December 2021 General Membership Meeting Minutes
General Membership Monthly Meeting
Dec. 1, 2021
APPROVED Minutes
1. Call to Order + Opening Remarks
Jim Dallas called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
a. Recognition of Attendees: Elected Officials, Directors & Officers, New Members
Officers and Board Members present included: Jim Dallas, President; Michael Pastore, President Elect; Debby Brown, Secretary; Neil Putz, Past President; Nancy Kelly; Margi Koors; Nancy Lambert; Karen Moske; Billy Tomber; and Gary Toribio.
Committee Chairs present included: Richard Eaton, Beautification; Julie Price, Membership; Jeanne Kirby, Parlour Tour; Veronica Putz, Historical; Jay Gibbs, Plan Review Team; Bonita Leiber, Soulard Station Co-chair; Andrea Maddox-Dallas, Safety Committee.
Special Guests and Speakers included: Dan Guenther, Alderman Ward 9; and Officer Christopher Murray, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Jim asked if there were any new members. A gentleman named Alex introduced himself and said that he recently purchased a house off of Lami.
2. SLMPD Liaison Report
Jim Dallas said that almost as soon as we started getting Officer Sherdon Douglas back as our police liaison to the SRG, she was promoted to sergeant and is no longer in the 3rd District. Jim congratulated her on her promotion. Officer Christopher Murray, of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, was present to give the liaison report.
Officer Murray said that he’s assigned to the D Platoon and serves in a community outreach capacity removing derelict/problem cars from streets. He will be assigned as a liaison, but there could be moves given the situation with a lack of police officers in SLMPD. There is a plan in place for Soulard, though. As of the morning of this meeting, 150 commissioned officers have left since January 2021. The SLMPD is still 100 officers short, so Officer Murray asked for patience. Community outreach takes a backseat when officers have to take 911 calls and be on the streets.
Officer Murray then gave the crime statistics for the previous 30 days. Most problems were with larcenies and stolen cars; there were no other crimes for the last 30 days. However, Officer Murray reminded attendees that last year, people were still inside because of COVID-19; now with people getting back out and going to stores and such, the opportunities for crime have come back. Compared to the city overall, Soulard is one the best districts for crime rates.
Officer Murray asked if there were questions. There weren’t any, but Officer Murray asked if anyone needed one of his cards. Jim also said that he’s been emailing with Officer Murray, but, for a while, Soulard may not have a consistent liaison like we did with Officer Douglas.
3. Secretary’s Report
Chris Currington, Secretary, said the past few weeks, the Board has been busy with the by-laws revisions and editing/reviewing them. The minutes from the October Board Meeting have been approved by the Board at the November Board Meeting. The Draft of the November General Membership meetings are currently being reviewed. Those minutes should be added to the SRG website soon. There was no need for a motion to accept any minutes this evening.
4. Financial Report
Debby Brown, Treasurer, said that the fiscal year started July 1, and five months in, SRG has revenue of ~$33,600 and expenses of ~$25,000. Net income is ~$9,000. Debby said the books are kept on a cash basis, so it’s fluid and not all income and expenses have been booked. Current cash is ~$79,000.
Debby asked if there were any questions. There weren’t any. Jim said that there are some expenses coming up, such as insurance renewals, and there’s currently an audit and that charge will show up in January/February. However, SRG has a sound financial basis. We should be in a good position for this year and for the next fiscal year starting next July.
5. President’s Update
a. By-laws
Jim Dallas said that his main topic this evening was to talk about the by-laws. This has been mentioned to General Membership for a number of months—looking at and revising the by-laws. At this point, we have the Board approved revisions to the by-laws. Next is presentation to General Membership.
The first cut of the by-laws revisions was presented to the Board in June, and we had a good discussion then and at all board meetings since June. This past week, the Board approved the revisions, and the current by-laws state that the Board has to present revised by-laws at least two meetings prior to the General Membership vote. Jim is anticipating that vote at the February or March meeting. Jim said that he had paper copies of the revisions here at the meeting, including side-by side comparisons, for anyone who wanted copies. The by-laws revisions have also been posted on the SRG website.
