MARCH 2021 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
Soulard Restoration Group, Inc.
MARCH 2021 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
Meeting Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Time called to order: 7:01 p.m.
Meeting was a video conference conducted on Zoom.
Minutes APPROVED at the April 7, 2021 Annual General Membership Meeting.
SRG BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Neil Putz (Pres./ Mtg Chair), Jim Dallas (President Elect), Gary Toribio (Secretary), Scott Plackemeier (Past President), John Durnell, Beth Hoops, Marilyn Morris, Nancy Lambert, Billy Tomber (Editor, Renaissance). Absent: Jeff Roberts (Treasurer), Taylor Bodine.
SRG COMMITTEE CHAIRS PRESENT: Richard Eaton (Beautification), Andrea Maddox-Dallas (Safety), Julie Price (Membership), Bonita Leiber (Soulard Station), Christopher Schwarz (Fundraising), Luann Denten (Res Promo – left meeting before making a Committee Report). Absent: Jay Gibbs (Code & Zoning), Jeremy Mehrle (Communications), Laura Grace (Co-Chair Soulard Station), Jeanne Kirby (Parlour Tour)
SPEAKERS/OTHER ATTENDEES: Jack Coatar (7th Ward Alderman), Dan Guenther (9th Ward Alderman), Officer Sherdon Douglas (SLMPD Soulard Liaison), Marty Murray, Jr. (7th Ward Democratic Committeeman – joined meeting late), Cathy Weldon (Soulard Business Assoc.), Shedrick “Nato Caliph” Kelley (Candidate 7th Ward Alderman).
A. CALL TO ORDER & OPENING REMARKS (President)
1. Recognition of Attendees: Elected Officials, Directors & Officers, New Members
a. Those on the Zoom videoconference were recognized and welcomed.
2. General Meetings (First Wednesdays: 60 min time limit)
3. Email Updates:
a. Neil Putz asked all members to update any changes in their current email address with the Membership Committee.
4. Pending Appointment of Acting Treasurer:
a. Neil Putz explained that the current Treasurer, Jeff Roberts, is experiencing heavy work demands from his work schedule. Therefore, Neil will be appointing an acting Treasurer until a new Treasurer is elected in April.
5. State of the Budget:
a. Neil Putz said that we are doing well with meeting the budget expectations for this year, but he will provide more information under the Treasurer’s Report.
b. In the Zoom Chat Meghan Mehrle said: “Not sure where the board is at on deciding whether to resume membership fees, but just want to suggest you might consider asking people to give whatever portion of the membership fee they feel they’re able; that way we can ease hardship where it exists, but not lose income from those who are still able to contribute.”
i) Neil Putz replied that the current Board decided that membership should be free for this past year during COVID, and everyone is glad that we did. After the April elections, the new, incoming Board will determine the amount of dues for the next year, which will be one of their first decisions.
c. Neil also explained that the current Board has made contributions over the past year to the community including $5,000 to the Sts. Peter and Paul Clean Team Program which SBA also makes a matching contribution to.
B. SLMPD LIAISON REPORT (Officer Sherdon Douglas)
1. The crime statistics for the months of January and February 2021 in Soulard were reviewed by Officer Douglas.
a. The new SLMPD Crime System only allow statistics to be accesses for the past 60 days.
2. The shift detail unit is running nightly patrols.
3. Officer Douglas will provide a copy of the crime report for public distribution to Neil Putz, and he will include it in the Blaster.
4. In the Zoom chat, Officer Douglas provided her email address: sdouglas@slmpd.org
C. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MONTHLY BOARD MEETING (Secretary)
1. Gary Toribio stated that the final draft of the February 3, 2021, General Membership Meeting were available prior to this evening’s meeting on the SRG website for membership review and comment. He reported that no comments or revisions were received.
Motion to approve the minutes for the SRG Monthly Board Meeting on February 3, 2021, as posted on the SRG website by the Secretary.
Motion by Billy Tomber, 2nd Scott Plackemeier
Those present voted in favor of this motion. No votes opposed it.
