November 2021 General Membership Meeting Minutes
General Membership Monthly Meeting
Nov. 3, 2021
APPROVED Minutes
(Meeting was held at The Rose Room at Sts. Peter & Paul Church)
1. Call to Order and Opening Remarks
Officers and Board Members present included: Jim Dallas, President; Michael Pastore, President-Elect; Debby Brown, Treasurer; Chris Currington, Secretary; Neil Putz, Past President; Margi Koors, Billy Tomber, and Gary Toribio.
Board Members absent included: Nancy Kelly, Nancy Lambert, and Karen Moske.
Committee Chairs present included: Richard Eaton, Beautification; Christopher Schwarz, Fundraising; Veronica Putz, Historical; Julie Price, Membership; Jeanne Kirby, Parlour Tour; Jay Gibbs, Plan Review Team; Andrea Maddox-Dallas, Safety; Bonita Leiber and Laura Grace, Soulard Station.
Special Guests and Speakers included: Lewis Reed, President of the Board of Aldermen, City of St. Louis; Officer Sherdon Douglas, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; Dan Guenther, Alderman Ward 9; and Mary Beth Wallace, for the SBA. Jack Coatar, Alderman Ward 7, arrived at 8:16 p.m.
Jim called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m. and recognized special guests and speakers as well as SRG Officers and Board Members.
Jim asked if there were any new members. Abbey Bethel just bought a house on 10th Street; Steven and Keith Haffron just moved to Allen Ave.; Gayle Brinker just moved to a carriage house on 8th Street; Jerry Whalen; and Josh Wiese, with Gene Slays Girls’ and Boys’ Club, who attended his first meeting representing a business organization.
2. Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed
Alderman Reed discussed the upcoming redistricting plan that the City of St. Louis is now drafting and is due Dec. 31, 2021. When drawing minority wards, because of where Soulard is located geographically, and the population in and around the neighborhood, it’s a natural fit for Soulard to be in one district.
3. SLMPD Liaison Report
Jim Dallas turned the meeting over to Officer Sherdon Douglas, of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and liaison to SRG. Officer Douglas gave the crime update for the Soulard neighborhood. Officer Douglas also referenced a “ParkSmart” sheet that offers advice on how to get and share information when reporting a crime.
Officer Douglas asked for questions. There weren’t any. Jim moved to the next agenda item.
4. Minutes of Previous Meeting
Chris Currington said that the Board approved minutes for the August Board Meeting had been added to the SRG website. The Draft of the September General Membership minutes had been added to the website Sept. 15. There weren’t any changes to or comments received about the Draft of the September General Membership Meeting. Chris then asked if there was a motion to accept the Draft of the September General Membership Meeting.
Neil Putz made the motion to accept the Draft of the minutes. Brenton Henry seconded the motion.
The vote was taken.
All voted in favor of accepting the Draft of the September General Membership Meeting minutes. No votes opposed it.
5. Financial Report
Debby Brown reminded attendees that we’re four months into the fiscal year, and acknowledged the fundraising efforts of committees. Gross profit four months in is ~$4,000 and current cash is ~$75,000. Debby just completed the profit and loss statement, and the entire balance sheet should be posted on the website in the next week or so.
Hearing no questions, Jim Dallas moved to the next agenda item.
6. Committee Reports
a. Beautification
Richard Eaton, Committee Chair, gave the Beautification Committee report. There were fundraising events in September (Floral & Art Auction) and October (Molly’s). Between both events, the committee raised ~$13,000. Richard thanked everyone who supported the events, and thanked the members of the Beautification Committee who helped.
Richard discussed the neighborhood planting pots that need to be winterized and cleaned. Richard also said that there were six palms available for taking home; otherwise, they’re going to freeze.
Richard said that the committee was contacted by a Washington University chemical engineering instructor who is working with students on a pollution study. John Durnell and Richard met with the instructor. Soulard is close to the Mississippi River and the study of plastic pollution expands up and down the river. However, after meeting with the instructor, Soulard may not be an area to study because they couldn’t find enough trash (part of the study is to find what happens with trash and pollution going into the river). Also, the students decided they were going to use the Soulard community as an example of suggestions for other areas and what they can do with trash.
b. Communications
Billy Tomber, Board Liaison to the Communications Committee, gave the report. The committee is looking for a new chair, so anyone interested is encouraged to contact Billy at Billy@soulard.org. Billy acknowledged Jeremy Mehrle who served as the chair for many years. The committee is also looking for new members to help with communications, website, email, document storage, etc. Billy also said that Megan Mehrle and Beth Hoops would be staying on the committee in their current roles.
