Joplin city council ends petition to block data center

The Joplin City Council has certified two petitions opposing a proposed 540-acre data center project in the Wildwood Ranch area of the city. The petitions, organized by the Joplin Sustainable Technology Alliance, sought to force a public vote on the data center project after the council had initially approved the annexation and rezoning ordinances in January. However, the petitions fell thousands of signatures short of the required thresholds, with the annexation repeal petition gathering 2,832 signatures (2,200 short) and the rezoning repeal petition gathering 2,348 signatures (2,700 short). As a result, the petitions have been ruled insufficient and will not advance to the county election officials for verification. In addition to the data center opposition, the Joplin City Council also approved cooperative agreements for two community improvement districts related to the upcoming Prospect Village development, which will include a sports complex, public park, retail, hotel, and multi-family housing.