Motion passed unanimously.
D. FINANCIAL REPORT (President)
1. Neil Putz reported, on behalf of the Treasurer who could not participate in the Zoom meeting, that for the first 8 months of this fiscal year through the end of February 2021:
a. Income to date: $11,734
b. Expenditures to date: $24,722
c. Net Loss to date: $13,038
d. Current Balance in bank accounts: $80,872
2. The projected loss in the budget for this fiscal year due to COVID Restrictions was $34,835. The net loss to date is approximately one-third of this amount although it is for 8 months, therefore SRG is ahead of expected losses.
3. SRG’s audit process has started with bank account and expense information being gathered for review; and, once complete and approved by the Board, it will be available to the membership.
F. OLD BUSINESS
1. Bylaws Working Group (President Elect)
a. Jim Dallas reported that he met with Christopher Schwarz on the current mark-ups of the Bylaw revisions for some editing.
b. The goal is for a new draft of the revisions being circulated among the working group members within the next 3 weeks, late March.
c. Action on bylaw amendments will not be until the term of the next Board.
2. Historic Code Review (President Elect)
a. Jim Dallas said nine (9) members have volunteered for the working group, and they had a Zoom meeting on Monday, 3/1, that was a high-level review of previous efforts on revisions to the code that were not completed.
i) Members include several individuals on the Plan Review Team/Code & Zoning Committee, 2 past presidents, Neil Putz, and Jim Dallas.
b. There will be another work group meeting in 2 weeks.
c. The Historic Code review and updates will be a long process which will also include involvement by our Aldermen.
3. Future of Soulard Station (President & President Elect)
a. Jim Dallas was leading this working group along with the Soulard Station Committee.
b. Jim Dallas reported that the Station costs approximately $9,000 to $10,000 per year to operate and maintain regardless of the frequency of the use of the building. Also, it did not produce any revenue in the 2 years prior to the pandemic in 2018 and 2019.
c. Jim also explained that the working group looked at what to do with Soulard Station due to its small size and limitations for its use in comparison with the needs of SRG.
d. SRG leadership and the group gave some initial consideration to several possibilities such as:
i) Expand the Station with a one- or two-story addition.
ii) Consider the potential for purchasing one of various other properties in partnership with other nonprofit organizations in Soulard.
(1) Such partnering does not seem feasible, so they decided to not proceed with the other organizations.
e. The Working Group is continuing to assess the existing Station and determine alternatives other than continuing with the status quo.
4. Question on availability of monthly P&L Statements for members (Michael Pastore)
a. Michael Pastore asked in the Zoom chat for a detailed, line by line P&L available for viewing.
b. While we are doing virtual General Membership Zoom meeting, members should be given a way to see SRG’s monthly Profit & Loss Statement and income and expenses in a balance sheet type summary. Copies of the P&L and Balance Sheet summaries were available at the in-person membership meetings before the pandemic.
c. Neil Putz replied that he and Jim Dallas intend to do this and share the financial status with the members at meetings. The Treasurer has been working on QuickBooks so this can be more easily done.
5. Clean Team Program (Julie Price)
a. Julie Price asked in the Zoom chat, about the trash clean-up with Sts Peter and Paul, is there a report given to us and other organizations providing funds, as to the progress and scope of their work? Do they work daily? How many hours? Number of bags collected? etc. If not, can we request such a report and make it available?
b. Lillian Thompson asked what areas are covered? She also noted that the southern end of Soulard (e.g., Menard/Barton) has a lot of trash that is never picked up.
c. Neil Putz will ask Sts Peter & Paul Community Services for a summary of the scope of their clean-up activities.
d. Cathy Weldon, SBA rep, added that the Soulard Clean Team funding is $5,000 each from SRG, SBA and Trinity Lutheran Church. The workers are paid $10/hour.