There was then a brief discussion about the Blaster. Billy told anyone that gets The Blaster as spam email needs to mark it as non-spam in their own email system(s).
Jim Dallas then reiterated that volunteers don’t have to jump straight to the committee’s chair position; ComCom will take volunteers to help with some of the jobs of the committee. Jim mentioned that until we get more help on the committee, the Blaster will not be on a weekly basis, as it has in the past. It will probably be sent once a month, targeting two days prior to each General Membership Meetings. Jim also encouraged anyone interested to email communication@soulard.org or him (president@soulard.org).
c. Fundraising
Christopher Schwarz, Committee Chair, gave the Fundraising Committee report.
Chris thanked everyone who showed up and helped at Oktoberfest. There was also a planned fundraising event for the Soulard Station repairs, but because of event fatigue, this was canceled.
Chris then discussed the live wreaths that are for sale. These wreaths will come from Michigan, and there is a decorated or undecorated option. The decorated wreaths will come decorated for Christmas, with a kit of decorations that can change the wreath to a Mardi Gras theme. The sale has been extended to Nov. 10. All fundraising from the wreaths will go to the SRG.
“Smarty Gras” is also coming up after the first of the new year. Last year, the event was virtual and there was participation “from Portland (Oregon) to Portland (Maine).” This year, the event will be in person. More information will be coming in The Renaissance and The Blaster.
d. Historical
Veronica Putz, Committee Chair, gave the report for the Historical Committee and had three items.
1. Over the years, there has been a lot of great art for various types of posters, so the committee is trying to get posters. Right now, there are three categories: i) Parlour Tour; ii) Garden Tour; and, iii) Mardi Gras. Philip Hanley is leading the effort for collecting the poster, so Members may be hearing from him. The posters will be scanned and loaded to the SRG Cloud Storage.
2. The committee is loading the history of The Restorationist and The Renaissance onto the SRG Cloud.
3. There will be a training session Nov. 19 about researching house history and improving research skills. The committee/attendees can practice doing house research.
Anyone with posters or interested in historical research was encouraged to reach out to Veronica.
e. Membership
Julie Price, Committee Chair, gave the report for Membership. She provided information about the number of resident and business members. There will be a new roster coming up and it will be available at the next General Membership meeting. If anyone’s information in the roster is incorrect, then they can get in touch with the committee.
There’s a wine-tasting event coming up Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. The purpose of this event is to try to get members involved in committees or become members. There will be a raffle for Members who bring new attendees who become a Member of SRG. Committee chairs will also be present and looking for new volunteers for their committees.
Julie then said that the social after this meeting would be at Hammerstone’s.
f. Parlour Tour
Jeanne Kirby, Committee Chair, gave the Parlour Tour update. This will be the 46th year for The Parlour Tour. There will be a limited, in-person tour of 4 homes, with 5 tours and 20 people each (limit of 100 people). This is to keep homeowners and attendees safe. The tour is Dec. 4, and they begin at 1 p.m. Each participant will also get a swag bag.
There will be a second, larger Fete de Noel event with 250 people at The Franklin. There will be dinner, open bar, Parlour Tour posters from years past, entertainment, and a historical presentation from Neil and Veronica Putz. Tickets for this event are $50.
Both The Parlour Tour and the Fete de Noel will require proof of vaccination and mask wearing, other than when eating or drinking.
Tickets for the events go on sale Nov. 10. For The Parlour Tour, there’s a limit of 4 tickets for whoever purchases them. Visit soulard.org to purchase tickets.
g. Plan Review Team
Jay Gibbs, Committee Chair, gave the update for the PRT. He said that for the past few months, things have been quiet. There’s a new house planned at the end of Shenandoah and the owners will be coming back with formal plans to be approved. Two days ago, Jay got an email from realtors that represent 1919 S. 11th Street, but he doesn’t know what the issues are. The owner will be meeting with the PRT committee.
