APRIL 2023 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING MINUTES
SRG General Membership Meeting
April 5, 2023
DRAFT Minutes
Board Members present included: Abbey Bethel, President; Debby Brown, Secretary; Chris Currington, Secretary; Jim Dallas, Past President; Nancy Lambert; Karen Moske; and Gary Toribio.
Committee Chairs present included: John Eaton, Beautification; Brenton Henry, Communications; Veronica Putz, Historical; Julie Price, Membership; Walker Hamilton, Plan Review Team; and Andrea Maddox-Dallas, Safety.
Special Guests and Elected Officials included: Officer Kevin Dilg, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; Dan Guenther, Alderman, Ward 9 (previous); Cara Spencer, Alderwoman, Ward 8 (new).
1. Call to Order + Opening Remarks
Abbey Bethel, President, called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. She recognized elected officials and Officer Kevin Dilg. The Neighborhood Improvement Specialist was also present at the meeting. Abbey also recognized the SRG Board members in attendance.
Abbey said that she had an update for the SRG General Membership. As of March 3, 2023, Michael Pastore was no longer President of the SRG Board. The President Elect position will remain open for the rest of the term. For the last three weeks of the term, Abbey will assume the position as President of SRG and the Board.
Abbey said that the election for the next SRG Board would close at the end of this meeting. There was a QR code on the tables for anyone wanting to vote at the meeting. After this meeting, votes will be tallied, and then the next Monday, the announcement of the official 2023/2024 SRG Board will be announced in The Blaster.
2. Committee Reports
A. Membership
Julie Price, Membership Committee Chair, asked new members to join her at the front of the meeting and introduce themselves.
Julie said that membership is currently ~380 members and always growing. There were business cards on the back table to hand out to any new residents in the neighborhood. The committee is keeping track of SRG General Members who bring in new members, and the General Member who brings in the most new members will be recognized at the next Membership Drive (May General Membership meeting).
The Membership Drive will be May 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the South Broadway Athletic Club. It will be all you can drink and eat. They’ll be asking everyone to pay their dues. Julie then went over the dues and costs. The theme for the Membership Drive will be Italian and there will be entertainment. Any members who pay their dues online can fast-pass the line at the door.
The social after this meeting would be at Hi-Hat. There was also a signup sheet going around for members who wanted to volunteer their homes for the social.
Julie discussed the bingo game at this meeting. Typically, the prize is a $25 gift card. At this meeting, though, there were four Cardinals tickets, thanks to Officer Kevin Dilg of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The tickets are for the Community Night at the Ballpark where Officers of the Year are announced for the neighborhood associations.
B. Safety
Andrea Maddox-Dallas, Safety Committee Chair, said they had a great meeting March 22 at iTap. In an hour and half, the attendees divided into small groups and brainstormed. On the tables were handouts with a synopsis of what the ideas were.
The next Safety Committee meeting is set for April 18.
Andrea reminded attendees not to leave any items in their cars. She also reminded everyone about the security camera program. On the tables were QR codes for anyone who wanted to volunteer for the program.
In May, the committee will do a Safety Walk. Participants will identify lights in alleys and on streets that are out. They will also identify trees that are blocking signs.
For the National Night Out, in 2022, there were six block parties. This year, the Safety Committee hopes to have 10 block parties. The committee will budget for them.
Another thing Andrea and the Safety Committee would like to start is a “text chain.” On Andrea’s block, the residents have assisted police in solving two crimes by communicating quickly via texts.
Finally, last October, the Safety Committee helped with a first-responders lunch. The committee is going to try and have it on Veterans’ Weekend and include veterans as well as first responders. It will be in November.
C. Beautification
Richard Eaton, Beautification Committee Chair, called attention to Pontiac Square Park and how great it looked with the daffodils. About a month ago, the Beautification Committee had a volunteer group come into the park to clean up cigarette butts. They picked up about 240 butts. This week, the committee put containers at each of the benches. Hopefully, they’ll keep the park a little nicer.
Next, the committee will be mulching at the park. In April, the committee will distribute plants for the planting pots. There are about 40 pots around the neighborhood.
D. Communications
Brenton Henry, Communications Committee Chair, said that after months of work, the committee finally migrated the email system from where it’s been since the 90s. This should help cut down on spam on the soulard.org email address. A bonus of the migration is the committee/SRG now has 60 times the storage and can keep historical emails. Recipients of soulard.org emails will also see where the emails are coming from (“You’re receiving this email from…”)
In the next couple of days, the committee will be changing something that will make delivery of The Blaster better. The most exciting part aside from emails, however, is the committee is now moving full steam ahead with the website. They recently met, took a bunch of notes, covered windows with ideas, and they got organized about what the website could be. It will take a while to redesign, but when they have something more concrete, they’ll get the other committees involved with reviews.
Brenton commended Billy and Constantine for their help with the email migration. Everyone applauded.