i) In the Zoom chat, Cathy also explained more about the Clean Team. Their scope of their work is to empty public trash cans from Soulard Market to the Brewery. Andre Cole at Sts. Peter & Paul Community Services is the team’s direct supervisor. The workers are residents of the shelter which normally houses 60 men. Currently 10 to 12 men are part of our team rotating through the week. The shelter has experienced significant setbacks due to COVID restrictions early in the pandemic. The shelter is still under limited capacity due to COVID. These setbacks have impacted our neighborhood clean-up. On average the team goes go out 3 days per week for 2 hours. They cover the entirety of Soulard. Currently if you see trash, you can email Cathy at her SBA email address: info@historicsoulard.com with the location; and she will get the message to the team. Recently the Soulard CID has announce that they will make an additional contribution of $10,000. With this additional funding, the workers will receive a pay raise at $12/hour plus additional men and workdays.
G. NEW BUSINESS (Neil Putz)
1. April Annual Membership Meeting and Elections: (President)
a. Procedures
i) Neil Putz said electronic elections via email was done for the first time in July 2020 to vote for the President Elect and went well. Due to continuing COVID restrictions necessitating our meetings on Zoom, we will do electronic elections again in April.
ii) The President’s letter in the March 3rd Blaster provided information on preparing for the April Election. Everyone was asked to inform the Membership Committee of any updates to your latest email address. The Membership list of voting members’ email addresses will be used for the electronic voting.
b. Neil Putz introduced the current Candidates for the April elections and allowed each of them to briefly mention their qualifications:
i) For Director:
(1) Nancy Lambert
(2) Gary Toribio
(3) Craig Markham
(4) Dessi Zaneva
(5) Karen Moske
(6) Margi Koors
(7) Nancy Kelly (Nancy was not available for the Zoom meeting, so she did not speak)
ii) For Treasurer: Debby Brown
iii) For Secretary: Chris Currington
iv) For President Elect: Michael Pastore (Michael was on the Zoom meeting but his microphone was not working, so he did not speak.)
c. Neil Putz also said that he has completed bio forms from each of the current candidates which will be distributed the week of March 8th.
d. Joy Christensen ask for the number of Board positions being filled in the elections.
e. Neil Putz explained that five (5) Director positions elected at-large are available between the seven (7) candidates. SRG previously created a system to not have all 5 directors change at one time. Therefore two (2) Directors will be elected for a 1-year term and three (3) Directors for a 2-year term.
2. SRG Conflict of Interest Policy (President)
a. Neil Putz explained that when he was on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit SLMPD Citizens Academy, they adopted a Conflict-of-Interest Policy that was developed by Wash U Law. He is working with the Board to adopt a similar policy for SRG to have all Officers and Directors keep everything separate from their personal interest.
3. Problem Property Update – Henry’s Bar, 825 S 9th at Allen (President)
a. Neil Putz said that he has received input and help from several SRG members to prepare a letter regarding problems with Henry’s Bar that he will be sending to the City.
b. He asked that members inform the President of any other problem properties.
H. COMMITTEE REPORTS (Chairs/Liaisons)
1. Beautification Richard Eaton
a. Richard Eaton mentioned that the warmer weather being experienced has caused some planting to start earlier than normal.
b. Richard will be sending out info to committee members on dates planned for maintenance and clean-up of the parks in Soulard.
c. If anyone would like to help with Beautification, email Richard Eaton at beautification@soulard.org
2. Code & Zoning/PRT John Durnell
a. The committee chair, Jay Gibbs, did not participate in this Zoom meeting; so, John Durnell, the committee’s Board Liaison, reported that the developer of the proposed infill apartment project at Lami and Menard had initially appealed the City’s decision to deny additional curb-cuts on Lami. The developer has recently withdrawn the appeal and might drop the project.
b. In the Zoom chat, Lisa Otke mentioned another project in the works that the PRT gave input on. Landmarks Association has purchased the building at 1805/1807 S. 9th across from the Abbey. They will be completing a full rehab/restoration of the building.