Jay said that he was recently walking up Geyer and noticed a big hole in the side of one the edifices (vacant lot). Apparently, the present owner is digging trenches for a foundation. Jay looked at the plans that appear to have been approved in 2019/2020. He’s going to call and check on the permits.
Jay also said that he, Jim Dallas, and Michael Pastore are going to meet with the owner of Bastille about a proposed French-style balcony.
h. Safety
Andrea Maddox-Dallas, Committee Chair, gave the report. The executive summary for the Safety Survey results are on SRG’s website. If anyone wants the report, they can contact safety@soulard.org.
For the May Safety Walk, Andrea thanked those that participated. The October Safety Walk was rained out, but also postponed. Participants got their sheets of areas to check for safety issues, and there were approximately 70 listed.
Andrea said she was excited to share the news about a possible SRG camera program. There’s an interest in a database of cameras and coverage areas, but this ran into legal and confidentiality issues in the past. Andrea signed up on other neighborhood safety committees to get ideas. The Hill Neighborhood (The Hill) has a good concept that doesn’t require access to a database; only three people have access. On The Hill, if a crime happens the liaison police officer can see who has cameras and their contact information. Then, the officer can reach out to the resident, but the resident is not obligated to share any video. It’s voluntary. Andrea said that the General Membership would be hearing more about this program in Soulard.
There was a question about when and how people would sign up. Andrea said residents will be notified. Officer Douglas also said this type of program helps so that perpetrators don’t necessarily see a police officer at your door after the crime has happened, in case anyone is worried about retaliation. This is a safer way for the police to get information without being seen.
i. Soulard Station
Bonita Leiber and Laura Grace, Co-chairs for the committee, gave the update together. Laura said that Bonita has been busy making the grounds at the Station beautiful, and with fall coming, they’ve refinished the bottom half of the kitchen cabinets within the building and they’ll be moving to the upper half of the cabinets and other interior areas.
There was a reminder that anyone using the Station should clean up after themselves.
This committee is always looking for new members who can do things to help take care of the property. The committee is also looking for anyone that might have some leftover paint.
The committee has revamped the brick project—commemorative bricks on the back patio. There will be bricks made for past presidents. Also, members can request commemorative bricks. Costs to have a brick engraved is $100. Then, whoever has a brick engraved has something at the Station forever.
There’s an event planned for Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. Mardi Gras Inc. is looking for participation from neighbors. This will be an information session about the parade; they’re looking to get crews; etc. Bonita said that she’s been asked to bring Soulard fun to the parade and have something that gets back to the grassroots. There may be people who want to dress up and march in the parade. There may be some crafting at the event, too, such as sewing some outfits.
7. Other Neighborhood Organizations
a. Soulard Business Association
Mary Beth Wallace gave the report in the absence of Cathy Weldon. SBA thinks that Oktoberfest was a success.
SBA has received a lot of complaints about the bar-cycles. SBA is going to reach out to the bar-cycle owners, and the SBA directors are meeting this month to address issues. Businesses are also aggravated with the bar-cycle situation.
b. American Legion
Christopher Schwarz gave the report for the American Legion. Chris said that Veterans’ Day was coming up and reminded all attendees to thank a veteran. There will be a parade in Downtown St. Louis. There will also be a 75thanniversary celebration at the VFW Post in Soulard. There will be a party and ceremony Nov. 13 at noon with a golf cart parade and two bands.
Nov. 19 is the last happy hour of the year, and it will be the annual turkey fry.
Several people play the Queen of Hearts fundraiser and there was a winner of $3,000 this week. The pot is $30,000 and the drawing is the next Tuesday. Whoever wins will receive 70% of the pot. Visit the American Legion’s Facebook page for more information or to buy Queen of Hearts tickets.
8. President’s Update
a. By-laws
Jim Dallas said that the SRG Board was given the by-laws revision document in June and between the working group and the Board, the process has been going on for over a year now. The first meeting that the Board discussed/debated the revisions was in August. Several provisions were debated in August, September, and October board meetings
Examples of issues the Board has discussed/debated include: Approval process for awards; Editor will no longer be an appointed board position; Approval process for membership applications; Clarification of counting of votes; Clarification of when the president votes.
