SRG BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 2025

Mar 20

Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at 7PM

Minutes prepared by Abby Goodson, Secretary

PRESENT
Officers: Adriano Martinez, President; Abbey Bethel, Past President; Neil Putz, FY25 Treasurer; Abby Goodson, Secretary
Directors: Aaron Terry, Wade Weistreich

REGRETS
Officer: Amanda Ramcharan, President-Elect
Directors: Beth Bennett, Joy Christensen, Paula Dostal, Alan Ziegler

LOCATION
Soulard Station | 1911 South 12th Street

Call to Order/Opening Remarks

Adriano Martinez called the meeting to order at 7:05pm and announced that three individuals are interested in joining the board.

Secretary’s Report

Abby Goodson reported that a draft of the January board meeting minutes was circulated with the board for review via email and asked for a motion to approve. Wade Weistreich motioned to approve. Neil Putz seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.

Treasurer’s Report

Neil Putz announced that he set up a second money market account that receives 3.01% interest and has adjusted the amount of money in each account to the following:

Carrollton Bank Checking: $60,000

Carrollton Bank Savings: $1,000

Business Premium Money Market (Molly’s Donation): $12,000

Business Premium Money Market (SRG Growth Acct): $44,138.85

Total: $117,138.85

Committee Roundtable

Beautification: No update.
Community Involvement & Events (CI&E): No update.
Communications (ComCom): Abby Goodson shared that the committee is working on making subtle tweaks to the SRG Blaster to help with unsubscribe and spam reporting challenges; announced that they plan to work with the Membership Committee on a renewal/subscription option and implement it over the next year; asked the Historical Committee to provide a brief history of the organization for the website and noted that John Kline is in the process of a larger historical project which includes audio recordings of founder interviews and archival photographs; noted they are working to make upcoming events more prominent on the homepage of the website; and assessed the Board’s feelings on creating a public campaign about the future of the burned down church at Gravois and Allen. The Board did not feel comfortable approving a pressure campaign until a clear message/call to action is identitified and emphasized the need for the committee to document all failed communication efforts with the property owner first.
Development: No update.
Historical: Neil Putz shared that the committee is collecting ghost stories for their inaugural fall ghost tour, and added that they are working on a time capsule for the 50th anniversary of SRG.
Membership: Neil Putz said Membership is in the process of membership renewals and is looking at venues for the May membership party.
Parlour Tour: Neil Putz said they are lining up homes for the 50th anniversary tour.
Planning Review Team (PRT): No update.
Properties/Station: Abbey Bethel said the first check has been cut for Central Contracting for the roof repair; added that Bonita Leiber is getting quotes to fix the garage doors and paint the exterior; and noted that Davy Tree will be coming out to treat the landscaping.
Safety: No update.

Old Business

Membership Budget Increase

On Wednesday, February 4, the Membership Committee emailed the Board to request a budget increase for the FY2025 budget to provide additional funding to the hosts of the monthly SRG socials for the remainder of the fiscal year (February, March, April, and June) based on the following facts:

Currently, we provide hosts with a $50 gift certificate to Vincent's 12th Street Market and do a pass-the-hat style collection, which results in a highly variable amount of money for the hosts each month.
Attendance at socials ranges from 30–60 people and hosts have shared that they have spent between $200–$600 on their events.
The socials are a critical part of the community building of the SRG, and as they are a benefit of SRG membership, we, the Membership Committee, would like to support it in a more consistent and meaningful way.

Christina Del Azodi, Membership Chair, proposed to increase the budget to $250 per event, with $50 provided as a Vincent's Market gift card and $200 as a check to the hosts. Abby Goodson motioned to approve the budget increase. Amanda Ramcharan seconded. With a vote of 6 yeas, 1 nay, and 3 abstentions, the motion passed.

Soulard Station Roof

The Properties Committee shared three roof quotes at the January Board meeting. On Monday, February 10, the Board voted via email to move forward with the quote from Central Contracting with a bid of $5,600 to repair the roof. Amanda Ramcharan motioned to approve. Joy Christenson seconded. With a vote of 8 yeas and 2 abstentions, the motion passed.

New Business

Retreat

Adriano Martinez and Amanda Ramcharan will select a date in April for the committee chairs and newly-elected board members to meet off-site for a retreat.

Transition Meeting

The Board agreed to make the April 16, 2025 board meeting a transitional meeting with the existing and newly-elected members.

Adjourn

Wade Weistreich motioned to adjourn at 8:01 pm. Neil Putz seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Action Items

Adriano Martinez and Amanda Ramcharan will select a date in April for the committee chairs and newly-elected board members to meet off-site for a retreat.
Adriano Martinez and Amanda Ramcharan will nominate someone for the MGI Board to start the term in July.

Adriano Martinez will have a slate of board candidates to present to the general membership at the March general membership meeting.
Adriano Martinez will reach out to the board candidates and ask for their bios/photos for the election in April and share that with ComCom to place on the website for elections.
Abby Goodson will connect with Brenton Henry to work with Veronica Putz on writing a historical overview of the organization for the website.
Abby Goodson will connect with Christina Del Azodi to email all committee chairs asking for a list of their active committee members so that the Membership committee can ensure they have paid their membership dues and are in good standing.