3. Communications Jeremy Mehrle/Billy Tomber
a. The committee chair, Jeremy Mehrle, did not participate in this Zoom meeting; so, Billy Tomber, the committee’s Board Liaison, reported that next edition of the Renaissance will be in the Spring.
b. Megan Mehrle, the Co-Editor of the Renaissance, said that they will be planning this next edition by the end of March; and it will be issued in early May.
i) Email articles for the Renaissance to: editor@soulard.org
4. Fundraising Christopher Schwarz
a. Christopher Schwarz did not have much to report due to the pandemic’s effects on fundraising. They are on standby for events as loosening of COVID restrictions develop.
b. SRG’s Smarty Gras online trivia event was featured in an article in the Post-Dispatch.
5. Membership Julie Price
a. Julie Price reported that SRG currently has 538 members.
b. The committee is developing a recommendation to the Board on membership dues in May.
c. SRG’s customary Membership Drive party will be difficult to have in May due to COVID restrictions on getting 300 to 500 people together. The committee will try to develop ideas for some type of celebration for the SRG membership.
d. The committee decided to suspend the Volunteer Star Awards for this year since there have not been opportunities for many volunteers during the pandemic.
e. There will still be a volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award this year.
f. Approximately 120 SRG face masks are still available for sale. Quite a few of the masks have already been sold, so SRG is breaking even on the costs. Masks can be purchased by emailing membership@soulard.org or stop by Julie’s office at J. Price Insurance, 2020 S 12th
6. Parlour Tour Jeanne Kirby/Beth Hoops
a. The committee chair, Jeanne Kirby, did not participate in the Zoom meeting; so, Beth Hoops, the committee’s Board Liaison, said that the December 2020 virtual tour has been wrapped-up so there is no update.
7. Residential Promotions Luann Denten
a. The committee chair, Luann Denten, had her cell phone’s battery runout of power; so, she was not still in the Zoom meeting at this point of the agenda. Consequently, there was no committee report.
8. Safety Andrea Maddox-Dallas/Nancy Lambert
a. Andrea Maddox-Dallas said the committee is making progress, had their second meeting, and finalized their goals. More information was included at the end of the minutes for the February General Membership meeting.
b. A community safety survey will be going out soon to obtain input from members on safety and security issues in Soulard.
c. The committee is reviving the Safety Walk which is tentatively planned for Thursday May 13 following COVID safety precautions. It may be done in conjunction with SSBD.
d. A communications plan is being drafted, and it may be out in April.
e. The committee is collaborating and coordinating with MGI, SSBD., CID, SBA and Officer Douglas.
9. Soulard Station Bonita Leiber
a. Bonita Leiber reported that the committee has been maintaining the building.
b. The needed brick tuckpointing was completed on the south wall.
c. The heating unit is having some issues but may only need the thermostat replaced.
d. The solar panels may be cleaned by Billy Tomber soon.
I. Other Neighborhood Organizations
1. American Legion (Jim Rick)
a. Jim Rick mentioned that not much is occurring at the Legion due to COVID restrictions, and there will not be any fish fries this year since the kitchen is small and the cash bar cannot be operated which generates most of the revenue.
b. Thanked everyone who has been participating in the Legion’s weekly Queen of Hearts Raffle, and the jackpot is increasing by $500 per week.
2. CID (Terry Hoffman)
a. Terry Hoffman explained that the trash receptacles were to be in place, but they are having delays while working through permitting issues with the city to ensure their placement do cause problems for ADA accessibility. They hope the receptacles and porter services are in place by April 1.
b. The CID is making a $10,000 contribution to the Sts Peter & Paul Community Services Clean Team Program so that they can be on the streets throughout the year.
c. A survey will be going out to the neighborhood for feedback on where the CID should be spending money and prioritizing future projects.
d. They are also meeting with the City Board of Public Service regarding traffic calming in the neighborhood and developing a strategic, long term approach.
3. SSBD (Terry Hoffman)
a. Terry Hoffman said that SSBD has free car clubs available for any resident of Soulard. To obtain one, email info@soulard-sbd.org
4. SBA (Cathy Weldon)
a. Cathy Weldon said that SBA is finishing the Mardi Gras tee shirt sales and info is at historicsoulard.com. Questions on this and other SBA matters can be emailed to info@historicsoulard.com
b. Cathy’s office hours are Tuesdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at 822 Lafayette.
c. At this time, litter problems can be reported to: info@historicsoulard.com
d. CID and SBA is working on setting up a separate email address for reporting trash and litter problems directly to Fr. Drea for the Sts. Peter & Paul Community Services Clean Team.
