SRG BOARD MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 2024

Jan 16

Wednesday, December 18, 2024 at 7PM

Minutes prepared by Abby Goodson, Secretary

PRESENT
Officers: Abbey Bethel, Past President; Neil Putz, FY25 Treasurer; Abby Goodson, Secretary
Directors: Beth Bennett, Joy Christensen, Aaron Terry, Wade Weistreich, Alan Ziegler

REGRETS
Officers: Adriano Martinez, President; Amanda Ramcharan, President-Elect
Director: Paula Dostal

LOCATION
Soulard Station | 1911 South 12th Street

Call to Order/Opening Remarks

Abbey Bethel called the meeting to order at 7:06pm and thanked Aaron Terry for bringing refreshments.

Secretary’s Report

Abby Goodson reported that a draft of the November 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 shared that the SRG is operating three separate bank accounts:

Carrollton Bank Checking: $86,187.73

Carrollton Bank Savings: $10,118.23

Carrollton Bank Money Market: $12,676,37

Total: $108,982.33

Neil Putz announced that he cut a check for the SRG’s liability insurance (around $5,000); shared that he has five incoming check requests (4 are related to Parlour Tour expenses and 1 is for the 2nd Annual Historical Award); and said he will meet with our bank in early 2025 to discuss investment options.

Committee Roundtable

Beautification: Wade Weistreich shared that they are working with ComCom on getting a voting page up on the website for the winter street pot decorating contest. A board member asked about the status of the sculpture/art piece donation money given by Luke Reynolds and Wade Weistreich said the committee does not have any updates at this time. After a short discussion, the board shared their hope to have the committee work with potential artists/sculptors and present some concepts before our election cycle, and Wade Weistreich agreed to report back to the co-chairs.
Community Involvement & Events (CI&E): Aaron Terry shared that the committee is working with ComCom to get a royalty nomination form for Bastille Day live on the website, and is in the beginning stages of planning some new events for 2025.
Communications (ComCom): Abby Goodson shared that the committee is working on making the history section of the SRG website more robust. The board recommended reaching out to Soulardians who were a part of SRG’s origin story.
Development: Alan Ziegler shared that they are seeking a budget increase of $500 to fulfill additional merchandise orders. After a discussion about the amount of merchandise that is planned to be sold for the remainder of the fiscal year, Aaron Terry motioned that we preemptively increase the budget by $2,500 instead. Beth Bennet seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Alan Ziegler also shared that the line item for the committee’s Oktoberfest gift came in under budget.
Historical: Beth Bennett said the committee skipped their monthly meeting to prepare for the Parlour Tour. Neil Putz added that the 2nd Annual Historical Award is being presented to the Landmarks Association of St. Louis in January.
Membership: No update.
Parlour Tour:

Joy Christensen said the Parlour Tour was a huge success and shared these figures for 2024:

Income: $22,700
Expenses: $9,836
Profit: $12,934 (higher than budgeted for!)

The board went into Executive Session at 7:16pm and ended at 7:38pm.
The board recommended that all Parlour Tour attendees receive an email survey asking for feedback about their experience so we can begin creating a plan for the 50th Anniversary Parlour Tour in 2025. Joy Christensen said she will relay this with the committee.
Neil Putz reminded the board that 2025 is the 50th Anniversary for our entire organization and not just the Parlour Tour, and recommended that we consider creating an ad hoc committee to plan/oversee all 50th Anniversary celebrations (membership drive, Oktoberfest, Parlour Tour, etc.).

Planning Review Team (PRT): No update.
Properties/Station: Abbey Bethel shared that they are in the process of getting quotes to repair the garage door and roof of the Station. Aaron Terry pointed out that if the mechanical part of the east garage door works, we may just need to hire a skilled carpentry contractor to replace the bottom sections of the door that are rotting/broken. The board recommended getting a few different quote options for the garage door, including a quote to make the west garage door operational/open.
Safety: Wade Weistreich reported on the status of the CID (Community Improvement District) expansion and said that the City of St. Louis had notified them that they had enough qualified signatures on their expansion petition. Wade Weistreich also said that security cameras were installed and a corresponding app had been setup at a resident’s home as part of a safety pilot program.

Old Business

None

New Business

Resident Request for Assistance Email: The board discussed an email received from a Soulard resident and SRG member about assistance with recurring landlord issues. The board determined that it is not the SRG’s responsibility to wade into personal conflicts between neighbors and their landlords. Adriano Martinez will respond to the resident and provide contact information for the Conflict Resolution Center.
Email Protocol: The board determined that the current president of the organization should be responsible for responding to emails that are sent to the generic “board@soulard.org” email address, unless the president has summoned another member of the board to reply based on knowledge/expertise of the matter. The board recommended that they are copied on the reply to ensure transparency.
Committee Involvement: A board member asked how SRG members learn about and join committees and a recommendation was made to include that information in the monthly Blaster newsletter email. Abby Goodson agreed to make this a permanent part of the Blaster.

Adjourn

Wade Weistreich motioned to adjourn at 8:06 pm. Alan Ziegler seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Action Items

Wade Weistreich will work with the Beautification Committee to make a plan for the money donated by Luke Reynolds for an art installation/sculpture before the SRG 2025 election cycle.
Joy Christensen will work with the Parlour Tour and ComCom committees to create a survey/questionnaire to garner feedback from Parlour Tour attendees and help improve the tour for the 50th Anniversary in 2025.
The board will look into creating a 50th Anniversary ad hoc committee to oversee events in 2025.
Abby Goodson will share the names/contact information of the Soulardians who helped to create the SRG organization in hopes that ComCom can interview them over the coming months and write a more in-depth description of the SRG’s origin and history on the website.
Alan Zielger will share the board-approved budget increase for the merchandise line item by $2,500 with the Development committee.
Abbey Bethel will work to finalize quotes to repair the garage door(s) and roof of the Soulard Station.
Adriano Martinez will respond to the resident who emailed the board with landlord concerns and provide contact information for the Conflict Resolution Center.
Abby Goodson will add blurbs about each committee and their contact information to future Blaster emails.