At this point, Jim plans to ask the Board to vote for the by-laws revision at the November board meeting. If the Board passes them, Jim will then give notice to the members at the December General Membership Meeting and simultaneously will post the Board-approved document on the SRG website. The Board has to give two-months’ notice before calling for a vote from the general membership. There will be a Q&A period for two months, and then a call for vote likely at the February General Membership Meeting, but this will depend on questions the Board receives and the responses and the extent to whether the comments require more changes to the document.
There was a question from Mike Ziemann about the by-laws revisions and who has approval to write checks and spend SRG money. Jim said everyone will be able to see what the Board said once the by-laws revisions are posted online. Michael Pastore said that now either he or Jim are the second signature on every check. Jim said he’d be happy to check to see if there’s something in the by-laws about those issues and get back to Mike. Debby Brown confirmed that even the current bylaws state there should be two signatures on checks.
b. Board Resolutions/Motions
i. Minimum asset size amortization
Jim said that, per a recommendation from Linda Howdeshell, who is performing an audit for SRG, the Board passed a resolution in September that sets the minimum size to amortize, or spread the cost of an asset purchase, at $2,500. As a result, if the purchase of an item that would be considered an asset is less than $2,500, SRG will fully expense the item at the time of purchase.
ii. Board goals
At the SRG Board retreat in June, the Board developed a list of priorities for the 2021-22 term. One of those priorities was to develop a list of board goals. Over the ensuing months, the Board worked on developing the goals. Nancy Lambert led the effort for this particular task, with help from fellow Board members Margi Koors and Chris Currington, and input from Marilyn Morris, Beth Bennett, Connie Suydam, and Lillian Thompson, all well-respected and key individuals in our neighborhood
The goals were approved at the October board meeting, and are classified as either Aspirational or Organizational.
Some of the goals have been completed, such as “Complete and distribute training manuals for all committee chairs,” since we wrote the goals.
The hope is that future boards will continue with this process early in each term, and that those future boards will communicate those goals to the Membership and to the SRG committees as guidance and direction for each committee.
Jim then said he would post the goals to the website.
iii. Formation of Community Involvement and Events Committee
Jim said that the Board recently formed a new committee: the Community Involvement and Events Committee. Jim then read the following:
The Community Involvement & Events Committee’s purpose is to build, leverage, and engage a diverse and inclusive membership through a set of events where everyone in the Soulard neighborhood is invited to attend. The events will be diverse in nature and appeal to a broad base of neighbors and families of all backgrounds. This Committee will also work with other committees on their events to ensure that every attempt has been made to invite all Members and non-members to various events that are held and sponsored by SRG throughout the year.
Chris Currington was key in moving this initiative, which came out of the retreat, forward. The committee will be posted on the website, and the Board will be looking for a chair for this committee.
iv. Request for zoning change support
Jim said that in September, the SRG Board received a request to support a change in zoning to the building at 10th and Emmet. The change in zoning would allow the first floor of that building to support a restaurant. The owner, Bob Brandhurst, plans to renovate the space and have The Wood Shack occupy it. After some discussion, the board voted to send a letter of support for the zoning change, and Jim has been told that the Board of Adjustment approved the zoning change, with some conditions (dumpster, trash can out front, hours of operation, etc.)
v. Request for support of liquor license
Jim said that the SRG received a request to support the liquor license request for the restaurant that plans to go into the space at Nadine’s, at 12th and Allen. This is because the SRG owns property (Soulard Station) within 350 feet of the restaurant. The Board discussed this at the October meeting, and SRG has asked one of the owners of the new restaurant to speak to us at the November Board meeting. The owner is the same owner as The Crow’s Nest in Maplewood, and at this point, the name of the new restaurant in Soulard will be The Crow Bar.
c. Search for new fundraising chair
Jim said the recent issue of The Blaster had a job description for the Chair of the Fundraising Committee. If anyone is interested, email Jim at president@soulard.org.
9. Adjourn
Brenton Henry made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Michael Pastore seconded the motion.
The vote was taken.
All voted to adjourn the meeting at 8:48 p.m.