4. Others
a. South Broadway Athletic Club (Dan Guenther)
i) Dan Guenther informed everyone that SBAC (2301 S. 7th) is starting to come out of being dormant due to COVID.
(1) SBAC had a Mardi Gras event that was successful.
ii) Upcoming events:
(1) Comedy Show, Saturday, March 27th, 7 – 9 p.m.
(2) Wrestling Shows, April 10th & 17th
(3) Youth Boxing, April 24th
b. Update from 7th Ward Democratic Committeeman (Marty Murray, Jr.)
i) Marty Murray thanked everyone who voted in the City primaries on March 2 with the new approval voting system.
ii) There will be another vote on April 6th for the City election of the Mayor and Aldermen between the 2 candidates that received the most votes for each position in the primaries.
iii) There will be an upcoming debate between the candidates for Ward 7 Aldermen with the date and time to be announced in the Blaster once it is scheduled.
iv) When asked, Marty replied that questions can be emailed to him at MissouriForMurray@outlook.com or text to (314) 425-9259
J. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to Adjourn the SRG General Membership Meeting.
Motion by Scott Plackemeier, 2nd by Nancy Lambert
Those present voted in favor of this motion. No votes opposed it.
Motion passed unanimously.
1. Meeting Adjourned at 8:32 p.m.
______________________________________________________________________
These minutes summarizing this meeting were prepared by SRG Secretary, Gary Toribio.
Please email review comments on these Draft Minutes to secretary@soulard.org
Minutes APPROVED at SRG General Membership Meeting on April 7, 2021
Note: The above information is the Board Secretary’s understanding of the motions, votes and general issues that were discussed but are not intended to be a verbatim transcript of the meeting.
______________________________________________________________________
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CHAT from the Zoom videoconference for the March SRG General Membership Meeting on 3/3/2021.
19:02:23 From Officer Sherdon Douglas to Everyone : sdouglas@slmpd.org
19:15:01 From Lilli to Everyone : Please note in Blaster that minutes of meetings are posted on srg website. Thx
19:16:57 From Megan Mehrle to Everyone : I’ve passed your request along, Lilli.
19:17:42 From Megan Mehrle to Everyone : Not sure where the board is at on deciding whether to resume membership fees, but just want to suggest you might consider asking people to give whatever portion of the membership fee they feel they’re able; that way we can ease hardship where it exists, but not lose income from those who are still able to contribute.
19:18:40 From mnrmp to Everyone : is there a detailed, line by line P&L available for viewing?
19:21:57 From Neil Putz to Everyone : The SRG leadership does want to provide a line by line Profit & Loss report for viewing by membership. I will address in a few minutes.
19:23:14 From Julie Price to Everyone : with regard to the trash clean up with sts peter and paul people. is there a report given to us and other organizations providing funds, as to the progress and scope of their work? do they work daily? how many hours? number of bags collected? etc....if not, can we request such a report and make it available?
19:27:01 From Neil Putz to Everyone : Good question, Julie. I will ask Sts Peter & Paul Community Services for a summary of the scope of their clean up activities.
19:27:39 From Cathys Weldon -SBA rep to Everyone : soulard clean team funding: $5,000 each from Srg, sba, Trinity. the men are paid $10/hour.
19:28:21 From Lilli to Everyone : Please add to that, what areas are covered. Southern end of Soulard (eg Menard/Barton) has a lot of trash that is never picked up.
19:29:29 From Cathys Weldon -SBA rep to Everyone : on average they go out 3 days per week for 2 hours. they cover the entire soulard.
19:36:02 From mnrmp to Everyone : Neil, my microphone does not work on this laptop.
19:42:33 From Lilli to Everyone : Craig mentioned that there was a vision/strategic plan for Soulard at one time in past. How can we get a copy?
