General Meeting Minutes- January 2026

Feb 4

Written By Andrew Paniello

Soulard Restoration Group
General Membership Meeting Minutes
January 7, 2025 at 7PM

Minutes prepared by Andrew Paniello, Secretary

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

Call to Order/Opening Remarks

President Amanda Ramcharan called the meeting to order at 7:01pm.

Committee Roundup

Beautification: Jeff Weitzel, chair of the Beautification Committee, did not have any specific updates but briefly discussed some upcoming neighborhood decorating plans.
Communications: Brenton Henry, Communications chair, announced that he is integrating the SRG directory, working closely with the Membership committee and our new platform, JoinIt. Additionally, the committee is working on Stripe integration and fixing the SRG events calendar.
Membership: Christina Del Azodi, chair of the Membership Committee, announced that the social would take place after the meeting at Jay Gibbs’ house. She also has happy to report the committee has made a lot of progress regarding the membership database (JoinIt). The platform will be live soon. Additionally, Christina welcomed four new SRG members, and noted that license plate covers are still available.
Safety: we are still looking for a new Safety Committee chairperson. SRG may look into restructuring this committee.
Community Involvement & Events: Brad Pitlyk, CI&E chair, announced that Adriano Martinez, decorator extraordinaire, won the Christmas decorating contest. Adriano was awarded tickets to Taste of Soulard.
Development: Jim Dallas, chairman of the Development Committee, stated the committee is working on the new merchandise and will likely have some more around spring. There will be two concerts this year, scheduled for July 11th and September 5th. Jim was also happy to announce that we earned about $13,000 from Oktoberfest, which left about $10,300 for SRG. He happily handed a $2,800 check to Rick, from the American Legion, as part of our volunteer agreement.
Historical: Philip Hanley, a member of the Historical Committee, was pleased to share that the time capsule has arrived. The committee is now in the process of collecting artifacts. There will be an open house for the capsule, likely at Soulard Station, in March.
Parlour: the Parlour Tour was well attended and was a big success. We are very thankful for all of the help from our volunteers!
PRT: Walker Hamilton, chairman of PRT, asked for anyone altering the exterior of a building to let him know. He then fielded questions from the general membership, including questions about the lot by the church, the empty lot near SBAC, the Girls and Boys Club, and more.
Station: Bonita Lieber, Properties Chair, entered to an update tune I (Andrew) didn’t recognize. She was happy to discuss the upcoming work planned for March, the development of a new pricing model for the Station, as well as upcoming events including Ladies Night and Old Timers Night.

Secretary’s Report

Andrew Paniello, Secretary, announced that the meeting minutes from November had been added; he then requested a vote to approve the minutes, which was unanimous. Additionally, he thanked Mary for her help taking the minutes in his absence, promising to add both December and January before the next meeting. A member noted that some of the Board Minutes had not been posted to the website (this has now been remedied).

Treasurer’s Report

Neil Putz, Treasurer, announced that our asset total had reached $106,000. Major deposits included Oktoberfest, Molly’s fundraiser, and sponsor donations. Major expenses included Parlor Tour, the Franklin Room, and our Legion payment. Our estimated Parlour Tour gross, was $27,000 (Nancy).

City Update

The City is working on several major projects, including preparing for Mardi Gras and new long-term snow strategy. There is an earning tax vote coming up in April (4/6). There has been an uptick in fires, which the City is closely monitoring. In addition to fire, The City has also been monitoring nationwide ICE crackdowns, and is committed to protecting the civil rights of residents.

Furthermore, we were reminded of the extreme cold coming up. There will be an increase in social services. If you see someone suffering due to the extreme cold, please call 211.

Organization Roundup

SBA: Shawn Caruso, representing the SBA, was happy to announce the debut of this years Mardi Gras banners. Old banners will be sold for $100. He wished the general membership a Happy Mardi Gras, noting a lot of events are coming up. We also briefly discussed the B&G Club, and their plans to potentially move.
CID: Terry Hoffman announced that posters are up and around the neighborhood, with plans for new banners to be up soon. Trees have been planted with more to come. Nancy Lambert is now a board member of the CID. Steve Edele and Laure Meister were given additional reappointments by Mayor Spencer. The Economic RFP will close January 9th. 12th Street will likely be resurfaced soon. There was also more discussion about sidewalks.
SSBD: The SSBD is doing great!
MGI: Abbey Bethel directed our attention to STLMardiGras.org, where we can find info about events happening every weekend. The Big Day will be 2/14.
KVV: Topher announced that KVV is selling tickets for its ball, scheduled for 1/31.
Shanty Krewe: another ball was announced for 1/24 by the Shanty Krewe.
Legion: there will be three fish fries this year, on 2/20, 3/6. And 3/20. Other events include the Ham and Beans dinner (1/16), Meat Bingo (1/25), and the Biscuits and Gravy breakfast (2/14).
STLPD: crime is down.
Neighborhood Stabilization: James Simpson stated the City is following through on its post-tornado plan. It has also started a winter shelter fund. Please contact the City about any problems related to services.

President’s Report

Amanda stated that we are still trying to serve our lawsuit to the owner at 1222 Allen. Donna Barringer, comptroller, will speak at our next meeting. A resident, Ken, is going to Vietnam to make a documentary–he is currently raising funds via Gofundme.

There is an SRG election coming up. Three director positions will be open, along with the treasurer and president positions. The Board will communicate clearly about the election. We are currently seeking nominations.

The meeting adjourned at 8:07.