I'd like to call this meeting of Festus City Council to order
Roll call, please. Councilman Boyer. Here. Councilman Dennis? Here. Councilman Cook here. Councilman Weakley? Here. Councilman McCarthy? Here. Councilman Moore? Here. Councilman Belleville? Here. Mayor Richards? Here. We do have a quorum, Pledge of Allegiance
One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
Big off
No part of this
I will entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda.
Tonight's bills total $1,912,
645 dollars and 60 cents so moved
Motion's been made
And seconded roll call, please. Councilman Cook. Yes. Councilman Dennis? Yes. Councilman McCarthy? Yes. Councilman Boyer? Yes. Councilman Weakley? Yes. Councilman Belleville? Yes. Councilman Moore? Yes.
Motion carries.
Correspondence
None, sir.
We have no correspondence
Okay. Remarks of visitors. Jordan Compton.
Hiya
My name is Jordan Compton. I live in Bailey Station at 1863 Iron Mountain Road. I'm here to support the proposed one-year moratorium
I think we need time to run a realistic cost benefit analysis and have it presented to us, and
Have it accepted or rejected by this community. The current agreement that we have now, it feels purposely rushed
Against the will of our community. I don't know why
what would compel someone to act this way
It said that there's two types of motivation. The first is extrinsic
These are outside forces like being recognized or money.
I think if we were told this deal would make everyone, all the citizens and Festus filthy rich, there'd be a lot less opposition, right?
That's not the case.
The other type of motivation is intrinsic, something that makes you feel good. You do something because you believe in it.
Maybe your belief is
And driving the AI advancement or you want to do your help, do your part to help America win the AI race against China
I'm here to say that this isn't a race. It's a gold rush.
These AI companies, they're rushing IPOs to secure government funded contracts and build out this infrastructure while their evaluations are high. They want to just maximize on these deals, right?
They stand to gain enormous profits while we subsidize our land, energy, and natural resources.
The United States is currently spending and investing up to 23 times what China does currently, but our top tier models are only outperforming them by about 3%.
So we're sacrificing this efficiency for speed.
Okay, eventually this rush is going to be over. We don't know. It could be 5 years, 10 years sooner.
We don't know. Eventually it will end. There will be no longer this high demand for hyperscale data centers
Which means the sizable tax revenue we receive from
Taxing this massive amount of electricity, it will dry up the billion dollar hardware that's counted as personal property, which is being abated. It's about 80% of the worth of the project
All these chips and servers used to train the AI will be decommissioned around the time our personal property abatement ends. It'll start to take effect and be replaced. These hyperscale servers
Hardware will be replaced with low end storage servers for long term
storage
When the data center is downgraded, AI and AI is finally rolled out into everything we do in all of our lives
Are we going to get a discounted subscription? Like we gave to these companies?
I think we're just selling out way too cheap
Just some quick math on the 10 years that this project is projected. I think it's
Similar to what's online. 90 million for… this is over 10 years. 90 million in electricity, about 80 million in real property tax, and the 40 million, payout over 10 years
That equals $210 million. $21 million a year, which is sizable. I'm not counting the $5 million firehouse. I think that's a cost. This $6 billion project that has all this electricity and they require special fire plans
They don't put out fires with water. They put it out with special gas and other things. They should be provided that
I'm not including the personal property tax because like I said, the first five years, there's not even it's totally abated. The following 10 years after that, it's 95%. These servers only last about three years.
Before they're decommissioned.
So depending how they play with that, they could easily game us and be paying on nothing right
Is that my time? 20 seconds? Yes.
I said about half of what I wanted to say. I have some other hard figures and math just projecting the energy costs for
not just us, but our neighbors.
I think it just doesn't add up to what we're getting out of this deal. We need to take the time and reevaluate. Thank you very much.
Margaret Sago
We live at 2179 Buck Creek Road in Festus, Missouri. I also am the property owner of 2159 Buck Creek Road.
This subdivision that we have been discussing about putting in, I have a lot of concerns and things. I'm going to let her kind of
kind of read off some of this. My reading and staying smooth is a little difficult.
I've lived there for over 30 years
My whole life I've spent on Buck Creek Road. I'm 64 years old.
And I just feel that we need to look at Buck Creek Road as what it is. It's a small
Country Road that has going to be overwhelmed with the traffic.
Okay, I feel that the entrance and exit to Buck Creek Road off pounds was made 30 years ago when there were just a few cars and trucks that used it. And there are blind spots. When pulling out from Buck Creek Road
Bunta Pounds road is not good. Only two cars can sit at light and cars from Buck Creek Road cannot pull out safely.
People pulling out are way too close to Highway A, and it is just too close for a lot of cars and trucks. You do not see them until it is too late. The city of Festus does not provide any police protection in this area now, and putting 200 more cars and trucks on this area
That is already a dangerous road is going to be bad, creating a big problem, very unsafe. The traffic coming to Buck Creek Road off of Pounds Road has gotten very dangerous with all the growth coming onto Buck Creek Road, which has put this area in a very bad way.
The city of Festus does not help with the traffic and with this new development, they do not seem to care what it's going to do to the residents on this road and the burden keeps being put on the county to patrol. We have been told numerous on numerous occasions they are very overwhelmed and understaffed with what they have going on now and are spread way too thin
The city of Festus has annexed this land and will not accept the traffic on Buck Creek Road and put it back onto the county to patrol the area, not the city of Festus. How can this be to annex the property and no one willing to patrol the area to keep those who live there safe
This is going to be an ongoing problem, bringing more houses onto our road, people into the area and not having the police protection of traffic on our road and safety of ourselves and our property.
I have been calling the county about speeding. They know it is ongoing, but seem to not be able to help much in this manner. I sent a new email today to ask why we cannot get people to slow down on this road.
Again, we have a very bad problem. And with adding a minimum of 200 more cars and trucks, people will be getting into accidents due to there being no police protection on this road. Can the city of Festus write tickets on Buck Creek Road?
I have asked and still do not know what is going to be done about the watershed from the property. The two creeks that come from the last city subdivision water and sewage was a big problem and still is. This creek will be directly impacted by this watershed.
I think there will be a major issue with how much water is going to be backed up the creek by my home and pushing an overflow of water back up going under a highway.
I have been looking into seeing if, in fact, this developer has investigated an entrance to a highway. Has he shown the report that they say they will not allow it
I feel this is such a small piece of ground and needs a highway access. The number of homes on this ground needs a better access to a highway.
I feel that putting this plan in this area may seem to downgrade surrounding properties. It will look like the houses are packed in like sardines amongst the nice homes they have created here. I do not understand that we cannot stop progress, but
Thinking about what Festus needs are nice, beautiful homes that fit their surrounding homes and need to be taken into consideration that not all of Festus needs to be packed together. There needs to be a bigger picture of Festus. There is only so much land we have and crammed together homes is not inviting to all
Thank you for your time, and please consider the safety of those that live on Buck Creek Road.
Thank you. Thank you.
Erica Carter
I would like to speak about ordinances tonight. First is a question about an ordinance that was put into effect on 10-27-25. Ordinance 4858. It is written.
Sephora data center is constructed, the property owner or interested party proposing the build must submit documentation to the city showing the data center operator has notified at all capital ALL property owners within 1,000 feet of the property
line via certified mail with return receipt that the owners plan to build and operate a data center, and then attend informational meetings. The data center must schedule and attend one informational meeting with residents within the 1,000 feet
Of the property line to discuss sound mitigation. This meeting shall
Not be a zoning or hearing, but informational meeting only. When did this happen?
I'm here to tell you it did not
If you're so afraid to pull the plug on this deal because of litigation from CRG
Just know that this can go both ways. Brian, why are you not suing them?
CRG has not fulfilled their end of the deal
They have not provided traffic, air, or water studies to us
They have not sent me certified mail. Brian, who do you work for?
Blink twice if it's ClayCo or CRG
It is 83 days until November 1st, the day McKee says he's starting the project to destroy our lives.
When will we get our notices?
As far as ordinances to protect us, assuming you're too chicken to do the humane thing and decent thing, the whole town has been begging for, here are some ordinances I propose.
All elected officials and staff are prohibited from entering into any non-disclosure agreements
In any form involving public matter. Violation of this ordinance shall result in immediate removal from office.
All permits need to be denied by the city and CRG or CRG shell companies until homes have gotten their notices via certified mail. Denied until we get the two in-town
person town hall meetings, denied until the citizens get their studies we were promises. Deny the permits, all of them, until they do what they said they would do
If the hellscape is not derailed, the buyout radius needs to be much bigger, and this needs to happen before construction begins. We did not choose this disaster, it chose us. If this does not happen, there needs to be a stipend paid monthly to homeowners in Ashford Place, the Hagerty's the sites, the Waters
And whatever radius ends up being agreed upon by the citizens, you do not decide this radius. We do the actual stakeholders, particulates, noise, light, and construction do not stop at 1,000 feet. CRG chose the area and can financially pay the consequences
Penalties need to incur daily for delay in provision of the studies promised for traffic, air noise, and groundwater. The penalties need to be substantial and paid to each household in Festus as we are the true stakeholders. Interest rates need to be ridiculous and need to accrue
Daily for noncompliance, there needs to be noise and air quality monitors installed at 10 to 15 points along residential property lines now. This needs to be done so that we have a baseline for contamination
These readings can be live streamed on the Festus Forward website, so the data can be seen at any time by residents.
Non-compliance penalties can be paid to the stakeholders
The city and CRG, along with structural engineers, need to come out to each home and the citizen approved radius to document windows and foundations of homes and businesses at the expense of the city and CRG as proof of sound structure before the blasting starts for the underground storage tanks that will contaminate our drinking water.
There needs to be substantial penalties paid to the above mentioned stakeholders for noncompliance. I want these ordinance to make it so that the buyout seems like a much cheaper option. $1 million per home per half acre for a one mile radius will seem like yard sale pricing. Option number two is
CRG could just avoid all of this and just not move forward with the plan.
That's it.
Mary figs
Good evening. Mary Fakes. The city of Thesis is being fundamentally transformed and nobody ever gave their consent. No one voted to ruin the peaceful charm of this quaint town with a hyperscale data center. No one voted to normalize surveillance capitalism or surrender more of their privacy, autonomy, and daily lives to unelected technocrats and corporate carpetbaggers
Yet these sweeping changes are being imposed upon the citizens anyway, not by the will of the people, not through the ballot box, but through, in my humble opinion, a tyrannical leadership of a disgraced former Marine that can no longer stand to look at himself in a mirror
And to figure out a way to uphold the promise he made to the United States of America and to the citizens of Festus that thought they were electing an upstanding and righteous man. Often in interviews, the selecting official will ask the applicant to give real-world examples
To the questions being asked because past behavior is a good predictor of future performance. The City of Festus believed they were hiring through an election a man with character that would be honest and not lie while holding closed-door meetings to further his personal agenda
for his benefit and not that of the city. The elected official was expected, due to his public proclamations regarding his past experience, that he would be accountable and have an unshakable moral compass at all times. The citizens thought the man they trusted to be in the leadership position would ensure he protected the legacy he once swore an oath to
And not to simply yield to the whim of an outtown technocrat. The citizens deserve a leader that has honor, courage, and commitment. They deserve a leader that responds righteously when the path isn't clear and the pressure is high. Where the leader's character is pure instinct and upholding values is their constant North Star
The citizens have spoken repeatedly and pleaded in this room, at the ballot box, publicly, in the media, and through valid recall petitions. Yet someone that through one side of their mouth shouts that they have honor, courage, and commitment continually violate constitutional rights to redress the government, as well as free speech
As I stated on my very first night that I spoke to this council on November 24th, 2025, slow down, and take time to get this right. I am once again asking that this administration slow down and pass a 12-month stay on approving any new data center applications, essentially putting a hold on any new developments
While the city and citizens studies the issue and come together on a consensus. A one-year stay ordinance gives the council time to research all areas of concern, update zoning and planning, and ensure that all policies are there to protect the very citizens you all swore to protect.