Jim asked that anyone who has questions or comments to send them to him (at president@soulard.org) and Chris Currington (at secretary@soulard.org). Michael Pastore, President-Elect, also receives copies of emails that are sent to those email addresses. Jim envisions that people would send in comments/questions, and they will be considered over the next two months, and we’ll figure out and answer questions to see if there are further revisions to the by-laws. Jim also said that he’s open to anyone calling him and asking questions.
Jim acknowledged the effort put into the by-laws revisions by the Working Group that worked prior to rolling out the revised by-laws to the Board. The Board has also spent a lot of time on the revisions at 6 Board Meetings. Jim thanked the following individuals for their work:
* Gary Toribio, who spearheaded the push in mid-2020, soon after Jim was elected President-Elect
* Lisa Otke
* Scott Plackemeier
* Wade Weistreich
* Luann Denten
* Venessa Kobrin
* Chris Schwarz
Jim then said he will now leave it to General Membership’s review of the by-laws, and then a future vote in the next 2 to 3 months. Jim asked if there were questions. There weren’t any.
b. Recent Board Meeting
Jim Dallas said at the Nov. 17 Board Meeting, there were guests that spoke to the Board:
* Deb Cottin, from Peter and Paul Community Services, spoke about The Clean Team—the crew of individuals hired on a weekly basis from the homeless shelter to clean up streets. SRG gives a donation each year, so Deb was asked to present.
* Eliza Coriell, who owns The Crow’s Nest in Maplewood, spoke to us about the plans for opening The Crow Bar in the former Nadine’s space at 12th and Allen. Eliza is asking for SRG’s support because it owns property within 350 feet of the proposed establishment.
The Board also discussed the organization’s insurance renewal, which occurs effective Dec. 5. A good portion of this meeting was also taken up by the final discussions of the by-laws and getting them ready to present this evening.
Finally, members of the Board are in the process of forming a Nominating Committee for next year’s election. Anyone who is a voting member was asked to consider running for office, and Jim will be happy to answer questions.
6. Committee Reports
a. Communications
Billy Tomber, Board Liaison to the Communications Committee (ComCom), gave the report. He said that ComCom is still in search of a new committee chair, and there was a Zoom meeting to generate some help. Brenton Henry has offered to help, and he’s already making website updates and has posted the by-laws revisions.
ComCom is always looking for more people—anyone who can help with the website, email communications, etc. Billy also said that, with the help of Beth Hoops and Megan Mehrle, the recent issue of The Renaissance is out, and it keeps getting better and better.
The articles for the next edition of The Renaissance will be due mid-February. The Blaster went out early on Tuesday. Billy then asked attendees who received/didn’t receive The Blaster. Billy said after the meeting, he’d look up the list and get everyone up to date.
Billy asked if there were any questions. There weren’t any.
b. Fundraising
Margi Koors, Board Liaison to the Fundraising Committee, gave the report. Margi asked attendees how many bought the live wreaths for Christmas and Mardi Gras. The wreaths were available in the parking lot, and Chris Schwarz would be handing them out after the meeting if anyone asked to pick them up. Otherwise, deliveries would be made to those, who bought wreaths, homes by Friday.
Margi said that a little while back, Chris put out a message to all committee chairs about volunteers who deserve t-shirts. Chris only got responses from 2 committee chairs, so if they haven’t responded, please do so immediately; Chris is looking at designs now.
Upcoming on Jan. 15, Smarty Gras returns. This will be hosted by Billy Tomber. Tables of 10 are $250. There will be 8 rounds of questions focused on the Roaring 20s. A new addition to the team will be a trivia cup award to commemorate Preston Humphrey, who led the Smarty Gras victory for 11 years; 10 of them consecutive.
