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2w ago

Festus Voters Oust Four Council Members Over $6 Billion Data Center Deal

Lawsuits plus recall bids now put the $6 billion, 360-acre Clayco project under direct review.

Afternoon sun shines on a data center facility in Vernon, California, USA.
Monterey Park, CA - April 01: City officials had previously welcomed its plans to build a sprawling, new data center and the jobs and tax revenue that would follow, but suddenly city opposition to the plan spurred up. Signs of protest pepper front yards in a nearby residential neighborhood in Monterey Park, CA on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
An employee pulls out a server rack shelf at the rear of a Trainium3 UltraServer at an Amazon Web Services QA lab in Austin, Texas, on February 3, 2026.
Rural residents aren't letting towns off the hook for massive data center deals.

Overview

  • Voters in Festus removed four incumbents last week after a March 30 vote authorized a $6 billion data-center agreement.
  • The council approved a development pact with CRG Acquisition, a Clayco subsidiary, for a hyperscale complex on roughly 360 wooded acres, and the future operator has not been named.
  • Opponents filed suit to void the rezoning and the agreement, alleging illegal spot zoning, Open Records violations, thin public notice, and secret talks with the developer, and residents began recall petitions targeting remaining officials.
  • Campaign filings show a union-backed PAC spent about $40,000 to boost the incumbents, and records obtained by residents indicate political involvement reaching Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe.
  • The backlash tracks a wider trend, with Port Washington, Wisconsin voters the same day approving a referendum to curb large data-center projects as communities question land use, pollution, and higher power bills.