This would not be a strict moratorium. Developers can still file a waiver to have their project considered during a stay, and the council can end that stay with a majority vote if all concerns have been addressed.
Such a move to ensure a city is prepared for future applications by having updated regulations and community input before making a decision on a project plan. Such a move would allow you all, some of you all, to save face and get out of the hole you've dug for yourselves.
I'm confident all local citizens would welcome a stay and volunteer to work hand-in-hand with this administration to ensure all concerns are addressed. Concerns such as water, noise, light pollution, environmental impact, tax concerns, and electrical usage, to name a few. According to your own admissions, no formal project plan has been delivered by CRG to the city. No end user has been identified, no public meetings have been held. Remember Chris McKee said in his videotape presentation
That was not counting as a town hall. So therefore, there is no harm in giving your citizens what they have been begging for a halt, a stay until all issues are addressed. Some in this very room that are employed by this very city have asserted, I have no right to be at these meetings
I have no right to speak to the impending disaster on the horizon simply because I live 3 houses outside of the city limits of Festus. I would respond that I'm approximately 1,800 feet from property line to property line. I shop in Festus, I pay for my fire tags. I and my children graduated from that stakeholder Festus school district. My husband retired from that same district. And frankly, since I live closer to this nightmare than that former Marine I discussed earlier
I get to speak. Of course, if that's okay with you, Barb
Jesse Cordova
Good evening, Jesse Cordova here.
This is a letter from a friend of mine in a Festus resident, and she said it hasn't been responded to yet, so I'm going to read it tonight.
Good afternoon. I'm writing regarding the site plan approval for the cab subdivision off Buck Creek Road. The current planning for this development creates a maximum negative impact on the residents who already live along this narrow road.
The number of homes proposed along with the substantial increase in traffic raises serious and legitimate safety concerns for the people who currently live and drive in the area, as well as for the future residents of the subdivision.
At the rezoning Meeting in September of last year, the developer was asked why they had not planned for an entrance exit on highway A instead of placing both entrances on the Buck Creek Road.
The developer stated that they had attempted to pursue an access point on Highway A, but that the county had refused.
That claim concerns me because I personally contacted the county public works and highway department. And I was told that no such inquiry or request had ever been made.
If the developer was never formally approached, the county
I'm sorry, if the developer has never formally approached the county about an access point on Highway A, then I believe that that option deserves to be investigated before the Council approves the current site plan.
I am respectfully asking the council to require the developer to formally submit a permit request to the county for an access point on Highway A.
This is not about opposing development. It is about making sure development is planned responsibly and does not unnecessarily place existing residents or the families who will eventually purchase homes in the subdivision in an unsafe situation.
Buck Creek Road is a narrow country road that was not designed to accommodate the volume of traffic that this development could generate.
Adding a large number of homes while directing all subdivision traffic through two entrances on the Buck Creek creates an unnecessary safety concern when an alternate access point may be available.
At a minimum, the Highway A option should be formally requested, reviewed, and either approved or denied based on actual application.
The responsibility of the council is not simply to approve development, but to ensure that development is done thoughtfully, responsibly, and with consideration for the people who already call this community home.
Thank you for your time and consideration, respectfully, Emery Drury.
Thank you. Have a good night.
Thank you.
Travis Leighton
Well, 4888
I'd like to know
how this thing was annexed
this little sliver here touching. I mean, come on, that's not compact and contiguous. But that's not really my point. My point is
Festus has an ordinance 405
0.030, Section D, all territory which may hereafter be annexed to the city shall automatically be classified as lying and being in District N1 unless such classification shall have been changed by an amendment to
chapter as provided by law. Okay, that
needs to be
segregated and repealed out of this ordinance. There's actually a State statute that overrides this. So that's completely not enforceable, and that would be Missouri
89.191. Whenever any city, town, or village located in a county of the first class with the charter form of government, which Jefferson County is, annexes any unincorporated territory. The zoning classification of the annexed territory shall
Remain the same as it was prior to the annexation, unless the zoning classification is affirmatively changed through the regular rezoning procedures used by the annexing city.
So this property was never run through the rezoning process. So it's not in one. It's not R1, I called the county planning and zoning today. It's R40, which is one home per parcel
And the parcels must be at least 2 acres or bigger.
So this plan that you have, this high density subdivision is completely illegal to pass that. And come on, Brian, you know, I know you know 89191.
You know, there was an email in the Sunshine docs from camp where I talked about some last minute wrench that was thrown by Brian. And I'm wondering if that's maybe the wrench. We'll never know, but it could be. It sure does fit
Because that also means the data center rezoning wasn't legitimate too, but
Maybe somebody else will cover that. So that's why tonight it would be illegal to approve the
the high density subdivision as it's currently designed, because you cannot build that on our 40 land
It's pretty straightforward.
Okay, the next thing I want to talk about is this other bill
The
4891.
This little blue thing here, way over there, why the hell are you trying to annex that into the city? It's commercial property.
That's not compact and contiguous. One of those parcels is, like, almost $25,000 in real estate tax revenue, okay? In the county, we're tired of you stealing that from our bucket, okay? You're taking us away from people's kids' education
the county. You're stealing all that money from their schools. And if you pass that, guess who's gonna go into all the mama bear groups in the county and let them know that you're stealing from their kids education, and then you'll have this room
overflowing with pissed off, unincorporated county mama bears. If you pass that 48 91 stop stealing shit from the county. This is so dumb. It's barely touching it. Some stupid road. It's ridiculous
Why annex this? Why can't they do what they want to do while it's in the county? It's weird. Makes no sense to want to annex that. What the hell is going on?
Some fishy going on in this place, I swear. All right. And we're sick of it. And you may have gotten away with that for a lot of years, because most of us weren't paying attention.
Okay, it's true, but we're paying attention now, and it's dawn. Okay. The shady shit days are over.
All right, one other thing
Don't forget people 405.555. If you're aggrieved and you think something's dangerous, you know, I've got extra copies if anybody wants one
If you think the subdivision thing is going to cause a hazard, take advantage of that. That's something really nice that Festus has that the average person doesn't. And what else? What other fun topics do I have tonight
Man, I think I rambled through that quick enough and I covered everything. So anyway, you can't pass the one because they're all R40 until you run through the procedure. Thank you very much.
Dana Bowers
Good evening.
Okay
Are you being blackmailed or something? I mean, honestly.
Are you being blackmailed
I mean.
Have you been paid off by somebody?
The I really honestly, like, I feel like y'all are being paid under the table or being blackmailed by somebody because of the discrepancies going on all the way back to the zoning applications are insane.
So actually, Travis just talked about one of the issues that I was going to bring to light tonight. The 89.1.1 City Town Village located in a county first class charter, former government annexes unincorporated territory, zoning classification of the annexed territory shall remain the same as the prior to the annexation unless the zoning classification is affirmatively changed
Through the regular rezoning procedures used by annexing city, town, or village
Zoning district map. You guys have been breaking the law since 1999, slime Sam. Just saying. The statute that you guys have, the Missouri state statute and your ordinance do not coincide.
This is not an ordinance that can be upheld by a Missouri state statute.
Missouri State statutes
Trump ordinances, rules and regulations within a county, city, municipality period end of story, just as well as a constitution trumps the state and local ordinances, just so you know. Just a reminder.
Missouri state statute, 89.060 says all rezoning applications must be signed by all landowners listed on the deed. You guys have a massive issue with ordinance 4866 pertaining to the Hammond property
This is a property with parcel number 18-6.0-13.0.022219. Anyway, this is owned by a husband and a wife, Mark and Lucinda Hammond. The rezoning application was only signed by Mark
Y'all aware of this
Brian, come on. There's a property with parcel number 18, same thing, 0.01 that is owned by the same husband and wife, Mark and Lucinda Hammond. Rezoning application was only signed by
Brian was only signed by Lucinda
Seriously, you guys, this is illegal.
It is illegal for you to even accept these applications without the owners, all owners signing these rezoning applications.
Nice of you to show up tonight, Mr. Cook.
Both of these applications should have been signed by both Mark and Linda, and since they weren't in all technicality, they are what they call incomplete filings, applications missing, required signatures from all recorded owners are generally rejected as incomplete by local zoning administrators
Number two, Dietrich property. There's also 3 applications, 2 of which contain two different parcels of land on each that were submitted with incorrect prior zoning designations prior to application submission, they were legally documented as county R4
You guys, seriously.
It's overwhelming. The application they're listed as N1 non-urban and county R1 instead of county R40, they were rezoned to industrial. This attempt to rezone to industrial from an incorrect zone
Current zoning status is illegal.
His rezoning applications must be resubmitted and done legally. Sam, are you listening to me? This stuff's illegal. You can't sign this stuff and pass rezoning on things that are done
incorrectly
Ordinance 4867 was passed in November of 25. It states that five parcels of land to be rezoned from N1 non-urban district to the I-1 industrial district. This ordinance is again illegal.
The four new
Four new councilmen, you guys are not the ones that pass this illegal ordinance. Manipulative Malone drafted this
Brian, come on.
Way to go
So I ask you, do you
Belleville Moore
Weekly, Carl? Seriously, guys
Do you guys want to be held liable and accountable for something the prior
Illegal actions that were committed. Do you want to be held liable for that? I don't think you do.
It also falls to the accountability of the horrible recommendation by Bennett
So let me say I'm here. Tenon, Tucker, your PNZ board, Williams, Pina, Lapina, Lupinas, whatever his name is, I don't even know. Ma'am, your time is over
Ma'am, your time is up. Right here.
I brought this to you the last time I was here. Ma'am, your time is up. I heard you saying let me sit down.
You'll be better off too
Cheryl Hagerty
Cheryl Haggerty, with the CRG webinar, I still don't know much more than I knew nine months ago. They're still not answering the questions we have. I want to go over some of the issues I have and I will start with some facts about data centers.
For a home to be effectively avoid major noise and light pollution, they should be a distance of 0.5 miles to 2 plus miles from a data center. This is called the sweet spot
0.5 miles is 2640 feet. CRG proposes 1,200 feet from adjacent property, which is only 0.23 miles
A massive hyperscale data center can have low frequency humps that can be travel 1 to 2 miles and sometimes further. Monthly testing of massive diesel backup generators can be loud enough to be clearly heard over a mile.
