A rowdy crowd of potentially hundreds overfilled Joplin City Council Chambers Tuesday, as Joplin’s City Council considered the annexation and rezoning of roughly 600 acres of property southwest of the city.
Developers plan to build a data center on the property, which is in the Wildwood Ranch area. For over seven hours Joplin City Council heard testimony from those in attendance and engaged in dialogue with the audience. Early in the meeting Mayor Keenan Cortez expressed the unprecedented nature of the meeting as the council struggled to work with the crowd.
“I don’t know if there’s a right way to do this. I don’t know if there’s a wrong way to do this, but I’m doing our best to get us through this, so if you could offer a little bit of grace” Cortez asked, adding “and I’m going to remind everybody once more, we’re all grown in here. We need to have a little decorum.”
As time went on, tensions flared. Mid-meeting Mayor Cortez attempted to explain to a speaker that they’d already addressed council and would not be allowed to speak again. Shouts from the crowd in frustration at that prompted Cortez to ask the Seargeant-at-Arms to remove the person responsible for the disruption in the audience from the room.
Members of the public largely spoke against the eventual data center, with some in support and some offering conditional support.
The public asked questions, with some concerned about water resources in the areas. Others voiced concerns about ecological impacts, unsustainable growth and rising utility costs. The distinction between the property’s annexation, rezoning and the eventual development were points of contention and at times confusion.
Public speaker Jill Halbach spoke of what she suggested is a common concern, that the project has been presented to the public with an air of inevitability.
“The people in this community aren’t really being heard,” Halbach said. “Things are happening the way everyone behind closed doors wants them to happen.”
Council Member Doris Carlin questioned Halbach, their conversation drew participation from the restless crowd as Carlin suggested Halbach and others speaking throughout the night were unclear about what they wanted.
After hours of discussion Joplin City Council approved the annexation and rezoning.
The annexation passed 6-3 with councilmembers Copple, Detar and Farnham voting against it. The rezoning passed 7-2 with Copple and Farnham the only nay votes.