JULY 2023 BOARD MEETING MINUTES
JULY 2023 BOARD MEETING MINUTES
July 19, 2023
By Elizabeth Henry
Board Members present:
Abbey Bethel, President Abby Goodson, Director Stephen Shuman, Director
Adriano Martinez, President-Elect Margi Koors, Director Connie Suydam, Director
Debby Brown, Treasurer Craig Markham, Director Amanda Ramcharan, Director
Elizabeth Henry, Secretary
Abbey Bethel called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
CID Presentation
John Durnell and Terry Hoffman from the Soulard Community Improvement District shared their progress on planning signage for the neighborhood. In their presentation to the Board, they emphasized the desire to have consistent branding and effectively signal to visitors that they have entered Soulard. They shared mock-ups for skyscraper banners and street signs and discussed historic plaques. The CID will meet with the SRG’s Historic Committee to review these plans as well.
Executive Session
7:55 p.m.: Abbey Bethel requested a motion to enter Executive Session. Margi Koors made the motion, and Craig Markham seconded. The Board entered Executive Session.
8:02 p.m.: Abbey requested the motion to end Executive Session. Abby Goodson so moved, and Connie Suydam seconded. The Board exited Executive Session.
Secretary’s Report
Elizabeth Henry requested a motion to approve the May 2023 Board Meeting Minutes. Margi made the motion, and Stephen Shuman seconded. The Board voted to approve the minutes.
Treasurer’s Report
Debby Brown noted that we have just entered a new fiscal year so not much to report this month. The SRG’s net income year-to-date was $5,000.
Committee Updates
Connie, liaison to the Beautification Committee, invited Margi to speak on the upcoming fundraiser. Margi reminded the Board of the Art and Floral Auction to take place August 5th.
Stephen, liaison to the CI&E Committee, reported on Bastille Day. Regarding costs, he noted the SRG spent $1,000, while the Soulard Business Association contributed $2,000-$2,500. This year the parade started an hour later, and the shift worked well. He’d like to see more volunteers for day-of next year. Abbey recognized Stephen for all of his hard work for Bastille Day.
Abby, liaison for the Communications Committee, noted wireframing work has been done for the new website. The Committee would like to distribute a link to the general membership that would populate SRG meetings, events, and fundraisers into SRG members’ calendars.
Margi, liaison for the Development Committee, presented sample merchandise that the Committee intends to sell. She reported that for now, they will re-order merchandise that has been popular in the past. They have ideas for contests and working with local artists for future designs.
Craig, liaison to the Historical Committee, spoke on recent neighborhood presentations and additions to photo archives. He took the opportunity to remind the Board that the History Committee is open for business to do research on homes.
Margi spoke for the Membership Committee and encouraged the Board to engage with new members. She also passed along a request that Committee Chair notebooks be updated. Abbey accepted the outdated notebook to take home to review.
Abbey, speaking for the Soulard Station, recognized Amanda Ramcharan for her efforts to optimize their resources and get competitive quotes for the roof and a new fence.
Old Business
8th Ward Consortium
Abbey attended the 8th Ward Consortium meeting in mid-June and reported a lot of involvement and representation from other neighborhoods. Safety was a big theme. Soulard will host the next quarterly meeting at the Soulard Station on September 12th. Abbey hopes the Ward’s representative Cara Spencer will join one of these meetings so they can communicate with her as a unified group.
CI&E Chair Appointment
Abbey shared that there are two candidates to chair the Community Involvement & Events committee. She asked if we would like to invite them to speak for a few minutes at the August Board Meeting, and the Board agreed.
New Business
Budget Amendment
Debby brought it to the Board’s attention that the Board must have a review performed by a CPA every two years or when a treasurer is new (secretary note: this requirement is in the bylaws section 3b4). As such, Abbey requested a motion to increase the budget line to reflect the expense from $1,500 to $4,400. Margi made the motion, Craig seconded, and the Board voted to approve unanimously. The motion passed.
Air Monitoring Data
The Board received a request to present Air Monitoring Data to the general membership. Abbey invited thoughts from the Board on this.
10. Final Thoughts from the Board
The Board discussed getting Committee Chairs together with the Board to discuss working together on branding and other ongoing projects that overlap. A retreat might make sense, or perhaps a Board Meeting is dedicated for this purpose (participation optional).
Abbey requested a motion to adjourn. Adriano made the motion. Margi seconded. The motion passed, and the Board adjourned at 8:58 p.m.