SRG GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING SEPTEMBER 2024

Oct 4

Wednesday, September 4, 2024 at 7PM

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

REGRETS
Officer: Amanda Ramcharan, President-Elect; Directors: Paula Dostal, Aaron Terry

LOCATION
Saints Peter & Paul Parish Hall in the Rose Room | 816 Allen Ave

Call to Order/Opening Remarks

Meeting called to order at 7:02pm by President Adriano Martinez.

Round Table — Committee Updates

Membership
Julie Price, Past Membership Chair, recognized and thanked the committee for their hard work; announced Christina Del Azodi as the new Membership Chair; welcomed four new members to the front to introduce themselves; invited everyone to the social after the meeting at Mary Beth and Terry Wallace’s home at 2336 South 11th Street; and announced that our membership is 436 members strong.
Safety
Andrea Maddox-Dallas, Safety Chair, announced that National Night Out will be held on October 1, the deadline to register your block is September 10, and that SRG will reimburse your block $150 for the cost of food/drink; shared that their Light Up Soulard initiative offers free dusk-to-dawn front porch light bulbs to residents; invited people to join their committee by emailing safety@soulard.org; and announced a newly-formed organization called Friends of the Soulard American Legion and that the kickoff meeting is September 15 from 1:30–3:30pm.
Beautification
Margi Koors, Beautification Member, thanked everyone for attending and participating in the Art & Floral Auction and announced two upcoming events:

Soulard Patio Crawl: September 28 from 4–8pm
Oktoberfest Fundraiser at Molly’s: October 10 from 6–9pm

Communications Committee (ComCom)
Billy Tomber, ComCom Member, thanked Andy Marshall for the new sound system so that the entire room can hear announcements from the front and back of the room.
Community Involvement & Events (CI&E)
Abby Goodson, CI&E Member, announced that the Movies in the Park series will resume on Friday, September 13 at 7:45pm with The Incredibles and conclude for the season on Friday, October 18 at 6:45pm with Hocus Pocus.
Development
Jim Dallas, Development Chair, recapped the three successful summer concerts; invited people to sign up to volunteer to pour beer at Oktoberfest (October 11–12); shared there are 50% off VIP tickets on sale through September 15 with code: PROST; announced that 11 bricks were installed by Chris and Bonita Leiber at the Soulard Station and that 17 historic house plaques are in production; and disclosed that he is a co-chair of the Soulard Community Improvement District (CID) Expansion initiative and is looking for people who live in the zone to sign the petition with a notary for expansion.
Historical
Veronica Putz, Historical Chair, did not have an update.
Parlour Tour
Neil Putz, Parlour Tour Member, announced that this year’s tour will be held on Saturday, December 7 and noted that people who are interested in participating or volunteering should email parlourtour@soulard.org.
Code & Zoning and Plan Review Team (PRT)
Walker Hamilton, PRT Chair, reminded people who are working on the exterior of their home or business to contact the committee at prt@soulard.org; noted that the committee is able to provide letters of support to the City; and added that the developer for the property at 2344 South 18th Street submitted a revised proposal for an 8 townhomes that the committee has denied.
Properties (Station)
Bonita Leiber, Properties Chair, played the song “Lady” by The Commodores to announce a new Women of the SRG event on Tuesday, September 10 from 5:30–7pm for women to discuss books, movies, tips, and current events (no politics, no religion, no solving world problems).

Treasurer’s Report

Neil Putz reported on financials and announced that the latest edition of the Membership Rosters are available at the front of the room for members who have paid their dues.

Income: $2,398
Expenses:$2,174.37
Cash balance: $78,730.91

Secretary’s Report

Abby Goodson announced that a draft of the August general membership meeting minutes was attached to the Blaster email that went out today and asked for a motion to approve the minutes so that they could be posted to the website. Becca Gilberg moved to approve the minutes. Randall Alt seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

Alderperson Update

Cara Spencer, Ward 8 Alderperson, was not present.

Crime Report

Officer Gregory McClendon announced that the Soulard Crime CompStat report is listed on the St. Louis Metropolitan Police department website and reported that crime in Soulard is down 60% compared to last year at this time. Community members expressed concerns of unhoused individuals sleeping in parks and public spaces throughout the neighborhood and Officer McClendon said his officers will patrol those areas.

Soulard Neighborhood Organization Updates

Soulard Business Association (SBA)
Laura Leister, SBA Director, thanked Tom Murphy and Shane McVay for maintaining the flower pots in the plaza at the Soulard Farmer’s Market this season; announced that stacks of SBA brochures for establishments who’d like to display some copies are available by contacting soulardbiz@gmail.com; reminded everyone that the Soulard Oktoberfest VIP packages include coupons which benefit local businesses; and announced the deadline to design the official Mardi Gras 2025 poster/merchandise using the using the theme “Soulard Celebrates Food” is September 30.
Soulard Special Business District (SSBD)
Terry Hoffman, SSBD Treasurer, shared that residents within a 2–2.5 block radius of Pontiac Park were sent letters to participate in a camera pilot program that will help off duty officers have access to footage in the event of suspicious activity; noted that free car clubs are available for pickup at The Star Agency (2027 South 7th Street); and added that tree trimming/pruning is complete for 2024 but that additional trees will be maintained next year (especially around stop signs).

Community Improvement District (CID)
Terry Hoffman, CID Chair, explained the legislative process of the CID Expansion; thanked Jim Dallas, Andrea Maddox-Dallas, and Nancy Lambert for helping lead the expansion process; noted that KMOV Channel 4 reported on the expansion; announced the next wave of 58 speed humps are being installed; and responded to a question about pet waste stations noting that about 8,000 bags have been used to-date.
Mardi Gras Inc. (MGI)
Nancy Lambert announced that Mardi Gras season will kick off on Monday, January 6 with 12th Night Celebrations and encouraged people to sign up to volunteer for some of next year’s Mardi Gras events.
St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC)
Lisa Otke did not have an update.

Neighborhood Stabilization Update

James Simpson, our Neighborhood Improvement Specialist, the liaison between the community and city services, noted that there have been lots of inquiries about the fire hydrant continuing to flush at Arsenal near the brewery and added that he has contacted the water division; shared that he is working with the Forestry Department on the number of trees that have been marked for removal; and invited folks to email him at simpsonj@stlouis-mo.gov to discuss neighborhood issues.