Half of the faces were new as four newly elected members of Festus City Council took their places on the dais Monday. But the battle lines were old and clearly drawn as the newly sworn-in councilmen and the incumbents sought to name a mayor pro tem.
Sworn in Monday night were newly elected council members Karl Weekley of Ward 1, Allen McCarthy of Ward 2, Dan Moore of Ward 3 and Rick Belleville of Ward 4.
Joining them on the dais were existing council members Dave Boyer of Ward 1, Staci Templeton of Ward 2, Kevin Dennis of Ward 3 and Mike Cook of Ward 4, along with Mayor Sam Richards.
The four members who were elected April 7 campaigned against a data center development in town, while the four existing council members had supported it.
CRG of St. Louis announced in late 2025 its plan to develop a hyperscale data center on 361 acres north of Hwy. 67 and west of Hwy. CC in Festus. CRG has estimated the cost of developing the facility at $6 billion.
Templeton voted against an agreement with CRG at a City Council special meeting March 30, with the overall council approving it 6-2. But she had previously voted with the rest of the council on data center issues, such as annexations and rezoning.
Among the first items of business for the council Monday night was to elect a mayor pro tem who would preside over council meetings or workshops when the mayor was not present.
Moore nominated Belleville for mayor pro tem, while Boyer nominated Cook for the position.
The council voted 4-4 on Belleville’s nomination, with Mayor Sam Richards breaking the tie by voting “no” on the nomination. The council voted 4-4 on Cook’s nomination; Richards again broke the tie, but this time voted “yes.”
In interviews after the April 7 election, Richards and a couple of the new council members acknowledged there would be an adjustment period for the council.
“The incumbents were defeated, as everybody knows, and, unfortunately, that’s a lot of experience no longer on the council, and we have four new councilmen who are new to being councilmen,” Richards said. “So, it kind of changes the makeup of the council. I want to work with these new people and keep things going in the right direction.
“I’m going to have to figure out (a way to work together) because, in order to get things done, the council has to vote on stuff. We’ll see. It’s going to be a long process, I’m sure.”
In the days following the election, Belleville and Moore said they intended to continue to pursue ways to rescind the agreement with CRG.
“They have what’s called a framework agreement,” Belleville said. “The framework agreement is some sort of agreement with revenue numbers. There has not been one plan submitted to the council or to the public for review. There has not been one hearing – just like MoDOT does with a road review, where they have drawings and people can go view them. That has not happened. There has not been any kind of reply – you can’t have a reply to concerns for a development that has not submitted a plan.”
Moore said he believes the council can stop the project.
“It is not set in stone, no matter what,” Moore said. “There are things written into this agreement where a new council can come in and reverse or cancel the agreement. There are a few different avenues we can go here. We do plan on doing that.
“We’re not going to leave any stone unturned here, and we’re going to hopefully find a way forward here – and, working with others, too – as well as on the council, to stop this,” Moore said.
Asked if the election results made him view the data center development project any differently, Richards simply said, “No.”
Council members voted unanimously later in the meeting Monday on such matters as approving festival event requests and the issuance of liquor licenses.
Testy tone remains
The aggression toward the mayor and council members who have supported the data center development project continued during Monday’s public comments section of the meeting.
Of 12 citizens who spoke, 10 were against the data center project, one was in favor of it and one spoke on a completely different issue.
Most of the data center opponents congratulated the new council members for their election wins and went on to criticize the mayor and existing council members for their parts in moving the project along.
A recurring theme of speakers was that those officeholders not involved in the April 7 election are now the targets of recall election petitions.
“The election was a vote not only against the four defeated council members, but it was also an indictment against the four remaining council members,” said Mary Fakes of Festus. “And you, sir (speaking to Richards), this is not over, and we’re continuing to obtain signatures to recall the remaining seated gang of nine and start with a truly clean slate.”
Clayton Kaimann of De Soto said he used to live in Ferguson, where residents have “been fighting a similar battle for decades” over environmental issues.
“I’m curious, do you really still think that the majority of Festus residents want a data center after the results of last week’s election?” Kaimann asked. “Are you still trying to peddle that lie to us? It should be very clear to you that we have the numbers to vote all of you out.”
Wake Up Jeffco files lawsuit
Wake Up Jeffco and several property owners who live near a proposed data center development in Festus filed a lawsuit April 8 aimed at stopping the project.
Attorney Steve Jeffery filed the suit of Wake Up Jeffco LLC, Sherman Doyle, Vernon Valish, Sharon Valish and Rozilyn Daniels v. City of Festus, Missouri and CRG Acquisition LLC in St. Louis County Circuit Court. The individuals listed as plaintiffs with Wake Up Jeffco are property owners who live on Glenkee Court near the project site.