Niesel generators release fine particulate matter and nitrogen oxides. Cumulative exposure can aggravate asthma and chronic cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, especially children and older adults living within a mile of a data center
The Festus hyperscale Data Center is 0.23 miles from homes.
This tells you that this data center is not appropriate for this location. At the distance proposed, it can cause disruption and damage to residents as it is too close to residential homes.
Selling a house near a data center depends on the location. Homes within a half a mile are affected negatively.
The Festus hyperscale data center is 0.23 miles from homes. A distance of 0.5 miles to two plus miles is far enough away to avoid property devaluation
A proper buyout is well above the market value.
I found where it could be two to three times market value to 3 to 5 times market value. This should include relocation costs, closing fees for a new home, and temporary housing that may be required.
Some disruption damage to residents can occur at least 0.5 miles 26 40 feet up to 2 plus miles. Crsg. Should include in their buyout any adjacent property that is at least 0.5 miles of the hyperscale data center
Normally, I would not be concerned with the well being built, but with the volume of water that a hyperscale data center uses, this is a concern for the neighborhood. If city wells are built near data centers and they can use them
I want to know who is going to be responsible for the issues that other people with Wells could have
I have no problems with my will. I have good water pressure and no sediment issues. If I start losing water pressure, have brown water appliance problems due to water issues, or have to replace a well. I want to know who to contact.
I guess what I'm saying is where were you when a hyperscale data center was first brought up?
Did you research the health effects and lifetime disruption to the lives of your residents? It only took me a few hours to gather this information.
I don't see where you thought about the residents in this process or even tried to protect them. What guardrails does the city have? Where are our protections?
Did CRG write the contract? It seems CRG has all the power. Do you want us to applaud you for the money when our health and home life are affected?
Speaking at this meetings is one of the ways we're able to voice our concerns. Finding ways to stop us from speaking is wrong. As our mayor and our councilman, you have a responsibility and are paid to listen to us, no matter how long or how many of us wish to speak
We the people have the right to speak.
Thank you.
Peggy Smart
I was going to speak on something else, but just a couple hours ago, I was told I couldn't
That I was
late submitting my request to speak. First of all
I know this is not on agenda, but did you listen to my speeches in the past? Because I was directly asking something of you
About psychiatrist
Huh? You did. Okay.
Okay, I'm going to talk about the rules of decorum, like, why
Are we spending so much time on the subject right now? It seems kind of suspect to me why this is being thrown on the agenda so much.
But I was looking through this and I saw where something like you're not supposed to sit in the aisle ways, the doorway
Where are people supposed to sit when there's no seats, when there's so many people here, there's nowhere to sit? What do you expect them to do? Leave
We're not going to leave
So that is my problem with that on the agenda tonight is that is you need to make accommodations for the crowds that have been coming since you all have brought up this
data center topic, and have gotten so much feedback from the public on it. You should know by now, after 9 months, the crowds you're gonna get and be prepared and offer a place for people to sit if you don't want them standing in the doorway
or sitting in the floor. That's it. Thank you.
Mary Yomens
Good evening. My name is Mary Yeomans. I live on North 4th Street here in Festus. For months now, our city council meetings have been attended by very concerned citizens.
Time and again, residents have expressed concerns that our government does not listen, especially regarding the proposed hyperscale data center.
We voted for members out of the good old boys club off our council. We've presented studies showing environmental impacts of data centers in other communities. We've proven the lies we're told through the Sunshine Law requests, and in those requests
We saw misinformation and even jokes that were made about the citizens.
We've seen CRGOs entering through the back door of this building for closed door meetings.
We've done everything possible short of standing on our head to get you to listen. We don't want a data center.
Yet, many people even signed recall petitions that was certified by Jefferson County Clerk. Yet the mayor and some of the council members still think that doesn't matter.
We are met with blank faces. Members on this side of the dais refuse to answer questions or say
not much.
Let me remind you that there is a section on the agenda titled Council Reports. And you often sit there and say, I got nothing.
But it is your time to address us.
What are you guys doing to earn that $500 a month?
Mr. Richards, you've spent most of your life in public service. You were a Marine, and I thank you for your service.
You have been, oh, sorry, you served as a police officer, a councilman, and now as mayor.
But why are you ignoring the chain of command now?
The citizens are your commanders. You work for us
As Abraham Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address in 1863, this nation was founded on a government of the people, by the people, for the people
Did y'all hear me?
A government of the people, by the people, for the people. And now you want to change the rules of decorum by limiting public speaking to just 3 min. So you only have to hear from us
6 minutes a month.
Why is that? Are you simply tired of doing your jobs?
Do any of you know the true effect of a hyperscale data center that could happen to us and our community?
Don't just take Bob's word for it. He obviously doesn't know either.
Why not slow this project down with a moratorium?
Bob himself said back in April that if CRG did not earn their approval of the citizens, this project would not move forward.
Bob and CRG are just not right for Festus.
What harm would come from slowing this process down until every question has been asked and answered? Or will you personally lose out on something if we take more time?
Mr. Richards, I know you are proud of this city. And you love the city of Festus.
So for the love of God and for the sake of our children and their future generations, please
slow this down with a moratorium. Why not wait? What is the difference between November 2026 and November 2027, please tell us
But you need to stop bullying us. That's wrong. But you can stop this runaway train. And I prayed the good Lord guide you to see the right path and gives you the courage
To be the leader this town needs. Thank you.
Gabe Cotton
Why are we still here?
Rules of Decorum. I can say that I have read through the latest version, and I can't see any change that seems like a blatant step in the wrong direction. There are scenarios that could arise going forward where subjectiveness might allow for a faulty enforcement of them, but for the most part they are changes that make sense
Allowing people to sign up to speak until 2 PM on the day of the meeting. That gives anyone who wants to speak on city business a reasonable timeframe to get on the list.
Keeping the 5-minute time limit, like councilmen have mentioned previously, curtailing the amount of time a citizen has to convey their message at this time of contentiousness is bad form and will not be accepted by the residents that you all work for
Maybe someday in the future, when this hyperscale data center industrial complex is in our rearview mirror, we can revisit time limits in the interest of getting everyone out of here at a reasonable time.
But it is this squatter mayor
And his squatter council
Their continued refusal to enact the will of the people that is going to continue to keep that from happening.
There are other little changes in there that make sense, and I will be the first to admit that I have never been the smartest person in the room, but nothing that seems an outright violation of our constitutional rights. The real proof will lie in the enforcement
But what is important is that we are all watching and will continue to defend what is right
Now, when changes were first introduced months ago, it was clear to all of us after spending meeting after meeting with you, Sam, that you wanted to cut off our voice in any way possible.
You don't respect the residents of Festus
Don't allow us… don't want to allow us to stand up for ourselves and are sick and tired of having to sit through this
Being a mayor and actually carrying out the will of the people is too much of a burden for you and these other council members facing the recall.
And it is really getting in the way of your own personal reasons to see this data center industrial complex destroy our town.
That's what all the secret meetings were about last year, wasn't it, Sam? CRG needed you to get on board with why this was going to be good for you and your cohorts, but they needed to keep it secret from Festus because you are required by law to work for us and not CRG
That's why you guys had to meet separately in the secret meetings to avoid a quorum and hide the conversations you had with CRG from the public.
And after everything was agreed to, you probably all expected some pushback for a little while, and then it would be a done deal and the public would accept their fate. And you could all go on with your lives as normal
Other than, of course, what the CRG accountants had lined up
But here we are almost a year past when you first agreed to those secret meetings with CRG and the people of Festus are still standing up for themselves and what's right. Here we are about 10 months from when the residents of this town began to speak at these meetings, demanding that you do your jobs and protect them and their futures
And here you are, Sam, broken down and losing a battle of rules of decorum.
Because the people of this town are stronger and more determined than you, and we will do what's right.
You will continue to lose because you are on the wrong side of this fight.
A judge is being appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court to enact the writ to compel you to do your job and put your own recall on the ballot, because it is the voters who have the right to decide history will see that this did not end well for you, that it will not end well for you council members present
Thanks for showing up, guys.
who are in the pocket of CRG.
Will it have all been worth it?
At some point in your life, didn't you put on a uniform to defend Americans?
Was that all a lie, too? And are you really a traitor to this country and these people
When this is all over
When this is all over, and you have shuffled down the road, ashamed former mayor that tried to destroy a town, and a data center has been stopped because of the collective will of the people in this community.
We will see better days in Festus
And I'll just be glad that you, Sam, will never be in a position again to abuse power to hurt people that depend on you
Because that is the only type of man that you are
Judy Ivory.
Mike
Could you come sit here? I have to use the restroom.
I don't know how. I don't know how to start it.
How do you start? We're here again
This is so much fun.
On the way up here
I decided to go by the library
Which is called 406, I think
To check out that event space
Okay, so then
I looked back in my notes the last time I talked about this was June 22nd.
that 406 looks exactly the way it did on June 22nd. Can't tell any difference, can't tell that anything's been done.
And on June 22nd, it looked pretty much like it did in, what, April when we had those meetings there?
March when we had those meetings there
What's going on
Can anybody tell me if there's been any progress made? Can anybody tell me? Are we ever going to finish that thing? Can anybody tell me? Are we ever going to get any revenue from it? Or is this another way to spend money like you do every two weeks in here, you spend tons of money
But you can't always finish stuff
Can any of you
Tell me what is going on with that.
Could you, my ward one person send me an email
Explaining what's going on with that
Oh, well, no, that actually, it actually folds right into my agenda topic, because you all as a city are supposed to provide
A space that is big enough to house all of the people who want to attend the meetings.
That space could be used for that.
But it apparently is not
Ready
It's been sitting for months and months and months
So once again, like the bathrooms at the park and stop signs and things, things just don't always get done.
Isn't that your job? Isn't that your job to push through these projects? The toilets in the park
Toilets in the park
Yeah
It has to be a resident that suggests a common sense solution to the bathrooms in the park. None of anybody can do some problem solving and figure out how to move a portable set of bathrooms over to where the bathrooms are needed to be
Nobody could figure that out until somebody from here sent an email
Really?
Good lord. And you think that we want that we're going to trust you
to supervise a project like the data center
Are you freaking kidding me? You guys can't even get a bathroom fixed
For God's sake! I mean, it's ridiculous.
Y'all are ridiculous. So back to the rules of decorum
Oh, do you guys need to talk about something again? Do you guys need to take a break? Do you want me to stop while you guys have your conversation? Well, you can always have one when I'm speaking.
You requested to speak about 4892.5, which is the decorum. I would like to present again
A set of rules or decorum
For these people.
Mostly these people, but
If you're on the video, you must be on camera at all times.
No, no cross talking during a citizen's time to speak.
Keep control of your temper. It's just about every meeting, Sam, that you lose your shit on somebody.
I think if we are expected to control our tempers and not use obscenities and stuff, maybe you should learn to control your temper.
If you want to respect, you got to earn it.
You're not earning it
Announcing that you won't be here
Was something that Dan did last time. I think that should be the common courtesy is to let the constituents know that you won't be here.
You will be attending
By video
Yeah. How would you like it if I
Talk to you like this. I like this.
How's that? Is that respectful? Is that respectful? Can you see it?
I'd rather… what if I… what if I stand up here and watch cartoons?
