SRG Board Meeting Minutes April 2026

Jul 23

Written By Andrew Paniello

Soulard Restoration Group | Board Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 7PM
Soulard Station | 1911 South 12th Street

Minutes prepared by Andrew Paniello, Secretary

Call to Order/Opening Remarks

April Flores called the meeting to order at 7:01pm.

RFP for 1222 Allen

The SRG Board is considering proposals regarding what will be done at 1222 Allen Avenue. The end goal of this process is to ensure the property will be in the hands of someone who will do something beneficial with it. The RFP window will remain open for about six weeks; after that, Kevin King will make a recommendation to the SRG, and the Board will get to determine what the next steps will be.

SBA Bill 152

Shawn Caruso, representing the SBA, came to speak about Bill 152, the proposed food truck bill that would allow food trucks to operate in certain parts of Soulard. Shawn’s views of the bill were mostly negative, noting that the SBA, CID, and SSBD have already communicated opposition to the bill–he was requesting that the SRG join this opposition. Some of the reasons for opposition include the lack of community input, the lack of regulations and oversight, unreasonably late hours (6AM-1AM), and the generally poor structuring of the bill. Shawn argued that he is not completely opposed to all food trucks, but the bill needs to be dramatically changed. The SRG Board generally agreed.

Food Truck Survey

The Board reviewed the results from the food truck survey, which gave members an opportunity to voice their opinion on the pending legislation. The SRG received 103 responses. 58% of responses were against the bill, 20% were in favor of the bill, and 22% were neutral. Some of the major concerns included the impact it would have on existing businesses (and vendors at Soulard Market), the lack of bathrooms and other infrastructure, and a desire for these trucks to be closed by 11pm.

In light of the feedback and previous discussions, Abbey Bethel motioned to approve the proposed letter (opposing the bill), with some additions. The Board unanimously approved the motion. We then planned to send the proposed letter to the Board of Aldermen.

Trivia Night

Unfortunately, the proposed Trivia Night is going to be cancelled–only four tables are registered, with a minimum of ten tables needed for it to be worth it. The South Broadway Athletic Club is cooperating with cancelling the event, though Chris requested that we leave the $250 with them as a sign of good will (this can be used if the event happens in the future). The event may be attempted again, with a broader marketing effort. The plans for the scholarship are still continuing, with an intention to distribute the funds in 2027.

Treasurer’s Report
Neil Putz provided the financial report, which indicated that our funds had remained around the $88,000 mark. He announced that he has begun the treasurer transition process, which will formally take place on July 1. Overall, we are in a good place financially.

Secretary’s Report
Andrew Paniello noted that additional minutes had been distributed, that there will be some online voting regarding the minutes, and that there will be additional minutes distributed for the upcoming special meeting.

Committee Roundtable

Beautification: The committee plans to plant red, white, and blue flowers. There will be a Patio Crawl on June 27th.
Community Involvement & Events (CI&E): (see “Trivia Night” above)
Development: The fall concert is now scheduled for September 26th (the previous date was September 9th). New merchandise will be coming soon, including Bastille Day merchandise. The committee happily announced a $250 donation, from SBA, intended to be used for the concert series.
Communications (ComCom): The Committee will be meeting on Monday (April 20th). The committee is also looking for someone to relive Brenton of some of his responsibilities, as well as optimize their work flows, in general.
Historical: The time capsule will be lowered into the ground on July 12th. On 4/18, Soulard residents will have another chance to write letters for the capsule. The Ghost Tour is officially scheduled for 10/17.
Membership: the committee is working on name tags for membership chairs and is preparing for the Member Party in May (at Lark, 5/3). 1500 door hangers will be distributed throughout the neighborhood.
Parlour Tour: Neal Thompson is considering becoming the Parlour Tour chair. He will come to the May Board Meeting to speak about this position.
Planning Review Team (PRT): No update. The mound of dirt, Mount Ralph, is slowly being dealt with.
Properties/Station: The Board briefly discussed four (4) bids for new stucco work, which ranged from $5k to $17k, with some estimates including paint. The final decision will be made at a future date.
Safety: No update.

Liaison Positions

With the welcoming of a new board, we will reorganize the liaisons to our various committees. The final decision for this will be made by the next meeting.

1222 Allen

The Board voted to make Kevin King our primary point of contact on the 1222 Allen project. The Board also voted for incoming president, April Flores, to become the Board liaison.

The Board then discussed the specifics of the request for proposal, making a few additional updates. Following a strong consensus, the Board unanimously voted to approve the RFP framework, with updates.

The RFP will be posted online. The board also discussed meeting at 5/4 at 7pm.