Margi said that it was with a heavy heart that she reports that Chris has resigned from the Chair of the Fundraising Committee, effective the past Friday. He will continue to be a quasi-part of the committee, and he will have a hands-on approach to anything he was involved with. Margi thanked him, and asked for a round of applause for all the work he’s done. One of the reasons Chris is separating ways from the committee chair duties is his involvement in the nonprofit SHARE. There will be an information meeting Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. at the American Legion to learn more about SHARE.
Jim reflected on Chris’s involvement on the Fundraising committee, and thanked him for his service.
c. Historic Code Working Group
Neil Putz, Past President, gave the report for the Historic Code Working Group. He said that this group does a lot of work for Soulard, and there are a total of 8 members involved. The current code for Soulard is 30 years old. Neil acknowledged the members of the group and the liaison. In addition, Veronica Putz and Neil are both part of the working group.
Neil gave some background. The current Soulard code is 3 decades old and was approved in 1991. The sincerest form of flattery is imitation. Lafayette Square, about a decade ago, came up with a revised code, and they emulated Soulard. Soulard has learned from that, and our code needs renovation. Now, this working group is looking at the code and flattering Lafayette Square and incorporating some of their code.
Neil gave the update about the working group’s progress. So far, Article 1 has taken the longest. This includes all of the definitions. The article that was just finished was any code regarding the modification of current structures. Now, the committee is moving on to Article 3 which concerns code and new construction. Then, the working group will be moving on to other articles.
Neil acknowledged the SRG Cloud which has been a collaboration environment, even if the working group doesn’t physically meet. Neil thanked Megan Mehrle for making the cloud possible.
The working group hopes to wrap up the revised code by the beginning of the new year.
Neil asked if there were any questions. There weren’t any. Jim Dallas said this is a thankless job, but it’s very important for SRG, and he appreciates the effort of updating the code and moving forward.
d. Membership
Julie Price, Membership Committee Chair, said that SRG has 355 members. There were 11 new signups at the recent wine-tasting event in November. Because of that success, the committee may do a couple of those. They had different color nametags at the event—blue or gold nametag, and new Members wore red name tags. This was a clue to talk to those with red nametags and make them feel welcome.
The new rosters are out and have a hot pink cover. Members were encouraged to put one at their house and check to make sure the contact information was correct. Julie told anyone with incorrect information to email Veronica Putz and she will make changes.
Julie reminded attendees about the socials after the General Membership Meetings. Because of the pandemic, these have been at businesses to help show them support. This evening’s social would be at Jack Nolan’s. Next year, the socials will hopefully be back at Members’ houses.
For the Welcome Wagon, Veronica gives these to homeowners new to Soulard. Someone can email the Membership Committee at membership@soulard.org, inform them that a new resident has moved into the neighborhood, and the committee will deliver a basket of goodies.
Julie then turned the conversation over to Margi Koors. Margi discussed the volunteer awards for the people of Soulard. She encouraged attendees to think back over the past year, 2021, and those who stepped up to the plate to volunteer and did more than what was expected. Those people could be given an SRG Star Award for their efforts. This is a one-time award—once someone wins, they cannot win again. Officers and Board members are off limits for the award. Margi then mentioned the award forms, and anyone can nominate a member of SRG for a Star Award. The person must be a member. The awards are scheduled to be handed out in April. The deadline for the form is Feb. 15, and it should be returned to the Membership Committee. The committee will then go through the applications, make a recommendation(s) to the Board, and then the Board will give final approval.
Margi asked if there were questions. There weren’t any. Margi then said the back of the form is to be filled out; the front of the form shows all the past winners who are no longer eligible as well as the Officers and Board.
