Festus city leaders and other community stakeholders were asked Monday what sort of incentives they would like to see a potential data center developer offer.
Steve Etcher of MarksNelson Advisors, a consultant the council hired Feb. 26 during a special meeting, told the roundtable his goal was to help them understand the incentive opportunities that could exist.
The council hired the consultant to help negotiate potential incentives for a proposed data center development with CRG, a St. Louis-based data center development arm for Clayco. No operator for such a data center has yet been identified.
But the city announced Feb. 25 that CRG, through its attorneys, was ready to begin negotiations on a proposed data center project on property north of Hwy. 67 and west of Hwy. CC.
Monday’s work session brought together Festus Mayor Sam Richards and several council members with representatives of the Festus R-6 School District, Jefferson College, Jefferson County government and the Joachim-Plattin Ambulance District.
More than 20 participated in the roundtable at Four O Six, a city-owned rental space at 406 W. Main St., next door to the Festus Public Library. A crowd of about 70 attended the event.
After Richards introduced him, Etcher described his background and what he does in such negotiations.
“My role (as consultant) is to help communities develop and implement their economic strategies,” he said. “My entire career really has been spent helping rural communities find prosperity, and I’ve done that throughout my 37-year professional career, and I’m looking forward to helping the city of Festus achieve its goals in terms of economic opportunities as well.
“My role with your community tonight is to help you understand the incentive opportunity of the frameworks that are out there currently under state statute.”
“My goal is to help you as a community reach an agreement that provides the greatest benefit possible,” Etcher said.
To that end, he directed the session participants to go to their people, discuss what they want and submit the information to him.
“So, first of all, I think as we go into this conversation tonight, one of the things I want you to begin contemplating in your mind is what is most important to your community when you think about the types of investments coming to your community and can’t come to your community,” he said. “What is it that drives those decisions for you? Is it that you want new jobs? Do you want more Cap-Ex (capital expenditures)? You want high wages? You need property tax revenue? Do you want sales tax generation? Do you want to make sure there are community services and community benefits for our community residents?”
After the work session, Etcher said he thought it went well. “I think it’s good to have this discussion out in the open,” he said.
Richards agreed.
“I thought it turned out to be a productive meeting,” he said. “It’s the first step (in the negotiations process). Next, we go get our proposal to (MarksNelson). They’ll give it to CRG. CRG will respond.”
Festus Ward 4 Councilman Mike Cook spoke of provisions he would like to see in an agreement with CRG.
“I want lower water rates, lower city tax rates,” Cook said. “I want a community improvement grant that helps entities that want to help the homeless – nonprofits, like food pantries – and for our residents that need help with emergency assistance or with improvements to their homes.”
Audience feedback
Members of the audience Monday night included data center opponents, who said they were not impressed with what they witnessed.
“It was a puppet show,” said Erica Carter of Festus. She has circulated a petition calling for a public vote on data centers and presented it to the council Feb. 9. “The public didn’t learn anything.”
City officials have said the city doesn’t have the ability to put a referendum on the ballot under state statutes.
“I’m not aware of other cities having public votes (on data centers),” Brian Malone, the city attorney, said after the work session. “It’s just not something that would go to a public vote.”
Judy Ivery of Festus said nothing she heard changed her mind about the proposed data center and she does not like the way city officials have gone about moving the CRG project forward.
“Basically, I’m opposed to this whole project because of the way they’ve gone about it,” Ivery said. “I’ve read the Sunshine documents (of emails from city officials and CRG personnel). The attitude of the council comes through very well in the documents.”
In December 2025, Sunshine Law requests from an unidentified group of Festus-area residents produced emails between city officials and CRG which revealed city officials knew about a potential data center project in August, if not earlier, but the topic didn’t become public until October. The emails also indicated the data center developer offered city officials input regarding the regulations the City Council approved on Oct. 27 that would govern any potential data centers developed in Festus.
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.
City leaders responded that discussions with developer CRG involved “hypotheticals” and no concrete plans had been submitted prior to the City Council approving regulations for data centers, annexing the property targeted for a data center and rezoning the property targeted for use as a data center.
Festus police officers conduct security screenings as people arrive to the meeting.
Security increased due to threats
Attendees at Monday’s work session were required to go through a checkpoint as they entered Four O Six. Festus Police used metal detector wands on those entering the work session space.
Richards said he ordered the use of metal detectors after city officials received threats and recent council meetings had become volatile.
He said the metal detector wands will continue to be used at city meetings or work sessions if there continue to be perceived threats.
Consultant hired at Feb. 26 special meeting
The Festus City Council voted 7-0 in a special meeting Feb. 26 to hire MarksNelson Advisors of Overland Park, Kan. Councilman Jim Collier of Ward 1 did not attend the meeting.
In the consulting agreement, the city agreed to pay MarksNelson a $20,000 minimum engagement (for up to 50 hours of consulting), with additional hours billed at $400 per hour, with pre-authorization. Other fees are listed based on the success of the project.
Michael Christopher, the Festus public works director who is also serving as interim city manager, said there was no bidding process for the economic development consulting services because Steve Etcher of MarksNelson has consulted on several data center development agreements and is considered a sole provider of the service.
Christopher said Festus officials first met with Etcher Dec. 4, 2025, about potentially hiring the company for its consulting services.
An hour before the special meeting, about 80 data center opponents began protesting the data center project along West Main Street. The opponents, which included a woman dressed as the Lorax, a Dr. Seuss character that protects nature, lined West Main Street in front of City Hall with “No Data Center” signs. The woman declined to be identified.
Mary Fakes of Festus said she objects to the way Festus officials have moved the project along, as well as the way she said they have handled dissenters.
“This is the essence of tyranny. When elected officials fail to listen to their constituents, this becomes a dictatorship, not a public government,” Fakes said. “Their meeting tonight (Feb. 26) is just to check a box. They knew about the CRG deal two weeks ago.”
Another Festus resident, Deanne Hartsell, also criticized city officials for what she said has been a lack of transparency.
“We still have hopes (the data center) is not coming about,” Hartsell said. “It was all kept under the table. People did not know about it.”