The Festus City Council tabled a motion Monday night to hire outside counsel to handle a potential recall for several elected officials as well as challenges to a data center development agreement.
At the same meeting, those leading the recall effort told the council they were nearing the end of their petition drive.
Council members on Monday night voted 7-0 to table a vote until May 26 on an ordinance to authorize the mayor to hire the Armstrong Teasdale law firm of Clayton as special counsel for the city.
Mayor Sam Richards did not attend Monday’s meeting; Ward 4 Councilman Michael Cook, the mayor pro tem, presided over it.
Efforts to recall the mayor and three council members stem from efforts to develop a data center in Festus. 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, which is the St. Louis-based data center development arm for Clayco, has estimated the cost of developing the facility at $6 billion.
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.
The council on March 30 voted 6-2 to approve the CRG development agreement, with Councilmembers Staci Templeton and Brian Wehner, both of Ward 2, voting against it.
In the April 7 election, incumbents who had voted in support of the data center development project were unseated by candidates who had opposed the project.
Unseating the incumbents were: Karl Weekley, Ward 1; Allen McCarthy, Ward 2; Dan Moore, Ward 3; and Rick Belleville, Ward 4.
They were sworn in April 13, and Templeton resigned on the same night.
A recall effort had begun and had targeted the mayor, Cook and councilmembers Dave Boyer of Ward 1 and Kevin Dennis of Ward 3.
During the public comment section of Monday’s meeting, several speakers said petitions seeking the recall of the mayor and three councilmen were nearly to the point where they could be submitted to the Jefferson County Clerk’s Office for certification. If certified, it would be a step toward recall elections for all those involved.
“Our city made national news headlines with the way we are setting a precedent on how to fight against the tyranny that is the hyperscale (data center),” said Erica Carter, an opponent of the data center development. “We plan on setting another in the next few weeks. The media needs to get ready for the next storm of a story, because the small town of Festus is clearing the deck and wiping out the other three council members and the disgrace of a mayor.”
Gabe Cotton told the council he has helped with gathering signatures for the recall effort and most residents he has encountered have enthusiastically signed.
“When they find out we are getting recall signatures, they say, ‘Give me that. Where do I sign?’” he said. “Just about everyone in this community is against this hyperscale AI data center.”
Mary Fakes, another data center development opponent, criticized the proposed ordinance for the city to hire outside counsel.
“When an outside firm is hired, I implore the new council (as it stands after the election) to ensure the firm will represent you and the citizens and not Sam (Richards) and (attorney Brian Malone of the city’s law firm Lashley and Baer), who developed this agreement. What exactly was Festus paying Mr. Malone to do if you have to hire outside attorneys to check his work?”
Fakes further stated there is a “termination clause” in the agreement, which should pave the way for the current council to vote it away.
When the meeting progressed to the discussion of the ordinance to hire Armstrong Teasdale, Malone told the council members it would not be an easy matter to do away with the development agreement.
“I know you have heard some comments during this meeting and other meetings that the council could terminate the agreement by simply voting to make a written rejection of the project,” he said. “In this setting, in this context, I would say it is not that simple.
“The reason I am recommending special counsel is not because I have a legal conflict, and I am not planning to recuse myself from these matters. However, I recognize, as the person who is primarily responsible for negotiating the development agreement on the city’s behalf, my advice on these matters may not be seen by the community as entirely objective. That just removes a point of contention from the city.”
He went on to say that if council members do vote against hiring a special counsel, he could represent the city in the recall and development agreement matters.
Belleville suggested tabling the vote on outside counsel until a May 26 work session. The other council members voted to go along with his suggestion.
In other business
The next council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. May 26, moving it to a Tuesday because its normal meeting date would have been on the Memorial Day holiday.
Council members decided to hold a work session starting at 5 p.m. before the May 26 meeting, making the session a half-hour longer than normal because of all the issues they need to discuss, they said.