Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents press Moberly council on data centers, ask who is responsible for Morley Street completion
Summary
Two public commenters asked the Moberly City Council about data‑center development and how citizens could petition to ban data centers, and raised questions about who is responsible for completing Morley Street resurfacing and possible turn‑lane work.
Two members of the public used the council’s public‑comment period to press officials for clarity on proposed data‑center development and to ask who is responsible for finishing Morley Street resurfacing.
Jeff Chick (speaker 5), who said he lives in Renwick, told the council he had heard widespread rumors about data centers and asked whether the city planned to implement regulations to keep them out of the community. Mayor (speaker 2) replied that no application or formal study has been presented to the city and that the city would remain neutral until an applicant makes a proposal; the mayor said the city wants the ability to evaluate any proposal and hear citizen feedback before taking a position.
Chick also asked about Morley Street, saying the state resurfaced the road only to Carpenter Street and left the remaining stretch unpaved. The mayor and staff (Tom) explained that the Morley project involves MoDOT right‑of‑way work, that the city is participating in a cost share, and that final plans have been submitted to MoDOT; the city is relocating utilities now and will go to bid once MoDOT returns approvals.
Tiffany (speaker 6), who gave conflicting last names in the record, asked how citizens could submit a petition to permanently prevent data centers, whether signatures would be verified by the county, and how the public can track economic‑development projects listed under code names. The city clerk (speaker 3) said petitions are accepted at the clerk’s office and verified with Randolph County voter records and that the clerk would confirm the exact voter‑threshold percentage. The mayor reiterated that the local economic development authority uses code names to protect prospective deals and suggested petitioners direct procedural questions to the appropriate board.
No regulatory change or ordinance limiting data centers was proposed at the meeting; council members said they would respond to formal proposals and that citizens should follow the petition and application processes outlined by the clerk.