19:43:37 From Neil Putz to Everyone : I have some resources to share for that subject, Lilli. Will discuss offline via email.
20:01:03 From Julie Price to Everyone : when will the new board be announced? end of April meeting?
20:01:26 From Cathy Weldon -SBA rep to Everyone : more info on clean team. the scope of their work is to empty public trash cans from soulard market to the brewery. Andre Cole at St. Peter and paul community services is the direct supervisor. the me. are residents of the shelter which normally houses 60 men. 10-12 men are part of our team rotating through the week. the shelter has significant setbacks due to covid restrictions. early in the pandemic. the shelter is still under limited capacity due to covid. these setbacks have impacted our neighborhood clean up. currently if you see trash, you can email info@historicsoulard.com with location and I will get the message to the team. recently the soulard CID has announce that they will make an additional contribution of $10,000. with this additional funding, the me. will receive a pay raise at $12/hour plus additional me. and days.
20:04:08 From Soulard Restoration Group to Everyone : If you'd like to help with Beautification, emails Richard at beautification@soulard.org
20:06:00 From Julie Price to Everyone : thanks cathy. I think it is important for residents to have an email to send areas with trash. can we post that on the blaster?
20:06:01 From Lisa Otke to Everyone : Landmarks Association has purchased a building on 9th across from the Abbey. They will be completing a full rehab/restoration of the building.
20:06:34 From Lisa Otke to Everyone : That is another project in the works that the PRT gave input on.
20:06:46 From Jack Coatar to Everyone : I have to jump for one more Zoom meeting. Great to see so many of you at the polls yesterday. Thank you for the support of my re-election effort. It’s been an honor to serve Soulard and I’m hoping to continue serving. Please don’t forget to vote (again) on April 6! If anyone needs anything from me, I can be reached at 314-374-0691 or jack@jackcoatar.com
20:10:29 From folksl’s iPad to Everyone : folks23@hotmail.com for Lonnie Folks and conrane4077@gmail.com for Eileen Conran-Folks, a.k.a. Queenie.
20:12:19 From Cathys Weldon -SBA rep to Everyone : Julie. we are in the process of setting up a separate email for trash. you can post the info@ email and update it when we have the new one. or wait for the new
20:18:03 From kmoske to Everyone : will legion consider doing a drive thru fish fry
20:23:08 From Soulard Restoration Group to Everyone : For car clubs:
20:23:14 From Soulard Restoration Group to Everyone : info@soulard-sbd.org
20:23:55 From Gary T to Everyone : If we have a litter problem in a particular area, how do we report it for the Clean Team?
20:24:46 From kmoske to Everyone : CAthy do you have black hoodies in large or x-L ?
20:24:54 From Daniel Guenther to Everyone : Hey Neil, can I say a few words about SBAC?
20:25:02 From Neil Putz to Everyone : YES
20:26:04 From Daniel Guenther to Everyone : thanks
20:27:33 From Cathys Weldon -SBA rep to Everyone : Karen, not sure what sizes remain. check the link on the website. i historic soulard.com
20:27:49 From kmoske to Everyone : Thanks Cathy
20:28:13 From Marty Murray Jr to Everyone : Woot!! Go SBAC!!
20:29:18 From Cathys Weldon -SBA rep to Everyone : Mardi Gras hoodies: https://shopsoulard.square.site
20:31:00 From kmoske to Everyone : Neil not sure if announcements are still allowed, if anyone from Joanies to go is on, I believe this Friday they are offering fish fry, and if you purchase fish the proceeds are going to St. Vincent's Church over on 10th street I believe for the homeless/meals program.
20:31:54 From Lisa Otke to Everyone : marty - what is your email that we can send questions to you?
20:32:18 From Marty Murray Jr to Everyone : MissouriForMurray@outlook.com, Text 314.425.9259
20:33:30 From Daniel Guenther to Everyone : Thanks Neil & all of SRG :)
20:34:02 From Nato Caliph to Everyone : thanks everyone 314.435.6152
