MARCH 2022 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES

Mar 25

General Membership Meeting

March 2, 2022

Approved Minutes

1. Call to Order

Michael Pastore, President-Elect, conducted the meeting in Jim Dallas’, President’s, absence. The meeting was conducted via Zoom. The meeting was called to order at 7:03 p.m.

a. Recognition of attendees

Board Members present included: Michael Pastore, President-Elect; Debby Brown, Treasurer; Chris Currington, Secretary; Neil Putz, Past President; Nancy Kelly; Margi Koors; Nancy Lambert; Billy Tomber; and Gary Toribio.

Board Members absent included: Jim Dallas, President, and Karen Moske.

Special Guest present included: Dan Guenther, St. Louis Alderman 9th Ward.

Committee Chairs present included: Brenton Henry, Communications; Veronica Putz, Historical; Julie Price, Membership; and Bonita Leiber, Soulard Station.

Michael thanked everyone for joining the meeting, and that hopefully this would be the last Zoom call meeting as the number of COVID cases continues to go down.

Michael asked if there were any new SRG members. Madeline Galla, sales and event manager at 9th Street Abbey, introduced herself as a guest and said that SRG has done happy hours at the Abbey in the past. Michael asked her if the 9th Street Abbey is an SRG business member. Madeline said she doesn’t recall, but the business has been closed for two years. Julie Price said she would follow up.

Rachel Steiger, Kelsie Woodward, and Marco Barrera, all from STL BarCycle, introduced themselves. Michael welcomed them to the neighborhood.

2. Secretary’s Report

Chris Currington, Secretary, said that the approved January Board Meeting minutes and the draft of the February General Membership Meeting minutes were added to the website. Chris asked for a motion to approve the minutes.

Margi Koors made the motion to accept the draft of the February General Membership Meeting as final. Nancy Kelly seconded.

The vote was taken. All voted in favor.

The motion to accept the February General Membership Meeting minutes as final passed.

3. Financial Report

Debby Brown, Treasurer, reminded attendees that the fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. She gave the report through February. Total revenue was ~$57,000; booked expenses are ~$40,000; net income is ~$17,000. The cash balance is currently ~$85,000.

Debby asked for questions. There weren’t any, so Michael moved to the next agenda item.

4. President’s Update

a. New Chair of Communication Committee

Michael Pastore said there’s a new chair for ComCom—Brenton Henry—who has an impressive bio and resume. Brenton is an expert at best practices for social media, communications, and digital marketing. Brenton is an Emmy award-winner. He and his wife, Liz, live on 10th Street with their twin daughters. Michael welcomed Brenton and said SRG is looking forward to his expertise. Brenton (dialed in from Denver, Colorado) thanked Michael for the introduction.

b. O’Fallon Brewery

Michael said that SRG will soon be seeing Soulard Golden Ale in local establishments. SRG has partnered with O’Fallon to market beer using our trademark star on the front. O’Fallon will donate a portion of the proceeds to SRG (beginning in April), for one year, with the right to extend the program beyond that. Michael said Billy Tomber deserves a round of applause for spearheading this. Billy was enthusiastic and diligent, and SRG is looking forward to this being a success. There may also be a launch party.

c. Neighborhood Forum

Mardi Gras Inc. (MGI) is having a neighborhood forum March 3 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be at MGI’s office on Dolman and Ann. It will be an open discussion to offer thoughts, well-wishes, concerns, comments, and anything related to Mardi Gras (Grand Parade, Street Party, and any other associated events). MGI is good about opening the conversation to what worked, what didn’t work, etc.

d. April Election

Michael said that, at the February Board Meeting, the Board voted to recommend the slate of candidates for the 2022/2023 election coming up for election at the April General Membership Meeting. Megan Mehrle posted the slate of candidates on the screen:

* Michael Pastore, President

* Jim Dallas, Past President

* Returning Board Members: Nancy Lambert; Karen Moske; Gary Toribio

* Running for 2022/2023 President-Elect: Abbey Bethel

* Running for 2022/2023 Secretary: Chris Currington

* Running for 2022/2023 Treasurer: Debby Brown

* Slate of Directors Running: Margi Koors (current Board member); Craig Markham; and Stephen Shuman.

Michael said this is a strong slate and he looks forward to an easy vote. Nominations for open positions will be considered up through March 11. Michael then asked each of the new candidates to introduce themselves and give more information.

* Abbey Bethel (summarized): “Hi everybody. I’m 10th Street Abbey. I was on the Parlour Tour. We look forward to making a name for ourselves. I’m looking forward to being on the board and making contributions to the neighborhood.”

* Craig Markham (summarized): “Good evening, everyone. I live on 9th Street, catty-corner to the 9th Street Abbey. I’ve lived in the neighborhood since 2011. It’s a pleasure to be involved in the neighborhood’s endeavors. I’m a part of the Historical Committee and I’ve been on the Parlour Tour. I think we’ve got such a special asset with the neighborhood, and I look forward to working with the talent of SRG to create a vision of how to drive forward. I have over 22 years of board level and executive experience, and I’m honored to be part of this.”