I mean, good lord
You guys, you're your rules of decorum are just you're a joke. Your time is out, ma'am.
Sure!
Natalie Wynnette
Yeah.
Hello, my name is Natalie Winnett. I spoke last month on the reasons that I'm opposed
To approving the preliminary plot plans for Buck Creek Road, and I still strongly believe that approving the plans as they stand now would not only be a mistake, but would create dangerous conditions for the people living on and off of Buck Creek Road and those who would purchase the new homes
I was surprised it was back on the agenda so quickly because I know one of the things discussed was having a road study done.
if there was a road study done in the past month, I'd like to stress one very important piece of information. It is summer, which means that the bus lot that's on Buck Creek Road that houses all the buses for the entire Festus R6 school district is not running all day like it normally does.
Obviously, that means parents aren't taking kids to and from school and practices like they normally do. Teachers and administrators are on break, families are on vacation, etc, etc. So I just want to point out, if a road study was done this last month, there's no way it would be
helpful or accurate to everyday life.
Last month, I pointed out that when ten point lane subdivision was added to Buck Creek Road, there was no community outrage because our community isn't opposed to development. We're opposed to dangerous and irresponsible development.
I said it last month, I love people, and I love community. And I think Festus is a unique and special community
I think people recognize that and they want to be a part of it, and I love that. But one of the challenges we're facing right now is that while some people see our growing, thriving community and they want to join it and be a part of it.
Others see it and look for ways they can exploit it. And that's what I believe is happening with Buck Creek Road proposal.
The plot of land in question was annexed into the city because the county has strict regulations for how many houses you can build there. As it should, and they never would have allowed this.
When someone annexes county property into the city, they should still be required to build in a way that's safe and responsible for the community they are building in. If we don't currently have
restrictions in place that implement that, I think we need to look at that and say, why do we not, and how can we fix this?
Just because it's now within city limits shouldn't justify the blatant disregard for the well-being of the community they are wanting to build in. Multiple people have spoken over the past several months on the issues that adding this many houses to Buck Creek Road will bring, including the flooding, increased traffic
Destroying wildlife and altering the character of the neighborhood. We're asking the Festus City Council to stand with us and to stand up for us, so that we can work together to grow a community where families can live and thrive.
We need more homes in Festus, and I want to see them built, and I want to see people living them in them, and I would love to see some of them built on Buck Creek Road.
But to me, this just looks like a blatant money grab, with no concern for the safety and well-being of the people currently living in our community.
My hope is that the developers would recognize this and stop trying to bulldoze this on our onto our community. My hope is that they would recognize that no matter how much money they make, it would never justify even one life lost because of how dangerous it will make the road conditions
But if they refuse to do that, and if they continue to try to push their way in to squeeze every dollar possible from our community. And then take their money and leave us to suffer the consequences of their greed and disregard for the people of our community
Then we're asking you again, like I asked last month, please don't allow it. Please stand up for us. And please don't approve this plan the way it is right now.
Thank you.
Grant Wynette? Alrighty, thank you.
No, I'm sorry, ma'am.
Matt Drennan
Good evening, Mayor, members of the council. I want to begin with Bill 4888. I don't have a ton to add what Natalie just said. I thought it was really good. But the proposed 129 Homestead vision in Buck Creek, I mean, as discussed in last meeting. I'm not opposed to growth, but the 129 homes on approximately 54 acres
It's too dense for this location. This subdivision could add more than 1,000 daily vehicle trips to a narrow, winding road with no shoulders and difficult sight lines.
Councilman Cook, I know you live around the corner there. I know you can agree with that. I'm asking you to table this bill 4888. Wait for the county's traffic study and have a serious conversation with Modont on the possibility of utilizing both Highway
in Buck Creek for ingress and egress. The situation really reflects the same pattern we have seen with the data center project approved first and answer the important questions later
The public was told the data center, for example, would provide Festus approximately $25 million in average annual benefits based largely on a 1 gigawatt project. Now it has been reduced to 600 megawatts. According to the city's own updated study by Marks Nelson, the city will receive approximately $88
Dollars less in revenue over 20 years than their average scenario or $175 million less in revenue over 20 years in their high case scenario
Those are not my numbers. Those are the city's numbers. So it's not me coming up with this. Continuing to say that all they have to do is develop a $6 billion development does not replace at least the 88 million in reduced revenue for the city.
That is the city's own fault for having… that is the only stipulation in the development agreement where there's no stick if they even don't develop a $6 billion development. The developers abatements remain incentives remain, but the community gets less. We are now being offered
$10 million decommissioning commitment and $3 million in residential rate relief in the campus if the campus exceeds 1 gigawatt of power. But I don't know if it's already been reduced to 600 megawatts, how are they going to go over one
1 gigawatt of power use, so it seems like that's a moot point that we can't count on decommissioning is not a community benefit as well. It is basic insurance against taxpayers inheriting an obsolete industrial site
It should have been in the original agreement, and in the owner and the user should bear the full cost, not merely the first $10 million to decommission the project.
This rate relief triggered above again 1 1 gigawatt, that's when it sets in
It's already a 600 megawatt campus at the high end, so it's never going to hit that one gigawatt. So we're being told the developer receives guaranteed benefits. Festus receives reduced revenues
And residents receive relief only if these contingencies are met. This is backwards. I have also heard that CRG reportedly asked Jefferson County Public Sewer District to sign a non-disclosure agreement before discussing the project's water and sewer demands. I heard also that the district refused that NDA
If this closed-loop system is safe, then publicly disclose the chemicals used. The safety data sheets, and the expected wastewater composition that will go into the sewer system
Public infrastructure decisions require public information, not an NDA.
We have also heard that the city's attorney has warned that a moratorium could cause a lawsuit or cause the developer to de-annex and develop through Jefferson County. Those are possible outcomes among many other outcomes that could I could even hypothesize
But none of them is guaranteed. And not an excuse to accept a worse deal. The city's attorney negotiated the original agreement when this was presented as a one gigawatt project with substantially greater revenues. Now the economics have changed and every change favors the developer
The city's attorney cannot simply tell the council in the community why Festus is trapped by this agreement. He already negotiated.
Do your job, go back to the negotiating table and secure a better deal for this community.
Reduce the tax abatement or increase the payments to make up for the nearly $100 million of lost revenue. That's out of the gate, the starting point.
Require an enforceable minimum annual payment to Festus, guaranteed rate relief, full water and wastewater disclosure, and complete decommissioning responsibility. Use every lawful tool available, including serious consideration of a moratorium
While negotiations occur.
Litigation is a risk to evaluate, not a reason to surrender. I request that the council further look into a moratorium to slow this down to further do our due diligence. Finally, before approving Bill 4891, explain what use is planned for these Highway 61 parcels
And what services Festus must provide going forward, we need to know what we're getting into here.
Tonight, I request that you table 4888 renegotiate the data center agreement and delay 4891 until its purpose and consequences are clear. Responsible growth requires honest numbers, enforceable protection. Thanks for approval, not afterwards. Thank you.
Andrew Smirker.
Greetings, everybody. I'm Andrew Smirker. I live in Ward 1.
Tonight I'm addressing 4892.5, the rules of decorum
Which inside of that, one of the key points here that I take issue with is shortening the speaking time from 5 minutes to 3 minutes
I just think that
Me as a citizen, us as citizens, that 5 minutes is all I get to slow this deal down.
And, you know, I think it's important to slow this thing down as much as possible. We've all been giving our testimonies, all we've been asking for is a moratorium. All we've been asking for is to slow the deal down, and in the meantime.
While we've been doing that, slowing it down a little bit, here's just a couple of things that have happened
Nationwide, over 400 data center proposals have been blocked
That's a lot of Chinese spies.
And just in the area
the rivers have gone from flood levels to drought conditions. Councilman Belleville, I don't know if you remember when you were still a candidate, you and I had a discussion about the UN declaring a water bankruptcy across the globe.
And when we talked, the rivers were full. It had just rained. There was all this spring rain. And I said, watch, it'll be drought level in a matter of weeks. And here we are
There's no water in the rivers, and we're sitting here going, let's just give carte blanche
to extract as much of our water supply. I just… I can't get on board with it. Here's another one. In the meantime, the U.S. has lost the lead in the AI race. I don't know if you guys have been keeping track, but China has taken the lead
Because they've been deferring to open source technology, which is more transparent, and it's inviting more users in
Because it's free, it's open source, it's transparent. So it's just another
Not good thing.
This is just me speaking personally, though. If it really came down to it, I would give those extra two minutes away. If it meant that Bob Clark is going to show his face
We can get we can let the rich man have his little rich man rules. But I want to see him here answering questions, which he said that he would do.
No more webinars, no more scripts, no more talking points, just you, Bob. Thank you so much.
Christopher Reinich
Anne Maloney
Hi, I'm Anne Maloney. I live at 8675 Maloney Cabin Ridge. Barnhart, Missouri, and I am your new candidate for state representative, District 114. I'm your Republican candidate
Because of the people behind me.
Period.
Exclamation point.
Sam
I got to tell you, it's really funny. It's really not funny at all to go into
The House Republican caucus and say the people in Festus, Missouri put me in
Because they've been so completely
abuse
By their console.
There's not one lawmaker that does not want to help me pass the new Missouri statute to eliminate what you guys just did with voting yourselves back in
Not one of them, they all want to help me do this.
So I'm going to plead with you guys, please, for the sake of Missourians
Mr. Dennis
For the sake of Missourians
Mr. Cook
Mr. Boyer, Mr. Richards, for the sake of all Missourians
Please
respect
the recall petition that your citizens prepared
Had certified by their county clerk
And presented
Our democracy in Missouri
It's kind of a laughing matter right now because of you.
There's a really nice lady behind me.
and her name is Janine Kreider.
And we've been
really blessed by the research that she's done, and I would like to yield my time to her, because she has. Well, I am not sorry, and this is my time, so… What do you mean to you? She's a very nice, lovely lady, and I want to give her the rest of my time. Thank you, because
This is what a representative does.
I represent the people.
Not me, not lobbyists, and I don't take PAC money or lobby money, and I'm their representative because they put me in because they just need to vote me in. It was just votes that got me in.
So this is a this is representation. Take it. Thank you. I'm not going to be mean to you. I have found out, and I assume that the people that have gone to see the display homes of hyperscale data centers either went to Altoona or to Papillon
So I went at my husband and I had been traveling for the past 2 weeks. I've been to Dowagiak, Michigan, where there's a new hyperscale data center being built, and they're going to partner up with a Chinese robotics company. So that really does throw the whole AI dominance and national security
Story out, there's no water in that game there. I've also been to Aurora 2 times. I've spoken to the people who were interviewed on national news sources. I have them on a USB stick here. I've been to Memphis, Tennessee twice, where Elon Musk has built Colossus
The noise is atrocious. He is running 60 unpermitted gas generators on this property. I have aerial footage taken by my husband, so it's not something I got off the internet. We have been to the power station
That he is building just a few blocks over in Mississippi. I have footage of that. I wanted you to have legitimate and realistic
sources to go by. This is a USB stick that my husband's company IT man has assured me that your IT people can check for any bugs or viruses. It's completely virus-free. I also have articles here showing how they dig illegal wells
They run unpermitted generators, how local wells are going dry before these operations are even up and running. So I just wanted you to have legitimate and credible information here. Thank you very much.
