Late 2025: Backroom Deals, Secret Coordination, and Annexation

• October 27, 2025: City officials introduce a proactive ordinance meant to "put protections in place." City Administrator Greg Camp and the council reiterate there are "No plans for a data center in Festus." Residents warn that the ordinance has no teeth and that local government is vastly unprepared to regulate Fortune 50 tech giants.
• November 16, 2025: Residents form local groups and hold an informal meeting at the American Legion. Uninvited attendees include the police chief, six officers, developer representatives Chris McKee and Natasha Das (CRG/Clayco), Port Authority head Derrick Good, and Billy Crow (host of Patriot Radio).
• November 17, 2025: Pro-data center construction ads flood local papers and Facebook, funded by the dark-money front group "Missourians for Data and Technology Advancement" (MODATA).
• November 24, 2025: Planning and Zoning votes to annex parcels into Festus city limits and zone them I-1 Industrial.
• December 8, 2025: The first pivotal Sunshine Law document drop exposes deep collusion: CRG approached Festus as early as August and wrote the city's data center ordinance. Admin Greg Camp coordinated meetings in groups of two or three to intentionally dodge quorums. Governor Mike Kehoe even offered to pressure council members on the fence, with Camp handing out council phone numbers to developers.
• December 17, 2025: Environmental Operations Inc. begins a Phase 1 Environmental Assessment on properties including Donnell Farm that CRG planned to combine into a massive 1,000-acre footprint.
• December 22, 2025: Residents protest outside City Hall. During the meeting, an elderly veteran is physically removed by Police Chief Doug Wendel simply for not knowing he had to pre-register to speak. Officials continue flatly denying any data center plans.

January & February 2026: Lawsuits, PAC Spending, and Staged Meetings

• January 10, 2026: Reports reveal City Admin Greg Camp is being offered a city manager position in Silverthorne, Colorado—failing residency requirements—sparking widespread suspicion of a corporate "golden parachute." Meanwhile, residents file initial legal challenges against the city's annexation process.
• February 2, 2026: Festus passes Bill 4872 to hire Steve Etcher of MarksNelson for $20,000 to negotiate tax incentives, though his scope explicitly excludes power, water, noise, or environmental compliance.
• February 4, 2026: New sunshine releases show Greater St. Louis Inc. organized taxpayer-funded and private-backed trips for local officials (including County Exec Dennis Gannon and Councilman Jim Tinnin) and Ameren utility reps to tour data centers.
• February 10, 2026: Residents submit a petition with hundreds of signatures demanding a public vote. City Attorney Brian Malone rejects it, claiming third-class cities aren't required to honor citizen vote petitions.
• February 16, 2026: Wake Up JeffCo, LLC is formally established
• February 26, 2026: Called with less than 24 hours notice, a special meeting is held with regional stakeholders. Festus police begin wanding residents with metal detectors at the door while maintaining the fiction that the project is still unconfirmed.

March 2026: High School Gym Showdowns and the 6–2 Vote

• March 17, 2026: Residents file hundreds of Planning and Zoning complaint forms compiled by WUJLLC attorney Steve Jeffery to challenge nuisance issues, though P&Z ultimately dismisses them.
• March 23, 2026: Caving to mounting pressure, the City Council moves its meeting to the Festus High School Gymnasium. The packed gym erupts with "Let us vote" chants. Shifting dynamics reveal an unannounced, developer-negotiated buyout of 11 local homes at 110% of 2025 appraisal values—negotiated entirely behind closed doors without resident consent.
• March 29, 2026: WUJLLC hosts a community town hall reviewing the loose, unenforceable 25-page development agreement lacking any punitive penalties for nuisance violations.
• March 30, 2026: **The Showdown Vote.** Packed bleachers, heavy police presence, and rows of union supporters frame the night. The Council votes **6–2** to approve Bill No. 4876, locking in the CRG agreement. Council members Staci Templeton and Brian Wehner vote no. Officials exit through the back doors with police escorts while furious crowds hurl jeers. National outlets pick up the dramatic footage.

April 2026: The Historic Election Sweep and St. Louis County Lawsuit

• April 3, 2026: GrowJeffcoPAC dumps $40,000 into a relentless weekend ad blitz across every channel and text thread to save incumbent councilmen.
• April 7, 2026: **The Historic Electoral Reversal.** Voter turnout more than doubles (2,126 vs 920 previous year). **Every single incumbent council member seeking reelection who voted for the data center is voted out.** Outside polling places, resident volunteers immediately process lines of voters signing recall petitions for the remaining officials. National news brands Festus a nationwide flashpoint.
• April 8, 2026: WUJLLC files a massive 12-count, 54-page lawsuit in St. Louis County court against Festus and CRG targeting sunshine law violations and shady rezoning.
• April 15, 2026: Ward 2 Councilwoman Staci Templeton resigns "with my dignity intact" after casting a final procedural vote.
• April 30, 2026: At a JeffCo Public Sewer District public hearing regarding a massive 53% rate hike, officials admit the surging infrastructure demands—including a new 1,000+ foot well—are required to support incoming data centers.

May & June 2026: Recall Petitions Submitted, Blocked by Council

• May 19, 2026: Residents submit thousands of certified recall petition signatures to the Jefferson County Clerk's office.
• May 20, 2026: Recalled officials retain high-powered attorney Chuck Hatfield to send threat letters attacking the petitions, while Mayor Richards publicly floats unfounded conspiracy claims about "foreign influence" and internet scraping. In response, residents form **"F.A.F.O. (Festus Alliance for Government Change)."**
• May 28, 2026: Despite legal pushback, the County Clerk formally certifies the recall petitions and sends them back to the City Council to place on the ballot per state statute (RSMO 77.655).
• June 8, 2026: **The Recall Blockade.** City Attorney Brian Malone advises the recalled council members they can legally vote on their own recall. True to form, they vote to block the recall from reaching the ballot, with only Mike Cook abstaining and the Mayor breaking the tie.
• June 19, 2026: Residents crowd-fund and file a **Writ of Mandamus** in court to compel a judge to force the certified recall onto the public ballot.

July 2026: "Festus Forward" PR Pivot and Water Realities

• June 29 / July 1, 2026: CRG unveils a rebranded, squarespace-built PR site (*FestusForward.com*), claiming they listened to residents and scaled down from 12 buildings to 4 with nature trails—contradicting earlier claims that a high-security, closed campus was an unyielding national security requirement.
• July 3, 2026: Newly leaked sunshine engineering reports by Jim McCleish (Horner & Shifrin) reveal that the Jefferson County Water Authority (JCWA) is already unable to keep up with regional demand, with confidential agreements hiding the true strain.
• July 15, 2026: Newly elected reform councilmen (Moore, Weekly, Belleville) propose a Data Center Moratorium, though it faces an uphill battle against the legacy majority. CRG announces plans to break ground in November.
• July 22, 2026: Residents host a secret community watch party to break down CRG's scripted webinar. Reform Councilman Dan Moore warns that the special legal counsel retained for the deal has been iced out of meetings, leaving the community with barely three months before planned ground-breaking.