Festus City Councilwoman Staci Templeton has resigned from her Ward 2 seat.
Templeton’s resignation followed the Monday, April 13, meeting, which she attended. She had been a councilwoman for the last five years.
“I leave this seat with my belief in the importance of public service completely undiminished and my integrity intact,” she said in a statement today, April 15. “I hope the community will support the leaders who show up to serve it and will make it possible for them to do so.”
City leaders have been embroiled in a controversy over a proposed data center development project since it became known to the public in the fall of 2025. When the council approved an agreement for the project with developer CRG of St. Louis, Templeton was one of the two “no” votes in a 6-2 council vote to approve it.
Mayor Sam Richards said Templeton notified him at the end of last week of her intentions.
“Yes, she resigned,” Richards said today. “She told me Friday.”
He said she told him she was resigning for personal, family reasons.
Richards said the city is seeking applicants to fill Templeton’s unexpired term.
“I’ll recommend someone to the council and that has to be approved,” he said.
An election for the Ward 2 seat will be held in April 2027.
Templeton was elected to the council in 2021, and she was reelected in 2023 and 2025.
Festus council members serve two-year terms and are paid $500 per month.
Templeton’s resignation came days after Festus voters ousted four incumbent council members.
Jim Collier of Ward 1, Brian Wehner of Ward 2, Bobby Venz of Ward 3 and Jim Tinnin of Ward 4; all lost bids for reelection on April 7. Wehner also voted against the data center development agreement.
Karl Weekley won the Ward 1 seat with 209 votes (64.31 percent) to Collier’s 112 votes (34.46 percent).
Allen Joseph McCarthy won a three-way race for the Ward 2 seat with 312 votes (69.96 percent). Wehner received 90 votes (20.18 percent), and Matt Stout received 36 votes (8.07 percent).
Dan Moore won a four-way race for the Ward 3 seat with 273 votes (49.91 percent). Jesse Cordova received 151 votes (27.61 percent); Venz received 96 votes (17.55 percent); and Tim Bennett Jr. received 25 votes (4.57 percent).
Rick Belleville won a four-way race for the Ward 4 seat with 527 votes (65.38 percent). Tinnin received 158 votes (19.6 percent); Charles Underwood received 104 votes (12.9 percent); and Luke Adams received 14 votes (1.74 percent).