I've got 33 seconds. I want to just make a note. So what you all just witnessed was something that's kind of an interesting phenomenon and something written by our Saint Pope John Paul II. And he talked about in Evangelium Vitae
in a couple different encyclicals about the feminine genius.
Okay, so the feminine genius is that part of these women. All the women stand up, please. All the women.
Okay, the majority of us are women here that are protesting because inside of us, we have the wonderful gift of being co-creators with God to give life. And so all of the women behind me
had our creative life giving
force that God has given us has been heightened and alerted when we see something that's so environmentally dangerous, and we see something that's so life-threatening
That threatens our water, our air, our safety, and our community as we know it. So that is what the phenomenon that you're looking at right here is the feminine genius, and if you want to repeat after me, Sam, feminine genius, your time is done
Thanks
Sherman Doyle
I'm disturbed
Very disturbed tonight
Based upon what I've seen
I really… I wasn't gonna speak
about this, but
I feel as though it must be said
The rules of decorum
Tyrannical.
I will say this, if you are a council person
That was put on that dais by those of us who have been plundered and are being raped by this city
Because our land is being taken, our property values are being taken. If you vote in favor of this decorum the updated rules you in my book, and I can almost speak for everyone that stands behind me
In this… in this effort
You will be just as tyrannical as the man who put this action into place, which would be mayor Sam Richards
Our Constitution
is therefore a reason
It's not for the governed
to tell the governed
how to
Live, how to talk, how to act
Our Constitution is there
For the governed
to know how not
to govern the governing, okay? Us.
it's our protection. You're there on behalf of us. And after what I've seen tonight
I want to say this first is that throughout this entire debacle, starting back in November
of last year, I have nothing but the utmost
Respect
for our law enforcement officers that have had to be put through
what I can only imagine is one of the worst things that their job
would entail, especially in a public meeting
They're watching their neighbors come in having to pat them down as though they're already criminals.
Wanding them as though we are going to, I don't know, somehow attack people on this dais, whatever it might be
I want to commend those that are wearing the badge that have been here throughout that. Thank you for actually being
Decent, respectable human beings and not living up to what some would call a stereotype
Now, that being said
What just happened earlier
That is not what we are.
That is not what this country is supposed to be.
Going over a five minute decorum rule
And having
Officers surround somebody, it… it's scary
It's the beginning of the end. If we allow this to continue
Gentlemen, please, for the love of God
Do not let this happen.
Because
it doesn't stop.
Whenever April comes out, comes and everyone in here other than the ones that were voted in by us, the anti-data center folks, the NIMBYs
When they get voted out
Nothing is to say that down the road, 10 years, it only gets worse. And it could be one of you that's standing behind this podium that is trying to speak their mind. And because of some goddamned decorum rules
And someone
thinks that what I am saying is obscene, they can have your ass hauled out of here by the police officers who we pay to protect us
It could very well be you
Don't allow this to happen.
I got a minute left
I'm telling you this is that
I am ashamed to say, after tonight
After what has happened, and I guess it could have been worse
I'm ashamed to say that I live in Festus, Missouri, because if you don't think for a moment that this isn't going to go viral
You… I mean, you guys are… you are blatantly as stupid as
The majority of us think you are
Please do not
Do not allow this to continue. Stop this at its at the head. Cut the snake's head off now
Especially if you expect that you want to make a difference in this city. If you don't, if you allow this to go through
I hate to tell you, not only is this city done, but you all are done. Thank you.
Do we have any bids tonight?
No, sir
No bids. We'll move right on to ordinances and resolutions. We have Bill 4888 on the agenda.
That is for the second reading.
Bill 4888 is up for a second reading. Would the clerk please read Bill 4888.
Bill number 4888, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Festus, Missouri, approving the preliminary plat for 2351 Buck Creek Road and establishing an effective date.
Is there any discussion? I'll need a staff report.
Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Council. The applicant is seeking approval for the preliminary plat for 129 new homes at 2351 Buck Creek Road.
The property is currently unoccupied and undeveloped. The PUD for this development was approved by planning and zoning as well as the city council in September of 2025.
The current preliminary plan was recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 16, 2026
After reviewing the preliminary plat, the applicant has met all requirements outlined in the city ordinance and approved PUD.
And I would also like to let you know that there will be a final preliminary plat that would have to be voted on as well and going through
Through planning and zoning.
So tonight is what lighting sidewalks in the 28 foot street. That's it, correct? Correct. It's just on what's on the plaid itself. It has nothing to do with
traffic or anything like that, that still has to be lined out, and you all will still have the opportunity to hear it, see it, and vote on it, including the 129 homes. This is strictly lighting, sidewalk, and 28 foot street approved. Correct, yes
You won't be instructing forth stricter rules and
and the water and all the concerns brought up that would have to be looked at. It's just not there yet. Correct. Yeah, so everything is still under review. It's just, again, like Councilman Cook had pointed out, this is just basically the preliminary of the actual subdivision itself
And as far as access to a highway, we don't negotiate that, right? That is correct. We do not. And the developer will still have to go through the
the Festus Special Road District for their approval, and we'll have to get that. I'll present that as well when the time comes. The Special Road District, they're responsible for traffic studies
Yes, the city of Festus is not responsible for that. However, we did do one before
I spoke with the developer and they were going to run their own and then go over that with the special road district
But where do we stand? Where do we stand with the Special Road District? What can and cannot do as far as making them do one or the other? Well, they'll have to get that through the special road district. So it's
gonna be something that we will have to get that, from the road district.
Before the final plat would come about
Have we not received anything yet from the special role district? I'm sorry. What was that? Have we not received anything yet from the special role district? Anything? No, basically he had given me information saying that they did have some things that they were going to ask for. But again, that will go through, that will be between the developer and the road district
Is there a reason why we can't delay this and get all that upfront? Because I think that's what we need to start doing as a city.
is getting all the plans up front, because I think there's a lot of fear that comes with these things, especially on Buck Creek Road.
There's a lot of
blind spots there, as Margaret talked about, and some others. But
I think something that we need to start doing from the get-go. We have a legal obligation to approve this.
If it's regarding I wouldn't be able to answer that. I would actually send that to Brian to answer.
So please, as I mentioned at the last meeting, this is considered a ministerial function. That is, if you're going to deny it, you should have a basis that it doesn't comply with some provision of your code.
Is safety not part of like a provision that we could use? I'm sorry, Kevin, I'm sorry. So is there provisions that would keep us from doing another reading on this? Well, you're already on second reading, and so it only requires two readings to pass. When you guys take the final vote is up to you guys
I've got a comment. I took some time to study the plans. And what I found on the plans fundamentally changes the preliminary plan. And it doesn't make sense to me, so I'll present to you what I'm talking about
It doesn't make sense to me to approve a preliminary plan when it's fundamentally not going to work. Just a couple of notes.
They… this is a minor thing. They had a 10 inch culvert, needs to be a 24-inch culvert. There's a problem with the line of sight going uphill, so they're concerned who owns the trees and how the trees are going to be trimmed.
The special road district, the Festus special road district has strongly recommended that on each entrance going uphill, there needs to be a deceleration lane that deceleration lane would be
12 feet wide, and I think it's 150 feet long.
And then there would be an acceleration lane also the acceleration lane would be 150 feet long and 100 foot taper. Those acceleration and deceleration lanes have to are typically 12 feet wide
They had said that they were going to also have enough space in their property for future sidewalk addition as we have an initiative going forward at some point that there would be sidewalks from the subdivisions to the school down to the road
The issue with the way it's laid out, when you take and put a 12 foot acceleration and deceleration lane on each one of those two entrances, now you've lost 8 houses because it takes up the 12
Plus four feet for five feet actually for an ADA sidewalk. The Buck Creek Road, I went out and measured it myself. Buck Creek Road measures 11 feet from the center line. And Buck Creek
Festus special school Festus special road district owns 30 feet. So it's 15 feet from the center line. And part of the plan that they're showing out is saying that he's the engineers recognizing
Part of that 15 feet in his plan. So, the 15 feet from center line belongs to the Festus Special Road District. Beyond that, on each entrance, there needs to be 12 foot for acceleration and deceleration, 100 feet long, and then on top of that, there needs to be a 5-foot width
for our future sidewalk. So if the preliminary plan is fundamentally flawed, I don't understand why we would put this forward.
So I would recommend that we table it until September the 28th. This would give the developer time to address these issues. The Festus special road district reached out to them directly
On the 27th of July. So it's probably not been enough time for them to fully digest what they need to do. But when I look at it and I take the scale and I draw in these required the acceleration and deceleration sidewalk
then the houses don't fit. They need to be moved out. That 53 acres needs to be moved out. Maybe… maybe they lose 10 or 12 houses, I don't know. But it fundamentally doesn't work with those requirements, and the Festus Special Road District says
These need to be there for their approval.
Wouldn't that come later on in the
So the preliminary plot that wouldn't apply that this would come on in the next plot
They need to rework their plot. Yeah, but the whole… I think you're missing the point, though. The whole preliminary plot doesn't cover that
It's 28. It's a discussion of lights, sidewalks, and a 28 foot road. What we're discussing is outside of that. What happens is we do this special road district does their review. Then they kick it back if they don't approve it. If there's a change that meets the requirements
Then it goes back to site development plan. We're intermingling so much here that the developer is going to have a strong lane to stand on. Literally, we're voting on lights, sidewalks, 28 foot street. That's it, guys. I mean, Brian, am I wrong?
That's it. And then special road district does their review. The county does the exact same thing. I'm there every day in the county. We do our hydrology review, hydraulic review, you do your preliminary, then you do your final. Then when the final gets changed, it goes back to the Council and says the final was changed. Therefore, it's our chance to vote again
Then we can say yay or nay. We're intermingling, and I'm telling you, we're not doing this correctly, and it's going to get us in trouble. If I'm wrong, I'll stand corrected, please.
So what I'll what I'll say is what the ordinance does is allows the developer to move forward with installation of the improvements in preparation of a final platter plant. That will come back before the planning and zoning Commission that will come back before you. As to the code requirements you cited before.
I don't have those in front of me, so I don't know where they come from, but if they're enforced by a different body, then that's going to be, like, the Special Road District. If that's in their domain, then that's what they'll review.
We can't speak for special road district. And if they don't like it, they'll kick it out. That's their job. It's like if they pass something they don't like, excuse me. If they don't like something or they send it to us, we kick it out. We don't speak from them. They may require formulas. We can't provide that
So don't intermingle that. Just focus on what we're doing so it's done right. Then when it comes back to us for the final plat, that's where we pick it apart. We say yay or nay. So that way, no, we do it by code, so it can't be challenged. Right, because they said, they said they would challenge it
If we didn't legally we have to if we don't do this, they're going to challenge it. And now you haven't allowed to go forward. So we have control over it. Right, but we
I'm sorry that we are making decisions based on fear being sued. The common sense thing is to look at the road and look at what the special road special Festus road district is saying about these other lanes and how that's going to cut into the property
And how that fundamentally is not going to work. Why approve something that we know is not going to work? Why can't we communicate to the developer and say, we have the same information you have.
