City clerk evaluating additional signatures on Hotel of Terror referendum petition

Sterling Mathis, co-owner with wife Melissa of the Hotel of Terror, made the Feb. 9 deadline to turn in additional signatures on a referendum petition, according to Mathis and City Clerk Anita Cotter.

Mathis is seeking a ballot measure to overturn a Springfield City Council decision to declare eminent domain and demolish his haunted attraction.

Mathis turned in 2,407 signatures on Jan. 9, with the requirement of 1,499 verified signatures to get the item on an upcoming citywide ballot. That number is based on voter numbers in the most recent citywide election, the single-issue April 2025 election, which had a 7% voter turnout.

Cotter was able to certify only 1,374 of the submitted signatures, she informed the owners in a Jan. 29 letter.

That meant the effort fell short by 152 signatures, triggering a 10-day period to collect the remainder and keep the referendum effort alive. Mathis told Springfield Business Journal that he turned in 393 signatures on Feb. 9.

In response to SBJ questions, Cotter said by email that she has five days to review the new set of signatures. She said regardless of outcome, the owners will not have an additional opportunity to turn in more signatures.

“The election that this would appear on, if City Council chooses to send it to a ballot, is at the discretion of the City Council,” she said.

Council would also have the option of rescinding its eminent domain measure, which is the choice they made in May 2023, following the Hotel of Terror owners’ successful petition on an earlier eminent domain measure.

The city is seeking to demolish the Hotel of Terror in order to replace the Main Avenue bridge connected to it. The bridge is rated “poor” by the Missouri Department of Transportation and closed to heavy buses and emergency vehicles. City officials say the bridge replacement is not possible without damaging the building.

The bridge is at the west end of the first phase of the Renew Jordan Creek project, which is creating a parklike amenity along a restored, once-buried stream.