Jeffery said it is not too late to stop the project despite the Festus City Council on March 30 having voted to approve an infrastructure development agreement with CRG.
He said any payments to the city from CRG referred to in the agreement do not kick in for years, and he said a court ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could end the project.
“It appears to me there is a five-year window to stop the project,” Jeffery said.
Because the city and CRG are the defendants, he said, he could have filed the suit in Jefferson County or St. Louis County but chose St. Louis County because it is “more practical” for him.
He said the filing of the lawsuit, along with four data center opponents winning election to the Festus City Council over four incumbents in the April 7 election, made it a good week for data center opponents.
“We feel very energized,” Jeffery said.
Brian Malone of Lashly and Baer, the city’s law firm, issued the following written statement on behalf of Festus after the lawsuit was filed.
“I reviewed the petition yesterday,” Malone said. “The city of Festus took all steps required by law to enact regulations applicable to data centers, to annex property, to rezone property to I-1, and to approve a development agreement, including publication of all required notices and after all required public hearings. The city will file its response to the petition in court in due course.”
John S. Kingston, an attorney representing CRG, submitted a written statement on behalf of the company.
“CRG is aware of the lawsuit that has been filed and believes it is without merit,” he said. “Over the past several months, CRG has engaged extensively with the Festus community regarding this potential project, including meetings with citizens, elected officials, local leaders, labor representatives, business owners and other stakeholders. CRG has prioritized transparency and dialogue throughout this process, including answering questions from both public officials and residents in Festus.
“As CRG continues working to advance discussions with the city, including site plan submission, permitting and fulfilling its obligations under the terms of the development agreement, it remains committed to a transparent process that incorporates ongoing input from Festus residents. CRG does not intend to let this litigation distract from productive conversations or from the continued progress of a project that will have lasting benefits for the entire Festus community.”
During a press conference April 9 in front of Jeffery’s office building in Chesterfield, Jeffery said the plaintiffs have three primary goals, which are to: invalidate the Festus City Council’s vote on Nov. 27, 2025, to rezone seven parcels of property intended to be part of the data center development project to I-1 (industrial); restore those rezoned properties to their prior zoning designations of R-1 (residential) or N-1 (non-urban); and to invalidate the recent Festus City Council decision to approve an infrastructure development agreement in a 6-2 vote of the council.
Jeffery’s filing, among other points, refers to city officials’ emails released in December through Sunshine Law requests made by citizens. Some of the emails generated by the city indicate that closed-door meetings were set up between council members and other city officials and CRG representatives, but only a minority of council members were present at those meetings to avoid forming a quorum, thus keeping the meetings private.
Jeffery’s filing includes the following counts, which assert:
■ The city’s rezoning of the seven parcels intended to be part of the data center development project was “unlawful spot zoning.”
■ The rezoning was unlawful under state statutes.
■ The city violated its own municipal codes regarding public meetings with CRG concerning the data center development project.
■ The city violated the Missouri Open Records Law regarding public meetings with CRG concerning the data center development project.
■ The city failed to post proper notice of its March 30 special meeting under state statutes.
■ The city failed to properly publish public notice of its Nov. 24, 2025, meeting, which had the rezoning of the parcels intended to be part of the data center development project on the agenda.
■ The city’s decision to approve the “Infrastructure Development Agreement” on March 30 was unconstitutional.
■ There was collusion between CRG and the city. This count says that when CRG first contacted the city on or about Aug. 4, 2025, CRG knew or reasonably should have known the city and city officials were required to comply with the provisions in the Missouri Open Records Law.
■ The actions of CRG and the city constitute a civil conspiracy.
■The city lacks the authority to ban public comments in a special meeting. This count refers to the March 30 special meeting, when the City Council, at the start of the meeting, approved a motion to allow for public comments for two hours, which did not allow for all those citizens who registered to speak to get to the podium before the time limit elapsed.
■ The City Council’s approval of the Infrastructure Development Agreement is “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and unlawful.”
■ Festus officials violated city codes by not investigating more than 300 complaints regarding the data center development project alleging that a data center’s use of the property will or is likely to create or otherwise produce “dangerous, injurious and noxious hazards or conditions.”
In addition to asking the court to invalidate the city’s rezoning of the parcels intended to be part of the data center development project and to invalidate the Infrastructure Development Agreement, the suit asks the court to impose a fine of $5,000 on the city for every one of its actions found to be in violation of the Missouri Open Records Law, among other requests.
Court records indicate no hearings or trials on the suit have been scheduled, but the case has been assigned to Judge Ellen W. Dunne.
CRG is the St. Louis-based data center development arm for Clayco. In the Festus project, CRG would develop the property, and then a data center company would operate it, although no operator has yet been identified.
Click to see previous coverage on the Festus data center development.