E. Plan Review Team (PRT)
Walker Hamilton, PRT Committee Chair, said that there hasn’t been a lot of movement going on. There are a lot of buildings in process, and he asked residents to be the “eyes for the neighborhood.” Walker discussed a property on Barton and a property that the Cultural Resources Office is working with to bring up to code. Walker also asked that anyone considering renovating reach out to the PRT Committee; they can help recommend builders and tradesmen, whereas CRO cannot.
There was a discussion about permits for hot water heaters and faucets.
F. Historical Committee
Veronica Putz, Historical Committee Chair, said the committee has been learning a lot about house history, writing articles, etc. She and Neil Putz went on a tour downtown where they learned a lot about what’s happening.
They’re finishing the last of the four historical house research projects. They also recently saw a presentation about some of the caves that are underground Soulard. There were a lot of maps presented.
G. Soulard Station
Gary Toribio, Board Liaison to the Soulard Station, reminded everyone that the Station is available for members to rent or use. If anyone is interested, they should email the Soulard Station Committee at station@soulard.org.
The Board has decided to proceed with finishing the fence at the Station. It will match what’s already along Gravois, to run along 12th Street. It will keep people from wandering onto the property. The committee still needs to get quotes, and the Board has to approve the contract, but it will probably happen this summer.
Brenton Henry said that the Communications Committee will soon transition the Soulard Station calendar. They’re figuring out the logistics about how to do that.
H. Parlour Tour
Nancy Lambert, Board Liaison to the Parlour Tour Committee, discussed the Parlour Tour and how to volunteer. She also asked people to consider volunteering their homes for the Parlour Tour. The committee is looking for new members because they’d like to start training some other people. If anyone is interested in serving on the Parlour Tour Committee, they should email parlourtour@soulard.org.
3. Treasurer’s Report
Debby Brown, Treasurer, said that the fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, and for this fiscal year, revenue is around ~$54,000, with net income of ~$13,000, and cash at ~$87,000. There’s the upcoming Membership Drive, but other than that, there are no fundraising events.
4. Soulard Neighborhood Organizations
A. Soulard Business Association (SBA)
Laura Leister, {ABBEY PLEASE CONFIRM THE NAME AND SPELLING}, from the SBA, thanked everyone who attended the recent Easter Egg Hunt, held for kids under 12. There was a photographer and Easter Bunny for photos. There were about 55 kids and 1,000 eggs, some with $2 bills. This will be an annual event.
SBA is also working on a “Passport Program.” This is a “Buy One Get One” (bogo) free at all of the favorite establishments in Soulard. There are currently 38 participants with 38 stamp spots. At the end, if you complete all 38 stamps, you’ll get a chance for four tickets to Oktoberfest VIP and other gift cards. These will start selling in May.
B. Community Improvement District
Terry Hoffman, Chair of the Soulard CID, discussed the plans for speed humps. They’ve been financially secured through capital funds and from CID money. They should be installed between the spring and summer of 2023. However, there can’t be any speedhumps on 7th Street, 12th Street, or Russell Boulevard.
The CID also entered into a contract with an engineering company to do a detailed drawing of where the bump outs, islands, and compressed intersections (to slow motorists) will be. It is hoped that the drawing(s) will be submitted to the city in late summer, and there may be construction activity in the fall.
The CID signed a contract with an experiential signage company that will come up with a skyscraper banner design. The major streets will be Broadway, 7th, Geyer, 12th, etc. One side of the sign will be permanent; the other side will be for vinyl.
The CID has also increased its frequency of supplemental bulk-trash pickup. There was a discussion of who to contact and how to contact about bulk-trash pickup and nuisances (i.e., reach out to the leasing companies and landlords).
C. Mardi Gras, Inc.
Gary Toribio mentioned that there was a neighborhood forum to discuss questions, concerns, complaints, and suggestions about and for Mardi Gras. If anyone missed that forum, they were encouraged to reach out to Tim Lorson, Director of Mardi Gras, Inc.
5. Crime Report
Officer Kevin Dilg of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, Third District Police Liaison, gave the crime report. He went over crimes, including robberies, thefts, violations, and 911 calls.
There was a discussion about cameras around the neighborhood, at intersections, if they work, access to data, etc.
6. Aldermen Update
Cara Spencer, the newly elected alderwoman for Ward 8, thanked everyone who turned out to vote. Turnout was low, but she said she remembers seeing most in the room voting. She’s excited to represent Soulard as part of the new Ward 8.
7. Remarks
Abbey Bethel reminded everyone that voting for the new Board was ending at the end of the meeting.
Abbey thanked outgoing Alderman Dan Guenther.
Abbey thanked outgoing Board Members Chris Currington, Nancy Lambert, Karen Moske, and Gary Toribio. She also gave a special thank you to Jim Dallas, who had served as President-Elect, President, and Past President, and gave him a gift.
8. Adjourn
Brenton Henry made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Richard Eaton seconded the motion.
All voted in favor of adjourning the meeting at 8:26 p.m.