Springfield city clerk: Hotel of Terror petition insufficient

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Hotel of Terror owners again turn to referendum process to overturn eminent domain

In a letter to Hotel of Terror owner Sterling Mathis released Jan. 29, Springfield City Clerk Anita Cotter said a petition to repeal an eminent domain ordinance passed by City Council Dec. 15 was insufficient.

The ordinance would allow the city to use eminent domain proceedings to demolish Hotel of Terror, a downtown Halloween seasonal attraction active since the 1970s.

Cotter wrote that for the petition to trigger a citywide referendum on the rezoning of the Hotel of Terror property at 334 N. Main Ave., petitioners needed to collect 1,499 signatures, or 10% of the city’s qualified voters who participated in the most recent election.

Cotter wrote that she and her office were able to certify 1,374 signatures, out of a rough total of 2,407 signatures submitted by Mathis on Jan. 9.

In her letter released Jan. 29, Cotter also notified Mathis that Section 14.5 of the city charter provides for petitioners to amend their petition within 10 days after the notification of insufficiency. The process allows Mathis and his supporters to file a supplementary petition no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 9.

Mathis told Springfield Business Journal in a phone interview Jan. 29 that he intends to move forward in seeking additional signatures.

"I'm going to get the rest of them, and we're going to move forward with this," he said, declining to further comment.

Hotel of Terror announced on social media that it would be gathering signatures 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 30 at Chestnut Expressway and Grant Avenue.

The city’s goal in removing the Hotel of Terror building is to replace the nearby Main Avenue bridge, according to past SBJ reporting. The bridge has been rated “poor” by the Missouri Department of Transportation and is closed to heavy traffic like city buses and emergency vehicles. The bridge is at the west end of the first phase of the city’s Renew Jordan Creek project, which is creating a parklike amenity along a restored, once-buried stream.

Hotel of Terror owners Sterling and Melissa Mathis had 30 days to acquire the 1,499 signatures to get the item on an upcoming city ballot, according to past SBJ reporting. That number is based on turnout from the single-issue April 2025 election, which had a 7% voter turnout.

This is the second time Mathis filed petitions seeking a referendum to repeal council action. The first time was in March 2023, when he submitted 2,100 signatures but fell short of the 1,568 verified signatures he needed. On April 10, 2023, he submitted an amended petition that was deemed sufficient for a referendum.

A month later, council voted to repeal its declaration of eminent domain.