Stephen Shuman was not on the Zoom call. Michael said that detailed biographies for each of the candidates is on the SRG website if anyone wants to look at them more closely. Margi said that during the Mardi Gras Grand Parade, she saw two gentlemen on a golf cart and asked to sit…one of the men was Craig Markham, and they ended up talking for about 30 minutes. Margi hopes everyone in SRG gets a chance to meet him soon. Michael said he also had the opportunity to meet Craig during Mardi Gras and had a good conversation with him.

e. Mask Mandate

Michael asked Dan Guenther, St. Louis City Alderman, if there was an update about the City’s mask mandate.

Dan said that there was a Health and Human Services Committee meeting, and the City will be dropping the mask mandate March 6. However, the aldermen are out in the community and recommending that if anyone is in a public place with a high population of immunocompromised and children under 5 who can’t get vaccination, then please continue to wear masks.

Michael asked if businesses can have their own mandate. Dan said it will be in the hands of the business owners, and referenced that Venice Café will ask for proof-of-vaccination to enter. However, the city-wide indoor mandate will expire.

Michael said the SRG Board recently passed updated COVID guidelines (for entry at events) that requires proof of full COVID vaccination (or negative PCR test within 72 hours of the event). However, this may no longer be doable, but the Board will revisit it. Margi Koors said that for the upcoming Smarty Gras, the policy (showing vaccination card or negative PCR test within 72 hours) will remain in place. Nancy Lambert confirmed this. Billy Tomber put into the Zoom chat the website that has the current SRG policy for event entry.

5. Liquidity Policy

Michael Pastore said the board passed a resolution concerning the minimum cash to have on hand. This resolution was based on a recommendation of our auditor, Linda Howdeshell (auditor), who finished her audit in January.

The minimum cash on hand is equal to 1/3 of the previous fiscal year’s expenses, not to be less than $20,000. Having a policy in place helps SRG keep a disciplined approach about how far to let its reserves sink, and also helps to establish a baseline to be used when developing a budget from year to year.

Megan Mehrle asked if the money is sitting in a regular bank account instead of investments. Michael said it’s in a bank account, but not sure if anything has been turned into short-term investments. Debby Brown said that she’s not aware of any investments, but she’s willing to look into it. Michael said there have also been conversations with the Board and committees about how to spend the money. The money is raised for the community and that’s where the money should go.

Michael asked if there were any additional questions about the policy. There weren’t any.

6. Committee Reports

a. Beautification

Margi Koors, Board Liaison to the Beautification Committee, gave the report. The committee will soon be planting plants in the neighborhood pots. This will happen around May 1.

Megan Mehrle asked if there was any update about the Garden Tour. Margi said this hasn’t been decided yet.

b. Communications

Brenton Henry, Communications Committee Chair, said that he conducted his first meeting of the committee this month. He’s spending a lot of time catching up on the state of everything communications related. The focus this year will be a lot of updating the usability of things—email template in the next month or two, then a larger project will be updating the website.

The committee is also looking to stream all the SRG General Membership Meetings going forward. For those who can’t get out of their homes, they can see the streaming versions of the meetings. Brenton said the committee will request volunteers for this at some point.

Margi Koors asked if there was a plan to increase the number of Blaster (email) communications. It’s currently once a month; Margi asked if this would be the cadence. Brenton said, in the short term, the goal is to get the Blaster back to twice a month. Once a week is a lot for one volunteer to manage. Hopefully, updating the email template will make distribution easier.

The committee is also working to automate information coming in to be included in the emails. This will make it easier to hit the goal of twice-a-month distribution of The Blaster.

Billy Tomber, Board Liaison to the Communication Committee, said he wanted to commend William Knight, the author of the most recent Blaster and a new member of the committee. William deserves the praise on that issue of the email.

Megan Mehrle, Communications Committee member, said that at the last General Membership Meeting if there are Board or committee members who need access to the Cloud, she’s ready to onboard them. She has a form for questions and online video training. Send an email to cloud@soulard.org.

c. Development

Margi Koors said that the former Fundraising Committee is now called the Development Committee. This committee is currently looking for a chair, and it will be responsible for the upcoming Smarty Gras event, as well as the Concert Series. Margi wants to hear from anyone interested in joining the committee.

Margi then turned the meeting over to Billy Tomber to discuss Smarty Gras. Billy said the Mardi Gras season has ended in Soulard; in January, the Smarty Gras (trivia event) was changed to April because of the pandemic. He has worked with The Franklin of Soulard, and the event is now set for April 30. The website was posted in the chat. Billy asked members to buy a table, and there are many sponsors. The most important is O’Fallon’s Soulard beer. The price of the table is $250 through the end of March. April 1, the price per table increases to $300. Now is the time to get teams of 10 together. Julie Price asked if Billy is looking for volunteers. Billy said they are always looking for volunteers. Anyone interested can email trivia@soulard.org.

d. Historical

Veronica Putz, Historical Committee Chair, said the committee is working on three items that were included the latest Blaster:

1. Interviews of long-standing Soulard residents—setting appointments in March.

2. Looking for posters as well as cataloging several of the ones they have. They’ll be posted on the cloud once scanned and returned to owners.

