SRG Board Meeting Minutes June 2026

Jul 23

Soulard Restoration Group | Board Meeting Minutes
Wednesday June 24, 2026 at 7PM
Soulard Station | 1911 South 12th Street

Minutes prepared by Abbey Bethel, Treasurer-Elect

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

Absent: Amanda Ramcharan, Andrew Paniello

Welcomed Guests: Bonita Leiber, Topher Jaworski, Bob Printz, Laurie Becker, Richard Eaton

Call to Order/Opening Remarks

President April Flores called the meeting to order at 7:00pm. Special Board Meeting scheduled to address the following topics as our standard board meeting focused on the FY 2027 budget presentations by committee chairs: 1) Roberts Rule of Order request, 2) CI&E chair discussion, 3) FY 2027 budget review and board approval, 4) CID neighborhood development plan steering committee appointment, and 4) adjusting July board meeting date. After the meeting was scheduled, additional topics were added to the end of the agenda to be discussed.

Roberts Rules of Order

Board discussed usage of parliamentary procedures as outlined in Article XIII of the SRG by-laws. Board agreed to review Roberts Rule of Order (handout passed to all board members) and practice these as appropriate to conduct SRG business.

CI&E Chair

Topher Jaworski was invited to speak to the board regarding his desire to become appointed chair of the CI&E committee. Topher shared his relevant professional experiences, his engagement in community organizations in Soulard, including SRG and with other organizations, and his passion for organizing events to bring people together.

Board asked Topher to share some of his ideas for CI&E to which he articulated a few new ideas and excitement to pursue ideas already established by the committee (such as Bastille Day and the Rummage Sale).

FY 2027 Budget Review and Board Approval

April shared updated documents for Board to review, including overview of income & expenses, snippet of Reserve & Liquidity Policy, and calculation showing the FY 2027 budget, if executed as outlined, would adhere to our Reserve & Liquidity policy.

April highlighted key changes to the budget coming out of the presentations on June 17, including key updates to:

CI&E: increased rummage sale income from $300 to $800, and reduced Neighborhood events expenses from $2000 to $500 with option for committee to present increases to budget line as additional ideas are formed post transition to new chair.
Development: reduced volunteer gifts from $1750 to $750 due to current inventory of Oktoberfest hats that can be gifted to future volunteers, reduced Merchandise expenses from $7500 to $3000 and profits from $7500 to $3500 based on further analysis completed by Jim Dallas.
Code & Zoning/PRT: reduced Girls and Boys Club development plan as we continue to focus on community engagement.
Properties (Station): reduced repair and maintenance from $20,000 to $9,167 as we delay A/C upgrade until early 2027 and explore alternative options for executing interior and fence painting.

April asked for a motion for the board to approve the FY 2027 budget as presented. John Durnell motioned. John Cline seconded the motion. No further discussion was had. 8 board members voted in favor of the motion. 0 board members voted against the motion. Motion passed to approve the FY 2027 budget.

CID Neighborhood Development Plan Steering Committee - SRG Appointment

April shared that she met with Terry Hoffman, Chair of the CID, to discuss the Steering Committee for the CID Neighborhood Development Plan and what it would look like to have SRG representation on the committee. Terry and April discussed several candidates for SRG representation, including members of the board and active members of the SRG. After discussions with a few of the proposed candidates and sharing her thought process, April proposed Jimmy Roberts (current director) as her appointment to the CID Neighborhood Development Plan Steering Committee. Jimmy confirmed his interest. The board had no additional questions and agreed with April’s appointment.

Rescheduling July Board Meeting

Due to a conflict, April is unable to attend the July Board meeting on July 15 (3rd Wednesday of the Month) and proposed July 22 as the rescheduled meeting date.

April asked for a motion to approve the rescheduled meeting date. Jimmy Roberts motioned. Linda Hoffman seconded the motion. No further discussion was had. 8 board members voted in favor of the motion. 0 board members voted against the motion. Motion passed to reschedule the July Board meeting to July 22 at 7pm at Soulard Station.

Executive Session Meeting Minutes

April shared she had started conversation with Andrew Paniello, Secretary, regarding taking minutes during Executive Session. April asked to table discussion to July Board meeting so that Andrew was present to share his thoughts.

Board Bill 50 Update

April shared that Board Bill 50 had been introduced to the Board of Alderman’s current session (was previously known as Board Bill 152 in the prior session). In the initial review of the bill, the language refers to both Soulard Market as well as the Parks Department’s ability to employ city parks for vending. After discussion with the SBA and general agreement in finding the language unclear, Shawn Caruso, Executive Director of the SBA, sent an email to Jami Cox Antwi asking for clarification on how BB50 would impact Soulard.

Conflict of Interest Withdrawal

Discussion was had regarding conflict of interest between John Cline and demand letter received regarding removal of Bob Printz from the SRG board. Board agreed that John Cline as president-elect should be present for discussions as demand letter refers to validity of removal process of a board member as outlined in SRG by-laws but should abstain from voting as the decision is specific to the individual issuing the demand letter.

April asked for a motion to have John Cline present for discussions pertaining to the Demand Letter but abstain from voting. John Cline motioned. Jimmy Roberts seconded the motion. 8 board members voted in favor of the motion. 0 board members voted against the motion. Motion passed to have John Cline present for discussions pertaining to the Demand Letter but abstain from voting.

Demand Letter - Removal of Bob Printz from Board

April asked for a motion to enter a closed executive session to discuss the appointment of CI&E chair and the Demand Letter received by the SRG Board. Jimmy Roberts motioned. John Cline seconded the motion. 8 board members voted in favor of the motion. 0 board members voted against the motion. Motion passed to enter closed executive session to discuss the appointment of CI&E chair and the Demand Letter received by the SRG Board.

Board entered a closed executive session at 7:35pm. All non-board members were asked to leave the room. During Executive Session, John Durnell excused himself from the meeting and did not return.

Board exited the closed executive session at 8:24pm. Coming out of executive session, it was shared that the board approved the appointment of Topher Jaworski as chair of CI&E committee. It was also shared that no path forward had been aligned to regarding the Demand Letter received.

April asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Wade Weistreich motioned. Jimmy Roberts seconded the motion. 7 board members voted in favor of the motion. 0 board members voted against the motion. Motion passed to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 8:27pm.