanted to be in Jefferson County,” DeClue said. “I have very deep roots, just a deep passion for the community. I still have family in the area.”