General Membership Minutes, August 6th, 2025 (Draft)

Sep 3

Written By Andrew Paniello

Soulard Restoration Group
General Membership Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, August 6, 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 7:03pm.

Alderperson Update

Alderwoman Jamie Cox-Antwi briefly spoke, introducing her new legislative assistant and mentioning that she now has an official City email address: coxantwi@stlouis.gov. The Board of Aldermen will resume sessions on September 12th. Alleyway recycling in the city has ended, though there will be more drop off stations available for those who want to recycle (something your Secretary strongly encourages). Jamie also discussed upcoming drop-in sessions.

Committee Roundup

Membership: Christina Del Azodi, chair of the Membership Committee, announced that the Committee is trialing a new membership database, which will hopefully be easier to manage. She also mentioned that the social was taking place at Julie Price’s house. There were several new members in attendance who introduced themselves and were proudly welcomed by the Organization.
Safety: The Safety Committee is still looking for a new chair to replace the legendary Andrea Dallas-Maddox. The Committee will also be involved in an upcoming block party.
Beautification: Jeff Weitzel, chair of the Beautification Committee, reminded membership of the upcoming Patio Crawl, which will take place on 9/20 from 4-8pm. We have enough patios to feature on the crawl but we are still looking for some additional volunteers. Jeff also discussed some upcoming cleanups at Pontiac Square and the Sidney Street triangle. The committee is finalizing their pick for an artist for the planned sculpture (a butterfly or dragon), which will be financed with a generous $10,000 donation from Luke from Molly’s. The likely choice will be Betty Moore, a local artist whose previous butterfly sculpture can be viewed in Marine Villa.
Communications: Brenton Henry, Communications chair, kindly introduced the committee to the new members. He also mentioned that the committee is making revisions to the Soulard Star directory and that they are finalizing the new payment system.
Community Involvement & Events: Brad Pitlyk, CI&E chair, announced that the Bastille Day celebration went well. Turnout was strong and we are thankful for everyone that helped. While the cornhole (bags) tournament has been postponed for now, upcoming events include an October trunk-or-treat and an upcoming movie night.
Development: Chris Currington represented the development committee, announcing the Groove Doctors concert (8/9, 6pm) at Soulard Market Park and asking for volunteers.
Historical: Joy Christensen represented the Historical Committee. There will be a historic ghost tour on September 27th starting at 5pm at the Antagonist Cafe. 100 tickets will be sold for $40 each. This is the first tour of its kind in Soulard and it should be awesome.
Parlour: no updates.
PRT: There are two properties experiencing major changes. 2409 South 10th Street recently burned and the City has contracted its demolition. On South 18th Street, a lot has been cleared to make way for seven new townhomes.
Station: After grooving to the Beatles, Bonita announced that the committee is thriving; the weeds have been pulled, the roof could be done soon, and there will be a wedding at the Station. She also announced a Ladies Night on August 12th.

Treasurer’s Report

April Flores, speaking on behalf of Neil Putz, announced that we are in a sound financial position. The main changes to our account have been related to the upcoming sculpture and final payments for events.

Secretary’s Report

Andrew Paniello announced that the minutes from the June and July meeting have been posted. The Membership then voted to approve the minutes.

SBA

Shawn Caruso announced that the SBA brochure has been updated, including a walking map, SBA members, and other important details. We thank Abby Goodman for her work designing the brochure. There will be an art contest for next year’s Mardi Gras, which will fall on Valentine’s Day. The theme is Peace, Love, Mardi Gras, the winner gets $500 (and more) and will be announced at Oktoberfest.

Soulard CID/ SSBD

Terry Hoffman announced that the CID has officially expanded its boundaries. About 90 new waste receptacles are being added. Tree removal is still underway. For more info on the CID projects, and tree management, we can message info@soulardCID.org.

Terry also represented the SSBD, mentioning car clubs are still available (at Julie’s office) and that new camera sites are being added to the neighborhood.

KVV

Levi announced a “Halfway to Mardi Gras” tour for 8/23, from 1-5, with more information available on Facebook. Other upcoming events include the Trunk-or-Treat, scheduled for 10/12 at Big Daddy’s (kid and pet friendly) and Santa Comes to Soulard on 12/13. Levi also announced that Soulard Pride was a success–the SRG was a proud supporter!

Legion

Ethan proudly announced that our Legion Post won the award for “Post of the Year”. There will be a neighborhood appreciation party on 9/13 from 1-6pm featuring a pig roast, free food, drink specials, and music from the Ninth Street Surfers.

Crime Update

Officer McClendon was happy to announce that crime was down in Soulard, with 13 incidents occurring in the past month, down from 28 the year before. Other points of discussion include the homeless activity in Pontiac Square Park and an attempted carjacking on 8th Street, which was caught on camera but remains unsolved.

City Liaison

Our City Liaison, James, announced that alleyway recycling has ended due to financial issues and ineffectiveness. Recycling will still be available at many locations throughout the city, including our local fire station. Blue dumpsters will now be picked up as regular trash. National Night Out will take place on 10/7–anyone can register their block if they are interested.

President’s Report

Amanda announced the Board voted to provide a letter of support for an emergency shelter this winter. The shelter is located in Kosciusko neighborhood and will only operate on days when it is below freezing.

The SRG made a $5,000 donation to the City’s tornado fund.

Finally, the Membership unanimously voted to approve the new amendments to our bylaws.

Amanda called the meeting to a close at 8:11pm. We then shared a moment of silence in memory of Michael Pastore, our former President.