The City of Springfield Clerk's Office has notified the owner of the Hotel of Terror, 334 N. Main, that he did not have enough valid signatures in his referendum petition that was turned in on January 9.
Sterling Mathis is trying to repeal a special ordinance passed by Springfield City Council in December that allows the City of Springfield to take his property through eminent domain.
City officials have said they need to tear down the Hotel of Terror building to replace the Main Avenue Bridge over Jordan Creek as part of the Jordan Creek daylighting project. The bridge has fallen into disrepair and has weight limits now, which don't allow city buses to cross it.
The petition was short by 125 signatures, according to the clerk's office.
City charter allows 10 days after notification of insufficiency to amend a petition. That means that Mathis must turn in additional signatures by 5 p.m. on February 9.
