SRG Board Budget Meeting (June 2026)

Soulard Restoration Group  |  Board Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at 7PM
Soulard Station  |  1911 South 12th Street

Minutes prepared by Andrew Paniello, Secretary

Present: April Flores, John Cline, Neil Putz, Amanda Ramcharan, Andrew Paniello; Wade Weistreich, John Durnell, Linda Hoffman, Jimmy Roberts, Jay Gibbs, John Hamilton; Abbey Bethel

Call to Order/Opening Remarks

April Flores called the meeting to order at 6:05pm. She then distributed copies of the proposed budget, discussed what we need to keep an eye out for, and noted that there will be a closed session at the end of the meeting.

We then moved on to discuss the budget, by committee.

Parlour Tour

Neal Thompson presented the Parlour Tour budget, noting it was made with assumption tickets will be $55 this year. Compared to last year, logistics expenses have gone done, but there will be increased incentives given to homeowners. The Tour will likely be two days again this year, which is a bigger lift but also higher earning potential.

SRG Board Budget

The SRG is focused on continuing the 1222 Allen project–a proposal regarding the future of this project was recently made by “The Works.” A few of the shared goals of the Board include updating bylaws, improved logistics, and streamlined committee operations. We also hope to implement some of the ideas from our recent survey, including shared storage and bird boxes. The “Board” portion of the budget will be continually revisited throughout the broader budget discussion.

Beautification

Jeff Weitzel represented the Beautification Committee. Upcoming highlights include the sculpture installation, the art auction, and patio crawls throughout the year. The committee is taking a year off from having its Oktoberfest fundraiser. There are also changes being made to “the triangle” intersection.

Properties (Station)

The Station is interested in making several updates, including stucco work, updating utilities (such as air conditioning), painting, a new audio system, and a gazebo. The committee realizes this is a long list and noted that last year, they only spent about 60% of their allotted budget. It was also noted that the reduction in the trash expense will save several thousand dollars per year.

Historical 

Veronica Putz of the Historical Committee reviewed highlights of the previous year, including the ghost tour and preparations for the upcoming Time Capsule. For next year, the committee hopes to host another ghost tour, continue its semi-annual field trips, work on Parlour Tour histories, create a scavenger hunt, and possibly begin a story corps project. The committee made a significant amount from the ghost tour last year.

At this point in the meeting, the Board recognized that in order to satisfy the cash requirements put forth by our bylaws, we will need to close a significant budget gap. Beginning with the Board’s own budget, many options were considered, and some cuts were made. We then returned to hearing presentations.

Membership

Last year, the Membership Committee transitioned to using JoinIt, a membership management platform that costs $42 per month. Currently, we have 370 dues-paying members. The Committee is also working on the welcome wagon program, as well new types of outreach.

Development

The Development Committee budget has a lot of the same line items as the previous year, including two concerts, merchandise, and Oktoberfest. In general, this is a profit-generating committee, though they are also looking for ways to trim the budget.

Safety

The recently re-chaired Safety Committee (Dana Woodall) will focus on street safety, accessibility, and collaboration with other organizations. The only budget item request relates to National Night Out.

Communications

Last year, the Committee transitioned to Stripe (payment platform) and considerably consolidated its data. This year, the major point of focus will be the new website. In the buildup to that, the Committee will be building a comprehensive digital archive. They might move away from MailChimp if costs keep increasing. The Committee has also been effectively using Claude to build apps.

Community Involvement & Events (CI&E)

The recently re-chaired (Topher Jaworski) CI&E committee seeks to focus on expanding events that have been proven to work. Events such as movie night do not generate a profit but they are beneficial to the community. This year, the Christmas decorating contest will likely be replaced with a Halloween decorating contest.

Plan Review Team (PRT)

The PRT plans to continue helping with the 1222 Allen project, give input into the Gravois updates, plan for the departure of the Boys & Girls Club, and update the Historic Code. Lafayette Square was cited as an example of a neighborhood with a strong historic code.

At this point, the Board discussed more possible budget adjustments–and made a few that would be incorporated in the budget presented to membership.

Treasurer’s Report

Our accounts have decreased to about $84,000, down from $90,000. This was mostly due to paying for the Membership Party and other planned expenses. Neil and Abbey went to the bank to coordinate the Treasurer transition.

Secretary’s Report

Andrew Paniello will email all outstanding Board Minutes, which will then be voting on in the Board Meeting in July.

At 9:31pm, the Board briefly entered into a closed session.

At 9:58, the Board emerged from the closed session and then adjourned the meeting.

Secretary’s Note: these notes reflect the discussions that occurred during the Budget Meeting. These notes are not a final reflection of our budget decisions. The proposed budget, which was similar to the original budget but with some cuts, was distributed shortly after this meeting.