Let's stick let's why don't our place. I don't think you understand. We have a… we have a legal counsel for a reason. If you're not going to follow the legal counsel, I don't understand.
Okay.
Discussion is concluded.
We need a roll call vote
What's that?
I need a motion to approve
Motion's been made. Seconded. And seconded.
Roll call vote, please. Councilman Dennis. Yes. Councilman Cook. Yes. Councilman Boyer.
No.
Councilman Weekly.
I'm voting yes on the condition that I'm on record.
that it works the way that was just said that it's going to be up to the county to listen
All we're voting on is the inner structure of lightson road, not for that, if it comes back to us and they don't meet any of these requirements that's been discussed
It will be a hard note
We all voted.
No, well
Councilman Moore? No
Councilman Belleville. No. Councilman McCarthy. Yes.
43.
pass it right
I'm
It takes five members of the council to pass an ordinance. So motion fails.
Takes five minutes, five minutes pass, and we don't have it. Motion has failed.
We have Bill Number 48
90 on the agenda with the clerk please read this bill for the second time.
For the first time, I'm sorry. Bill number 4890, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Festus, Missouri, amending Section 610.110 of the City of Festus Municipal Code relating to City Tourism License Fee and establishing an effective date.
Bill 4890 is now open for discussion. Could I have a staff report, please?
Good evening, Mayor and City Council. I wanted to amend the tourism
Ordinance that was dated back in 2002 when the voters approved the 2% tourism tax. Since then in 2012 it was amended to or is approved by the voters by 5%.
This basically just, I'm recommending that the section 610110 with a code be amended to clarify the language regarding the approved
tax and modify the enforcement procedures to align with the city's current administrative operations
We've heard the staff report. Is there any discussion?
No further discussion.
I'll ask for
A motion to approve
So moved. Bill 4890 for the first time. Motion's been made.
And seconded
Roll call vote, please. Councilman Moore. Yes. Councilman Belleville.
Yes. Councilman Dennis? Yes. Councilman Boyer. Yes, Councilman Weekly. Yes, Councilman Cook. Yes, Councilman McCarthy. Yes
Motion passes
Bill 4890. Mr. Mayor.
That being an ordinance that requires two readings. Yes. Okay.
Can I have a motion for the second reading?
Motion's been made and seconded for a second reading. Madam Clerk, would you please read the bill for the second time?
Bill number 4890, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Festus, Missouri, amending section 610.110 of the City of Festus Municipal Code relating to city tourism fee and establishing an effective date.
Is there any further discussion?
Roll call, please. Councilman Moore. Yes. Councilman Dennis. Councilman Belleville. Yes. Councilman Cook. Councilman Boyer. Yes. Councilman Weakley? Yes. Councilman McCarthy. Yes.
Bill 4890 has passed.
We have Bill 4891 on the agenda. Will the clerk please read Bill 4891
But for the first time, my title.
Phone number 4891, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Festus, Missouri, annexing to the city certain real properties located at 1766 and 1788 U.S. Highway 61, with the Jefferson County Parcel identification numbers 1940200000047
19402-00046, 19402
100 0004501 and 194019000802. Generally located east of US Highway 61 and to the west of Interstate 55, determining that said annexation is contiguous and compact to the existing city limits, and will be down to the benefit of the city of Festus
Specifying the new boundary lines to which the city limits are extended by reason of said annexation and establishing an effective date.
Could I have a staff report, please?
Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor.
The applicant has applied to voluntarily annex 4 parcels with a combined 15.66 acres
The properties are located south of the city of Festus, located on Highway 61 and attached to the Highway 55 corridor.
We've heard the staff report. Is there any discussion? I have one, Mayor. Hey, Jim. What city services and what timeline has been promised? Because that's pretty far south in our border there.
And I know it's a volunteer annexation. I just want to make sure we didn't promise like five years to have water. I know sewer is not ours, but I'm aware of that at this time. That's a different water district. Don't it say a reasonable amount of time, which has never been defined more or less? Well, it's
It's District 12 so we could get in a battle on that one as well because they provide water to them. So
Voluntary. Yes.
Is there any further discussion? I have a comment or question. Okay. Some of my constituents reached out to me about the Mount Zion Cemetery. Am I correct that this property surrounds that
Piece of property on three sides. No, that's a different location. This is down 55.
Down south from the hospital. So it's passed. As soon as you cross railroad track. On the other side of 55.
It's on the west side of 55 still, but the property that you speak of is off Shapiro Drive. This is down 61. Okay. And it's adjacent to the Festus City limits. How exactly
That's going to be more of a question for Brian, I believe
I believe you got a map in here showing how it connects to the strip of road that we have down here.
That's included within the packet.
This is Will mix his old lot?
Okay, I know what you're talking about. There was also a lawsuit years ago between Festus and Crystal. We're post, we can only annex one side. Crystal annexes the other. That's where it also gets a little crazy as well. It's an agreement that was a settlement that's binding.
That's why you'll see Crystal stay on one side, Festus say on the other.
We own the airport and we wanted to annex it into the city and it went to a judge.
And the judge says
Everything kind of east
The airport is crystals and everything on the southwest end is ours. So that's what makes it a little bit difficult to put a point A to point B to it
So that's why we end up selling the airport because we couldn't annex it. Thank you. That makes a lot of sense. I was wondering that.
The ordinance that they're talking about
55 is the dividing line. And anything on the west side of 55.
is
Can be
Annexed by us
Anything on the east side
It's Crystal City.
And our city limits run down 55 to this property.
That makes sense. Yes. To answer one of the other councilman's questions about providing services In section 13.4, that talks about any municipality in Jefferson County seeks to annex unincorporated Jefferson County
It ends with
The municipality has the ability to furnish services as provided in a plan within a reasonable period of time, not exceeding 3 years after the annexation.
So that's the answer to your question.
They're on special sewer and they're on a special water district, public water supply district, so we wouldn't be able to provide services. That's an existing customer. If you notice that would just settle between Hardy Public Water Supply and Crystal City because Crystal annexed that that was in the county
That was always public water supply districts territory. So we couldn't provide service to them unless they vacated it, like they did on Pounds and Gamble Cemetery when the highway cut those homes off, and we had a voluntary annex them. That's the only way we can take them over to vacate. I just thought I'd read the statute to answer your question
Is there any further discussion?
So Doug
The
Is that… is that tow yard part of this annexation
Miners Towing owns the property on the street in the tow yard. No, miners towing is down 67. This is down highway 61. Okay. So you go down past the hospital. I didn't want to get in the middle of that. No, miners is off of 67. It's nowhere close to their property, sir.
Yeah, sorry. Is there any other discussion?
I will entertain a motion to approve
Bill 489
For the first reading
Motion's been made.
Second. And seconded.
Roll call, please. Councilman Boyer. Yes. Councilman Moore. Yes. Councilman Belleville.
Yes. Councilman McCarthy. Yes. Councilman Dennis? Yes. Councilman Weakley? Yes. Councilman Cook? Yes.
Motion passes.
And I have a motion for the second reading
So moved.
Motion's been made and seconded
All those in favor say aye.
Aye. All those opposed say nay.
Hearing none, motion carries. Madam Clerk, would you please read Bill 4891 for the second time
Phone number 4891, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Festus, Missouri, annexing to the city certain real properties located at 1766 and 1788 U.S. Highway 61 with the Jefferson County Parcel identification numbers 1940200047
19402 0004619402 0004501, and 194019000802
Generally located east of US Highway 61 and to the west of Interstate 55, determining that said annexation is contiguous and compact to the existing city limits and will be down to the benefit of the city of Festus specifying the new boundary lines to which the city limits are extended by reason of said annexation and establishing an effective date
Is there any further discussion of this bill?
If not, do I have a motion to approve
Bill 4891.
So moved.
Motion's been made.
And seconded, roll call, please. Councilman Cook. Councilman McCarthy. Yes. Councilman Boyer. Yes. Councilman Weakley? Yes. Councilman Moore? Yes. Councilman Dennis? Yes. Councilman Belleville. Yes.
Motion passes. Bill 4891 has passed.
We have Bill 4892 on the agenda. Would the clerk please read this bill.
Bill number 4, 8, 9, 2, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Festus, Missouri, annexing of the city certain real property located located at 11303 Pounds Road with the Jefferson County Parcel identification number 1810120005001, generally located south of Veterans Boulevard and to the west of Pounds Road
determining that said annexation is contiguous and compact to the existing city limits, and will redound to the benefit of the city of Festus, specifying the new boundary lines to which the city limits are extended by reason of said annexation and establishing an effective date.
Bill 4892 is open for discussion. Could I have a staff report, please?
Yes, thank you, Mr. Mayor. The applicant has applied to voluntarily annex one parcel into the city of Festus located at 11303 Pounds Road in Buck Creek Road
This parcel was supposed to have been annexed into the city in the early 90s, along with 11307 Pounds Road. The parcel is associated with two other parcels that all belong to the applicant
That's a school district, right? Is there any
That is correct. I'm sorry, Mr. Mary, yes, it is part of the R six school district's property. So that's why the houses look like the fire department's been playing there and stuff, because getting it demos, even doing training. Okay
Is there any questions or discussion?
You know, roll call vote for I need a motion to approve
The first reading. Second motion has been made and seconded.
Roll call, please. Councilman Moore. Yes, Councilman Belleville.
Yes. Councilman Dennis? Yep. Councilman Cook? Yes. Councilman McCarthy? Yes. Councilman Weekly.
Yes. Councilman Boyer. Yes.
The motion passes
I need a motion to approve the second for second reading.
Motion's been made and seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay.
Hearing none, motion carries. Madam Clerk, would you please read Bill 4892
My title for the second time
Bill number 4892, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Festus, Missouri, annexing to the City certain real property located at 11303 Pounds Road with the Jefferson County Parcel Identification Number 1810120005001, generally located south of Veterans Boulevard
And to the west of Pounds Road, determining that said annexation is contiguous and compact to the existing city limits and will redound to the benefit of the city of Festus specifying the new boundary lines to which the city limits are extended by reason of said annexation and establishing an effective date.
Is there any discussion?
Hearing none, could I have a roll call vote, please? I need a motion to pass. Make a motion. Second. Motion's been made and seconded
Low call. Councilman Moore? Yes. Councilman Boyer.
Yes. Councilman Dennis? Yes. Councilman McCarthy. Yes. Councilman Belleville. Yes. Councilman Cook. Yep. Councilman Weakley. Yes.
Bill 4892 has passed.
Also on the agenda, we have
Resolution number 4892.5.
Would the clerk please read the resolution.
Resolution number 4892 and a half, a resolution of the City Council of the City of Festus, Missouri, amending the rules of decorum and amending the request to speak form, adopting such amendments and establishing an effective date.
Could I have a staff report, please?
