SRG Board Minutes— February 2026

May 14

Soulard Restoration Group | Board Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, February 18, 2026 at 7PM
Soulard Station | 1911 South 12th Street

Minutes prepared by Andrew Paniello, Secretary

Present: April Flores, Neil Putz, Andrew Paniello; Joy Christensen, John Cline, Paula Dostal, Bob Printz, Mary Schlesinger, Wade Weistreich

Absent: Amanda Ramcharan, Adriano Martinez

Welcomed Guests: Jimmy Roberts, Matt Risser, Marilyn Morris, Richard Eaton, John Durnell, Aaron Spurgeon, Anthoney Polenski

Call to Order/Opening Remarks

President-Elect April Flores called the meeting to order at 7:02pm.

Secretary’s Report

Andrew Paniello, Secretary, welcomed our visiting guests. He asked for an approval to the minutes from the previous month, which were unanimously approved. However, following the approval, April Flores mentioned a few reasonable changes she would like made to the minutes. Andrew agreed and said he would incorporate them. Andrew then proudly announced that he and his wife Maggie are expecting a baby.

Committee Roundup

Beautification: no updates
CI&E: the CI&E is working, in conjunction with the Development Committee, on the Scholarship Trivia Night, scheduled for 4/25 at the South Broadway Athletic Club. More details are coming soon.
Development: the Development Committee has also been working on the upcoming Scholarship/Trivia Night. Furthermore, the committee has been coordinating the concerts (scheduled for July and September) and re-organizing the merchandising program.
Communications: the Committee is exploring ways to “amplify neighborhood voices”, with more details coming soon. This was one of the areas of interest mentioned at the Pre-Budget meeting held at the beginning of the month.
Historical: the Committee is very excited to be hosting an event, on March 8 at Soulard Station, for the Time Capsule. Members will have a chance to put letters in the time capsule, submit items, and learn more about the project.
Membership: Soulard Star nominations are now open. Additionally, the Membership committee is exploring ways to expand the “Welcome Wagon”, and is considering collaborating with the SBA. So far, the move to using JoinIt has been going well.
Parlour Tour: The Chair position is currently open. Neal Thompson has expressed interest.
PRT: no updates.
Station: There was a slight budget increase of $500, approved by the Board. This accounted for a $2,000 cleaning expense, less $1,500 saved on utilities. The cost of renting the Station will increase to $250 for members and $400 for non-members. The Station is also looking into ready-to-go insurance options.
Safety: the seat is still open. Allyson Whipple might be interested.

Old Business

The owner of the 1222 Allen property filed a “denial” in response to our lawsuit (this was expected). There are still a lot of things that need to be determined regarding our next steps–we will hopefully get an update very soon. We could be close to gaining legal access to the church. Additionally, Joy Christensen mentioned she had heard of some people interested in the property.

April Flores distributed information related to the upcoming SRG elections. Voting will take place between 3/23 (starting online) to 4/1 (concluding in person). Counting will conclude by 4/6. ComCom is coordinating the pre-election blaster. We then discussed the process of determining who is–and isn’t–in good standing (paying their dues).

The proposed Chair for the Parlour Tour Committee, Neal Thompson, will come to the April Board Meeting to answer questions and confirm his position.

The Landmarks Association Trivia Night will take place on 3/28; the Historical Committee has purchased a table, could get more, if needed.

The Board unanimously approved a $500 donation for Soulard Pride this June. Andrew Paniello said he would reach out to the Soulard Art Gallery to find some local artists for our booth.

SRG Committee Project Ideas 2026

The Board revisited some of the ideas that came out of the Pre-Budget meeting from earlier in the month. The Board plans to distribute a survey to the Membership, asking which ideas they favor, in the March Blaster. The results of this survey, which is still being organized, will then inform the final budget decisions.

A few of the new ideas that received attention (by committee), included:

Beautification: neighborhood plant exchange, bird houses, nest boxes
Communications: social media helper/intern, neighborhood storytelling, blog
CI&E: ad hoc community events
Development: SRG social action projects
Historical: Signage Project–Phase Two (see: New Business for detail), historical scavenger hunt, Soulard historic blog
Parlour: louvered pergola, vouchers for hosts on tour
Board: upgrade Pontiac Square Park splash pad

New Business

(Expanding from the Signage Project, mentioned above)

Part One: Historical Signage Project

The Historical Committee has been considering continuing its Historical Signage project. The purpose of these signs is to inform people in the neighborhood about some of our notable buildings and landmarks. During the Historical Committee Meeting, this project was a primary point of interest among the members.

Outside of the SRG, the CID has also expressed interest in putting up historical signs around the neighborhood. The CID has been finalizing a contract with two of our SRG Board Members, John Cline and Bob Printz, which will pay them to write the copy for the CID’s proposed signs, along with related research services.

As of the Board Meeting, there are still some details that need to be figured out for these contracts, which were under legal review. There seemed to be some confusion about who is responsible for which component of the project, particularly how the SRG and CID will work together (or separately) on this project. The CID has not been particularly clear with their intentions. Ideally, the organizations will be able to work cooperatively on this matter. Our next steps will likely depend on what the lawyers have to say about the contracts, and potential conflicts of interest.

Part Two: Other New Business

Brenton Henry, director of the Communications Committee, is looking for a co-chair who can help coordinate the committee’s operations. Someone with project management skills would be ideal; tech skills and general management skills could also help.

There were a few minor issues at Mardi Gras this year. There was widespread concern about the placement and distribution of trash cans, as well as some components of the clean up process. Additionally, some of the entrances/exits to the neighborhood were activated earlier than promised, causing some people to be either trapped in or unable to access their part of the neighborhood.

The Board concluded the New Business portion of the meeting with an extensive discussion about communications, roles, and how we are all going to get along. John Cline and Bob Printz expressed frustration with Amanda Ramcharan over a recent communication sequence. In response to what seemed to be a breakdown in the City’s enforcement of certain Mardi Gras liquor laws, Amanda had spearheaded some communications with the City on behalf of the SRG Board. Most members of The Board had not been informed about these communications or that the situation had arisen; this was the source of frustration for Bob and John, who noted a few other grievances and instances of being kept out of the loop.

Amanda was not in attendance at this meeting; April Flores, President-Elect, spoke on her behalf, suggesting that everything Amanda did was within her scope as President. The Board generally agreed with this position, noting that we don’t need to be notified about every single communication done by the President, though communication could have probably been a bit better this time around.

It was a notably tense meeting. The floor was then opened to the rest of The Board. The general theme of the comments was that we want friendly, open, and efficient communication, and that we want to be able to trust each other.

One of our visitors commented on the moisture issue; we said we are working on it.