3. House history for four individuals now interested in that.

This month, the committee did not have a meeting because of weather. The next meeting will be at the end of March. Veronica also congratulated new members running for Board positions. She knows everyone well and she’s happy new members will be on the Board.

e. Membership

Julie Price, Membership Committee Chair, said there are many things coming up. Currently, there are 357 SRG members and growing. The committee is looking at the next Star Award nominations and recipients—nominations closed Feb. 14. They have decided on four recipients. If anyone attends the April meeting, they’ll see who gets the Star Awards.

SRG will be going back to in-house socials after meetings. Scott Plackemeier has taken on scheduling the socials for the rest of the year. If anyone is interested in hosting, there is a $50 stipend that goes toward drinks or whatever the homeowner wants to offer.

The Membership Drive is coming up in May and will be at the Broadway Athletic Club. It will be May 4, from 6-9 p.m., and will have a Cinco De Mayo theme.

The committee is also discussing recruiting events, and a “swap shop” clothing and food drive.

f. Safety Committee

Nancy Lambert, Board Liaison to the Safety Committee, gave the update. The security camera safety program is on the move, and anyone interested can email safety@soulard.org. Andrea Maddox-Dallas, Safety Committee Chair, has worked on a form with Megan Mehrle, and Andrea can email it to anyone interested in the camera program. There was also a link with more information about the program and the form in the recent Blaster.

The next safety walk will be in May.

Veronica Putz asked how the camera program works. Nancy L. said the data about individuals and their cameras is kept securely on the cloud; only Andrea and the SRG police liaison can access it. If something happens, the police would go to Andrea (not the resident with the camera) and ask if someone near the event and in the database has a camera and potential footage. This program is modeled after a similar program in The Hill neighborhood.

g. Soulard Station

Bonita Leiber, Co-chair of the Soulard Station Committee, said that the Station has sat for the winter. They are currently getting bids, with Richard Eaton’s help, to have some trees trimmed. She hopes to get the last bid the coming Friday so the project can be completed soon.

The Board has been working on who can use the Station. This hasn’t been finalized yet, but there’s something in process. Michael Pastore confirmed that this is in process at this point. It’s not envisioned that the Station will be used for weddings (like used to happen).

Bonita said that she’s been frugal with money and relied a lot on her husband to do some work. Because she’s saved money, Bonita would like to hire some people to do some of the work that needs to be done.

Margi Koors asked about a spring cleanup with volunteer help and if anything was being planned. Bonita said this would be a wonderful thing, especially inside the Station, and she’ll get on it.

7. New Business

Michael Pastore asked if there was any new business. Billy Tomber said Shawn Caruso, the Soulard Business Association director, was on the call.

Shawn introduced himself. He’s a paid employee of SBA who recently joined a steering committee for Trinity Lutheran Church. They’re starting a survey of all residents, businesses, and business goers about a potential community center and what it could look like. There may be something in the next Blaster.

As for the flowers planted by the SRG Beautification Committee, Shawn said that SBA shares in the upkeep of Soulard Market Park. He wants to regroup with the Beautification Committee about this. Margi Koors said that the street planters are separate from what SRG does at the Market, and that Richard Eaton would be the person to speak with.

Michael asked if someone from Trinity would be willing to come to a General Membership Meeting and explain the ideas and plans for the community center. Shawn said this may be him or the pastor of the church. Michael said this would be the best way to work through the community. Gary Toribio, SRG Board Member, said that Shawn was the first one to mention anything about a new community center, and asked what the concept is about. Shawn said he doesn’t know anything about a location; this is in the planning stage. The survey is to get feedback about what residents/businesses would like. Gary asked if it was for the homeless population. Shawn said not solely for that, but if that’s a concern, then that’s what they’d like to find out with the survey. Michael said SRG looks forward to getting additional information as it becomes available.

Nancy Lambert, SRG Board Member, asked if there were any more posters left from Mardi Gras. Shawn said there were, and anyone interested in one can call or email him. Nancy said the current contact is still Cathy Weldon (former SBA director). Shawn said SBA has been making changes, and he should be the contact now, and he can be available. Julie Price asked if Shawn could enter his contact information into the chat.

Julie Price said that Diane, at Remember Me (costume shop), needs to reduce inventory and is selling costumes. Diane can set up time to meet with anyone interested in buying the costumes.

Billy Tomber mentioned the upcoming trivia night at the Soulard School and said it would be a good warmup for Smarty Gras. The Soulard School trivia night is being held at The Franklin and is $250 for a table of 10. Billy put the link to the trivia night in the Zoom chat.

8. Adjourn

Not hearing any additional new or old business, Michael Pastore asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting.

Margi Koors made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Scott Plackemeier seconded.

The vote was taken. All voted in favor.

The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.

From the Zoom chat:

19:08:19 From Billy Tomber to madelinegalla

You will rejoin! It's $30

19:11:09 From Samantha Kirby to Billy Tomber

Can you plug the Soulard School trivia at the end of meeting?

19:15:23 From Billy Tomber to Everyone:

Mardi Gras Public Forum - 2200 Dolman [at Ann].