Jim asked Margi if businesses are eligible. Margi said the awards are for individuals who have been an asset to SRG for the previous year. Billy asked if Margi would like a digital form. Margi said yes. Billy said he would work this out with Brenton Henry.
e. Parlour Tour
Jeanne Kirby, Parlour Tour Committee Chair, gave the report. Jeanne said that in years past, the Parlour Tour had ~900 people who toured 7 or 8 homes during the Parlour Tour weekend. Last year, the Parlour Tour was totally virtual. This year, the tour will be back to in-person. There are a limited number of tours of 4 homes and tickets are sold out. Jeanne is grateful to the homeowners for opening their homes, and to the public who will come through.
After the tours, there will be a party at The Franklin of Soulard. The tour goers have been invited. Originally, the capacity for the event was 150 at The Franklin, but they have raised the capacity and reservations were still available. Anyone interested could visit Soulard.org to buy the tickets. The party is Saturday at 5 p.m., and all were invited. If anyone hasn’t seen The Franklin, it’s now unrecognizable. It will be a fun, festive time, so if anyone didn’t have a reservation, they were encouraged to make one as soon as possible.
f. Plan Review Team
Jay Gibbs, Plan Review Team Committee Chair, gave the update. The new construction at 1001 Russel, the first floor will be a waffle cone and ice-cream company. He spoke to one of the partners of the building, and some of the space will be retail, and the other area will be for company offices.
For the area near The Sweet Divine, there will be fresh plans for the site in 2022. These might be condominiums.
For the area at the west end of Barton Street, the vacant land next to the highway, there are no plans to report about, but there should be some plans in 2022.
For the area at 1017-1018 Geyer Ave., where the wall was collapsing, they do have a permit. Jay talked to the inspector, but the owners didn’t have expertise, and the building next door collapsed. The building is going to be saved. The plans are for a 2-bedroom, single family home, and these plans have been approved.
For 2027 Menard, Bastille bar, Jim Dallas, Michael Pastore, and Jay met with the owner on Nov. 8. He presented what he wants to do and asked for feedback. The PRT Committee voted 8 to 0 to oppose the plans. The idea was to create a wraparound, wrought-iron balcony. But there was no evidence that this was part of the building in the past. There was a question from Julie Price about the balcony at Clementine’s (previous establishment at the current location of Duke’s). Jay said that there was evidence of that balcony previously. A letter was written by the committee, signed, and sent to the owner of Bastille. The committee is waiting to hear back about what he wants to do next.
Jay then talked about the vacant lot at 7th and Shenandoah. The developer who had a plan has walked away because it couldn’t work financially. They met with the daughter of the deceased owner. The property is in litigation now. She gave Jay permission to announce the price of the lot—$400,000 to $450,000.
Michael Pastore asked, when they met with the owner of Bastille, there are some garages at the alley attached to the property and the owner is willing to sell if someone is willing to buy.
John Durnell asked if there has been any progress about the building at 11th Street and Ann—the former storefront that a van had run into. Jay doesn’t know who the owner is, but will ask Jack Coatar.
Megan Mehrle asked if there was an estimated opening date for the waffle cone/ice cream place. Jay said he wasn’t told. They’re currently changing the plumbing in the floor.
Jim Dallas then asked a question about future activity at 9th Street and Soulard, and Barton and 18th Street. Jay said that he’s waiting on plans.
7. Other Neighborhood Organizations
a. Mardi Gras Parade Prep
Bonita Leiber, Co-chair for the Soulard Station Committee, gave the update about Mardi Gras parade preparation. Tim Lorson, from Mardi Gras, Inc., asked SRG to find people to help with Mardi Gras and return to its grassroots “funk.” Bonita said that she was at the meeting to find people like Members to walk in the parade, be it walkers, krewes, help with artwork, fun concepts, etc. If there is anyone who wants to walk in the parade, please contact Bonita.
8. Adjourn
Jim Dallas asked if there were any questions before adjourning. There weren’t any.
Ben Schloesserr made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Nancy Kelly seconded.
All voted in favor to adjourn the meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 8:14 p.m.