The Chesterfield City Council is poised to spend $17,500,000 to buy the MassMutual office building and parking garage near the amphitheater — a decision being made without a clear, consistent justification or an adopted long-term plan.

Here’s why this matters:

Shifting Justifications
City Administrator Mike Geisel has offered multiple, conflicting reasons for the purchase — from “desperately needed parking” to “it’s cheaper than building a garage” to “future space for police and parks” to a last-minute “Civic Center” concept first introduced at the August 4 meeting. This is backward governance: buy first, justify later.

No Adopted Comprehensive Plan
Chesterfield’s official Comprehensive Plan is 35 years old. While a new “Envision Chesterfield” plan is in the works, it’s still in draft form and has not been adopted. Without a current, legitimate guiding plan, this purchase has no strategic framework for how it fits our city’s future.
Parking Needs Don’t Justify the Price
The amphitheater hosts about 20 major events a year — just 5.5% of the calendar. Spending millions for occasional event parking is not a sound fiscal decision.

No Publicly Released Civic Center Plan
If the real goal is a Civic Center, the City has provided no space-needs study, no budget, no site comparisons, and no environmental impact analysis. Residents are being asked to fund a project without seeing a plan.
Population Trends Don’t Support Speculative Purchases
Census data shows Chesterfield’s population has been slowly declining since 2020. Big capital investments should be based on realistic growth expectations, not outdated assumptions.
We, the residents of Chesterfield, call on the City Council to:

Halt this purchase until the Comprehensive Plan update is completed and adopted.
Release all draft “Envision Chesterfield” documents for public review.
Conduct and publish a full needs assessment and cost-benefit analysis for parking and civic facilities.
Hold a dedicated public hearing on any proposed Civic Center before committing taxpayer dollars.
This is our money, our city, and our future. Let’s make decisions with transparency, planning, and real public input — not rushed, speculative deals.

Sign this petition to demand that the Chesterfield City Council put this purchase on hold until it’s backed by a clear plan and the will of the people.