Mr. Mayor, as you'll recall, we discussed this at our last work session, and I know we had kind of a wide-ranging discussion about the different
Provisions that all council members wanted to see. What I did in this draft was kind of survey all of you to see where there were areas of general agreement. And so that's really all that's in this ordinance is what we kind of discussed at the work session that really wasn'
In major dispute amongst all of you. We can certainly continue to discuss changing these rules and see how the revised rules work, and if they accomplish the objectives you're setting out to achieve. But I would recommend moving forward with passing this tonight
And continuing any discussion you have about additional changes you'd like to see at a later time.
The one thing I would like to point out is that
This amended this resolution
Keeps the five minute limit
It has not changed. We're not changing it to three minutes, so it's still 5 min.
It still allows for a still allows for a sign up at two o'clock the day of the meeting, correct? That's correct. And there is a red line version that was included, I believe, with the public packets as well that shows
I believe so the version in the ordinance or the resolution itself is clean, doesn't show the red lines, and then there's an additional attachment that shows in red line what changes are being made to the existing rules by this resolution.
So then, correct me if I'm wrong, it takes the mayor and the mayor pro tem who's filling in out of the sergeant of arms position. Therefore, they just focus on the meeting themselves. Is that correct? Correct. The chief as the sergeant at arms is in charge of enforcing it rather than the mayor presiding officer, and that's just consistent with
Best practices for local government meetings.
I will entertain a motion to approve
Resolution 4892.5. So moved.
Motion's been made and seconded.
Roll call, please.
Councilman Cook. Yes. Councilman Weekly.
No.
Councilman Boyer.
Yes. Councilman Dennis. Yes. Councilman Moore? No.
Councilman McCarthy. Yes. Councilman Belleville. No.
4, 3.
Resolution passes before
Pardon me?
since it's a resolution rather than ordinance, it passes with four votes. Okay.
Resolution 4892.5 has passed.
Okay
We have
New business, under new business, we have a downtown festival request for the 11th annual Bottleneck Bridge ride.
And they
And there he is.
Here we go
Thank you, Mayor, members of the Council.
This is the 11th year of the bottleneck bridge ride, and if you're not 100% aware of what that event is, it's a tourism event that's supported by Festus tourism that brings cyclists and their visitors into Festus, and we take off from here on our bikes, and we ride the the flagship route is 67 miles
And it goes down to 14. And no matter what we do, we can't make it flat because it's Jefferson County. There's a lot of hills, but that's what draws the people here. Last year, we had over 400 that registered, and we had about 380 that showed because it literally was probably the hottest day that we've ever had in the 11 years. But we still went forward with it
So this year, in the 11th year, we changed things up a little bit. We moved it to October. So we're thinking that we paired it up along with the Main Street street fest so we can not only have cooler temperatures, but can have a moral reason for them to stay when they come down here to Festus when they get here
So we're anticipating 350 plus cyclists and their visitors to come join them down here for the day for that event.
Because of that, we won't be shutting Main Street down or asking to shut Main Street down because Denny will have already requested that for the street fest. Well, what we are asking is for a soft closure, which is it's a short window of time from about 6 a.m. to about 8 30
AM from Main and mill up to Walnut, I think is the street. Just for people to be able to stage up and then take off. And we will once again request and ask for the mayoral lead to have both mayors from the Twin Cities to be able to lead us into
Lead us into action as we take off for a long day of cycling.
As well as the we have a kids event, which is called a bike rodeo, which is basically a helmet fitting and a safety skills fair for kids. That's free. And we're requesting access or to have that in the library parking lot. And I wasn't sure exactly all the steps or what needed to go into that request
But wanted to make it that's going to be sponsored and held by the Twin City Optimist Club for that. So the event is October 10th
Saturday morning instead of Sunday, I provided in advance a map and a detailed report to everybody. I don't know if everybody has received that or not, but that kind of outlines the path of where we would go since we wouldn't be going straight down Main Street. Because if you remember, we will typically have around 400 cyclists
Towing behind the mayoral lead. And then when they get into Bailey to Mississippi Avenue, once they turn left, then they begin their voyage to the 67, 42, 34, or 14 mile route that we have around. And we have eight stations about every 10 to 15 miles, as well as we have SAG support, which is called support and gear
So we have actually an app that we use to track people when they're out on the course, and then we have safety vehicles and vans that are all throughout as well. So if somebody would be in the heart of DeSoto and need to get back to Festus because they had a flat tire or a chain break, we're able to do that as well and get them back to safety.
So my only requests are just the soft closure from the mill to Walnut.
and also library, the usage of the library parking lot.
And I'm happy to answer any questions or even take registrations tonight if somebody wants to go ahead and sign up to register, I will do that.
Sounds like a phenomenal event. Oh, it is. It is. Are they going to
Restrict these electric motorcycles from the event. Are they going to be allowed? The e-bikes are utilized. They're also during the events. It's not a race. Okay. So it's just a fun ride. So it allows everybody of all abilities and skills to come out and utilize and be a part of the events as well. The only reason I ask is because a lot of the trails now
We have to have security on the trails because they drive too fast. And I was just curious about the the safety, because I remember the previous ones, how many hundreds and hundreds of people there were. So you know
We have common sense, but other people may not. And so, you know, they're going 35 miles an hour on e-bike because they can, and everybody else was pedaling
So I was just curious how that's going to be. Yeah, very, very good question. We have… last year, I think we had around 10% of the participants were on e-bikes. We're seeing more and more of that, and even on a ride that we do typically throughout the week, we have more and more people that are doing that. But from all of my instances and the events that we participate in around the region, it's been
a fair amount of safety that's put first with that, but I did see on some of the MCT trails and the Katy Trail that they're having some
security measures that they're wanting to take because of that
Is there any other discussion?
How many riders should you anticipate, Andy? 350-plus this year is what we're anticipating.
Have we had any problems
We've not had any issues out of it in a year. Okay.
I will entertain a motion to approve the
11th annual Bottleneck Bridge Ride on October 10th. So moved. Motion's been made and seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay
Hearing none, motion carries. Andrew
have the bike ride. Thank you so much. Appreciate you all.
We have a temporary liquor license request for
Mead on Main Street, October 3rd. This is for Four Brothers Mead.
Yes, sir. We are once again requesting a temporary liquor license as well as a street closure for October 3rd for our seventh annual meet on Maine.
So we'd be asking to close second street, South Second Street from I guess it's still called Bering Street. I don't know if after we've shut that off from Main Street, if it is or not, but we'd be shutting that off. You'd still have access to South 3rd as it goes around Adams McCulloch Park
So that we could have emergency vehicles, make sure that they have room to operate. But we'd be closing that up to close to Adam Street, and then utilizing that city parking lot behind our establishment for other vendors. And then, of course, taking over the park that day, too. So we'd need
The same letter from the city saying that we have the permission to do that. We'll only have one stand, and that's really just for our meat of the meat of the month members. We like to give them a little special perk for the support that they give us throughout the year.
And so after that, I take that to the state and work that magic. Did you get everything worked out with the farmer's market folks? Yes, sir. Okay, yeah, because we talked about that last year. Yep. You guys run a good event, very good event. Well, thank you very much. We do try to make sure. I know it is that is alcohol-based, and there can be
Certain concerns with that, but we try to police it very well. Very organized.
We haven't had any trouble down there, have we, Chief
No.
Is there any other discussion?
I want to entertain a motion to approve the request for meet on Main on October 3rd.
Motion's been made. And seconded. All those in favor say aye.
All those opposed say nay.
Hearing none, motion carries.
Thank you all very much. Have a festival. Have a good evening.
And we have a new liquor license request for Festus hospitality LLC at 1331 Shapiro Drive.
That is
The hotel, the Hampton Inn and Estate and Suites at Festus
Do we have a staff report?
They are just wishing to sell liquor behind the bar or behind just by purchase by drink. So
It's just a typical thing for hotels.
Is there any discussion?
I'll entertain a motion to approve. Chief, you have any problems with this
With them being a new establishment, we have nothing to base anything off of, so I currently don't have any objections. And I think their grand opening is the 21st
Of this month.
Anyway, I will entertain a motion to approve the new liquor license for Festus Hospitality LLC.
Motion's been made
I need a second.
Second.
And second
Thank you. All those in favor say aye.
All those opposed say nay.
Hearing none, motion carries.
liquid license is approved
Do we have any old business?
Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor
Okay. At the last meeting
We had some technical problems. I was trying to make a motion. We had two councilmen that were on Zoom that couldn't hear me, and evidently I was sitting back here instead of up here, and several of the councilmen said they couldn't hear me. So I would like to
go through the proper process and make that motion again for a vote.
From our previous meeting. Can I do that?
So we had requested a legal opinion from special counsel Matt Ray. On the proposed data center moratorium.
And that was released
Internally, special privileges on Friday the 24th
So, I'm requesting a vote
to release his
memorandum that was sent to the city council on his opinion on comparing the moratorium that 3 councilmen submitted
to the framework agreement to be made publicly available so that everyone can see what his concerns were as far as legality on going forward with a moratorium.
So I want to make a motion that we have a vote to make that document which was dated
Friday
July 24th
sent to all of us by special counsel Matt Ray to make that public
You making a motion? I'm making a motion to make that. I'm trying to clarify the document so that because it's back in July 27th to make that document public. And I have a copy here if I need to give it to our city council, because Matt Ray's not
I was Zooming and I understood exactly what you're saying. So who said they didn't hear what you're saying? I couldn't hear. We were having issues at the second conference I was in, I had reception
I just couldn't get through. It is to release a legal opinion.
Right, it's the letter that Matt Ray sent to us through the city administrator on Friday, the 27th of July, and it was like a 7-page document where he went through the moratorium and how that matched up
his opinion on each piece on the moratorium to the framework agreement. Go ahead, Brian. I'll defer to Lee on this, but I thought we voted on that at the last meeting.
If that… and if we did, then it would require a motion to reconsider that vote, which would need to be made by someone who was on the prevailing side. That is
Someone who was voted down than someone who voted no on it would have to make that motion. That's just my recollection, and I'll defer to Leah on that.
There was no second on that. There was no second on the motion, so the motion died. Failed on lack of a second. Yep.
So, that was legal and confidential, right? So you want to release what we've been advised not to be released? Well, we've released the city attorney's opinion on previous issues, and eventually, when contracts are finalized, all that should be released to the public, because
It's no longer protected because all the decisions have been made now. It's just to have a discussion going forward with the concerns of the citizens.
And putting that moratorium in effect to make it more open to do that. So, the opinion of special counsel Matt Ray is what I'm asking to make… to make that public. I don't think if you've read through it, I don't think it's a big deal to make that public.
That's strictly your opinion. It's my opinion. I said that. Okay.
So shouldn't we involve Matt in this if we're going to go back and
Because he said it was
confidential client privilege, all that. So now you
So once again, I don't know why we asked for legal advice, we're not going to follow it
We have a motion on the floor. My question
So
Transparency. We have a motion on the floor. Do I have a second? I second the motion.
Motion's been made and seconded
Roll call, please.
Councilman Belleville. Yes
Councilman Moore? Yes. Councilman Cook.
Yes
Councilman Dennis. Yes.
Councilman Weakley.
Abstain.
Councilman McCarthy? No. Councilman Boyer. No.
4, 2, 1.
One said, four, two, and one
It passes
Councilman Boyer
Glad to see that a lot of the water cuts are getting concreted in. It's looking a lot better on the streets. And I know it's a lot of work in the hot weather.
But doing a good job there, Mike.
That's about all I've got, sir. Thank you.
Councilman McCarthy
Councilman Dennis
Joker did a wonderful job on the
on the streets. They're well ahead of schedule, looked at them while we're getting them striped
So
Friday… Friday, we had something at the park, we had the food trucks
Turtle Bay there in Saturday we had a movie
So
I think Ms. Ivory asked about why we haven't done anything in the space down at the library. A lot of it was what it cost, and we weren't exactly sure where we want to go with it. We want to put kitchen facilities in it, and it all came down to money. We just didn't have the money. This has been
We cleared the space.
And then tried to figure out what we want to do with it. And this has been some time ago under a different administration. And once again, we're only as good as what's brought to us. And that's what that's what we were told, how much they thought it would cost and which way they wanted to go with it
And we had other projects on
the books that we were trying to finish, and we still, as far as I know, haven't come to the conclusion exactly what we want to do here.
I couldn't answer that. Once again, it has to be brought to us so we can decide what where we're going to go with it. We're only as good as what's brought to us.
So Michael.
So for 406, we did gut the facility. So a bunch of the old conduit that's been taken out, the old heaters that were in the back, they've been taken out. We had some old HVAC, the old
Oh, man, the old ceiling, like, in the rafters, all that had to be pulled out. So if you've gone in there, you'll see the new, like, sound boards with the new lighting up in there, and then they put the matte black on all the ceiling. And so the plan was that we could at least do the ceiling work, and then everything with the floor and walls
We'll kind of come back to later. I don't know if some of you are aware that that building has actually settled in the back. And so years ago, we brought in a contractor that did mudjacking and brought up the
stabilize the back, but it didn't bring up the back all the way, so the back actually doesn't meet ADA requirements. So, I mean, you have a gathering area in the front
But as far as letting people through that back door and then having like catering and stuff back there, that doesn't really meet ADA requirements right now. We also had roof issues with it. We have had roof issues.
And then left guys. So, yeah, we… we ended up having to rent a commercial washer to go across all the floors several times, because even, like, just from the work, and then that on top of it, we just couldn't get that off. Yeah, it's office was complaints, the library, the chemical smells in his head, so that's why the product actually worked out. Yeah, because the defunct printing company was in there
And then just, like, you guys are actually going to be hearing about this pretty soon anyway. So we were having issues with the water meter in there as it is. For some reason, whenever they built that building, they ran the water service from, like, library side through the building in the middle of it
So the water meter is actually, like, right in the middle. And we're having issues with recording some water loss because it was acting really weird. Dennis office would use water, then library, and I guess it's enough that it kind of forces that water back and forth. So we're working on that during the summer
And now the roof units have gone out. So it's a balmy 90 degrees in there almost all the time.
which part of the plan had been we were going to start looking at floors. We've
If you've been hanging around the library every day, you've probably been seeing contractors coming in nonstop, because we've had
Crystal and Bone, and then we had Ron's glass coming in, because they're looking at doors and windows, and then we have a few people that are looking for, like, issues with the flooring, because
They say that it was sealed and I've had a secondary company come in and also tell me it's sealed, but I think it was just like a densifier. It's not your typical seal that you would want to be putting on a floor that you're wanting to show off for like rental space.
But while they were in there
ACs went out. Now it's always hot. The epoxy guys, whenever they come in to talk to us, they let us know that also you can't do the floors until you get this temperature controlled in here.
So we're looking at several items come budget time that y'all are gonna get to take a look at for 406. Michael did those sprinkling system get installed? No, no, Sarah did not. And that's included as well, because we are limited to, so they were supposed to do that in December
Not in December. We were
That's part of the reason for ripping out everything in the ceiling, because we're going to have to come back in there, and that's where the sprinkler system's gonna have to run through.
It's just a common building.
Thank you, Michael. Yeah. Thank you, Michael.
Anything else? Councilman Cook
So, and speaking to a couple other council members, we'd like to discuss a possible code change for building for like variant setbacks and stuff. I think Councilman Weakley and I talked briefly the basically 5 foot, 5 foot equals 10
We would like to see possible discussion on that in a work session. Jim, in the future, maybe looking at changing into that, making it a little more restrictive than what was
Being done the past. So that's my first point. Second question, Brian, is with the
Light sidewalks and street lights failing tonight. Where does that put that development? Are we just are we done with it and just
Look, let the court deal with it.
That's something I'll have to review and get back to you on.
Okay, I was just curious. So and then
Last but not least is e-bikes. I got a few emails on e-bikes. Councilman Belleville brought it up as well, and I think it's a good point. I think we need to look into an e-bike policy, Chief. We got 10, 11, 12 year old kids flying the streets and things and I think they're becoming a hazard. I really do. I don't have the answer.
I don't know if we want to you want to look into copying what other cities are doing. I know a lot of them are getting aggressive on it, but I think it's time we look into the e-bikes, because some of those things are doing 35 and 40 miles an hour.
Do you have other cities, Brian, that have had e-bike ordinances brought forth already that you know of? We've prepared ordinances for a couple cities. I'd be happy to give you some examples. Did you look into that now? I'm kind of stuck because if you're 16, 17, you're a licensed driver, I can understand that. My concern is the youthful drivers and how
They're so experienced. So I like to look into that pretty quickly, please. Sure. That's all I have, sir. Thank you. All right, thank you. Councilman Wakeley.
Well, I was going to bring up the building code change for the subdivision. Mr. Mike to it
So
So I guess I have
That's about it right now. All right. Councilman Moore, you have a few points I want to regarding talk about a few things here, stuff that we should probably consider during the next few work sessions.
I do think maybe the next one or two work sessions we should maybe move to an hour versus half an hour. I think we just can afford us a little bit more time to work some of the details and not be so pressed with time.
One of the things that I've talked about with some other council members, including Mike Cook, is rewriting
The provisions of hiring and terminating
Department city heads and making it more of a city council.
decision moving forward like we do for fire and police. But for all our department heads within
the city
I think that's a good move that we should go there. I think it's a good discussion we should have, you know, whether we go with that or not, but I think having more direct
Oversight as a council would be a good idea with that, and that would be a discussion we would need to have with Ben as well. So
I think that's something that we can definitely talk about next session.
I'm working with Leah and Ben right now on an ordinance. I'm hoping to
come before a work session regarding some I call open government and transparency amendments that I'd like to make in court regarding the agenda.
Some of that stuff we've already talked about with the rules of decorum have already been settled. So some of that's kind of moot. But making sure that we are live streaming our meetings, making sure that is happening every
session because
My wife's great grandmother would love to see these meetings, but she can't get out. So it's all about you, Dan. So I would like to see some of those things. Again, I want to work with Leah, because she does a great job putting these packs together. It's quite a bit, so I want to make sure that we're making those smart moves here with it
I'll be having a meeting with them soon and bringing that to you guys.
One thing I do want to bring up is pretty serious here, I think, regarding the data center industrial regulations, I do want to take another look at what we already have on the books and what we don't have on the books. I think we need to strengthen our ordinances to protect the people, noise, vibration, air, all that
Some of the stuff we already have, but I think we can make significant improvements to protect the people. As Matt talked, Matt Jr. talked tonight.
We need to revisit some of these things. So again, in another work session, I think we can move forward with that
And then I do want to
I would like to make a motion right now.
I would like to make a motion that Brian write up his findings regarding some issues that were raised
Regarding the data center, on July 13, 2026, during a closed session
I would like him to prepare this report for us
For the next council meeting, and then to make it public.
Again, I can't discuss those until we're released on those issues. But I have
Talk to some other councilmen on this, and I think that would be the best move forward from a
From the truth standpoint of what we're supposed to do as councilmen. So, I would like that report to be written up
And presented to us made public by next council meeting. So that's my motion that I've made.
I'll second it.
I have no idea what he's talking about. I mean, if you feel more specific what you're wanting. It's regarding the zoning issues with the data center.
zoning issues of data center. What I might suggest, and that's obviously it's your emotion. I'll leave it to you. I'm happy, and I can have some further discussion with you when I get back to my office. I might suggest that you asked me to prepare an opinion, and you can give me a little bit more guidance when you and I talk on the phone
I'll prepare that for the council, and then you guys can make a decision about whether you want to make it public or you don't. It takes a majority. I think that's that's good. I think we can move that way and then approve for public after that, so we can all have time to review it. I appreciate that, Brian. Yeah. What if we review it in the executive session next council meeting and vote then
How's that? That works for me. Okay.
Is that all? Yes, that motion. We have a motion on the floor.
I second it
And it's been circuited
Roll call, please.
Councilman Moore? Yes.
Councilman McCarthy.
No. Councilman Belleville.
Oh, me? Yes. I couldn't hear you. That's okay. Not talking out there. Councilman Boyer.
Yes. Councilman Dennis. No. Councilman Cook.
just to be clear, we're talking about doing this in executive session. First, we have time to talk because I'm still a little confused by
And Councilman Weakley. Yes.
It is 5-2.
Motion passes
That's in Belleville
So I have a letter I want to read from one of the people at one of our wards, but before that
kind of dovetail on what Councilman Moore was saying. We have an opportunity in Festus as we're attracting different businesses to bring in some manufacturing companies
I would like to see us discuss in our zoning having a manufacturing category for zoning for manufacturing companies instead of being lumped into one big one called industrial. So I'd like to have a work session
Scheduled where we could talk about some additional zoning categories. And I can use examples from places like Cape Girardeau, Springfield, and Columbia. As we move forward. And when we put in
safety ordinances. Those ordinances would be across the board, and they don't target a particular company. So I just want to put that out there for a work session in that regard. And then I have a letter. I get a lot of letters
from different constituents. I get a lot of letters from people that aren't in Festus, and I get some letters from people that aren't even Missouri. But anyway, you put your email out on the internet, and you get all kinds of stuff. Dear Councilman Belleville, my husband Gary and I have been following the issue of the proposed Festus data center from the very beginning
We live in North Woods subdivision less than two miles from the proposed location.
Side note, I'm also two miles away. Gary is a disabled 72-year-old veteran, and I am 78. We have owned seven homes in our lives and this is our final home, one we hoped would increase in value.
data center will ensure that people will not want to move here. My husband has COPD and congestive heart failure. I have serious asthma. A nearby data center we fear will make it impossible for me, a Missouri Master Gardener
to be outdoors in my garden. It'll also be impossible for Gary to enjoy our yard. What we are asking for you is to vote for a one-year moratorium on the data center until more information can be gathered from neutral sources
The information that is available to us now tells us not to trust what is being said in favor of the data center project. When a huge city like St. Charles turned their thumbs down on the development of the data center
By the very same company this year, that should be a huge red flag to you and your other Festus officials that this is certainly not a good thing for Festus
That's all I got.
Thank you.
Well.
It's my turn
Some of you are not going to like what I have to say.
Ma'am
If there's another outbreak from you, you will be escorted out of here.
Yes, you will.
First of all, I would like to say for the record.
There was never any secret meetings with CRG
I'm done. I'll have a motion to adjourn.
Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Hearing none, motion carries. We are adjourned.
Yeah.
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