SRG General Meeting Minutes- April 1, 2026

May 13

Written By Andrew Paniello

Soulard Restoration Group
General Membership Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 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.

Aldermanic Update

Alderwoman Jamie Cox-Antwi came to speak about a variety of topics, including the upcoming municipal election on 4/7, where we will vote whether to approve the 1% earning tax (Prop E). The aldermanic session will resume on April 20th.

Other areas of interest included the proposed downtown entertainment district and the proposed food truck bill. Jamie took questions from the membership, mostly asking for clarification about components of the food truck bill (parking, impact on the farmer’s market, etc.). Mayor Cara Spencer entered the room and we then transitioned to the mayoral update.

Mayoral Update

Mayor Cara Spencer opened on a somber note, noting that a police officer died in the line of duty earlier that day. She then discussed the upcoming 4/7 election, where voters will get the opportunity to approve or disapprove the City’s 1% earning tax. The Mayor noted this tax is essential for providing services.

Cara stated that many services have improved, including snow plows and trash. The decision to end the alleyway recycling program has saved the City money without reducing the total recycling output. The mayor then fielded questions about a wide range of topics, including ARPA (Federal) Funds being used, the water department, the proposed city-county merger, large trucks in alleys (and on Broadway), and recent ICE activity. She also discussed the possible expansion of the Metro, which has moved more towards rapid-transit buses instead of a larger subway system. Lastly, in response to another audience question, she noted that legislation regarding short-term rentals (such as Airbnbs) is currently being contested in court.

Committee Roundup

Membership: Christina Del Azodi, chair of the Membership Committee, noted that voting for the 2026-27 SRG Board was open, and would remain open until 8:30pm that evening. She also noted that the membership party would be hosted at Lark (Jeff & Susan’s) on May 6th, from 6:30-9pm. A clipboard was sent around the room, asking for volunteers. The new membership directory was also made available.

General Board Discussion

Following the Membership update, the meeting then pivoted to discussing some of the issues that had recently come up with the Board.

President Amanda Ramcharan had been accused by former board members Bob Printz and (then-former) John Cline of extortion, specifically, trying to force people to sell their property, and sell below market value. Amanda denied these accusations, noting that the Board takes these accusations very seriously. She stated that these accusations arose as the result of unsubstantiated rumors, and that she, April Flores, and Wade Weistreich went to the mayor’s office and confirmed the rumors were false. She expressed a frustration shared by many members of the Board, which was that these serious rumors were never brought forward, leaving the Board, as a whole, in the dark. These events resulted in the Board voting to remove Bob Printz and John Cline at the previous board meeting. Amanda concluded the summary of these events, noting that the Board wants to provide clarity and that it will field questions from Membership.

Wade was the first board member to accept questions, noting that board members have a “duty of care” to bring serious issues related to the board, to the board, which is why he felt he had no choice but to vote yes during the expulsion vote at the last meeting. Joy Christensen answered an audience member who asked, “what was the motive?”, noting that the motive was still unclear to the other board members and that this has been a frustrating sequence.

Allyson Whipple asked what gave the Board the right to expel members using its own bylaws, when the Board itself is in violation of its own bylaws, arguing that an expense over $500 from 2025 was not adequately approved by the Board. Neil Putz, Treasurer, explained that the budget had already been approved, and that the expense came from approved, flexible funds.

The discussion continued, with April Flores indicating that the Board will meet soon to discuss a fair replacement process that is consistent with our bylaws. There was consensus shared by both the Board and Membership that there may need to be some bylaw adjustments in the future. Wade continued to answer questions on behalf of the Board, and continued emphasizing Duty of Care, noting this situation had escalated to the Mayor’s office and that legitimate threats to the Board’s functionality had materialized.

John Cline defended his decisions, stating he was following the Sunshine Law. Several members of the Board expressed that the frustration was not with the Sunshine Law request, but with the clandestine nature of the investigation, and the seriousness of the accusations without a direct discussion. John suggested that he did not feel comfortable approaching the Board about this because of communication issues he has had with Amanda.

Brenton Henry, Communications Chair, presented an email in which Amanda gave a sarcastic response to Bob Printz, suggesting it was evidence of the Board’s poor communication style. Amanda noted she apologized for that email, Joy Christensen added that it was a human response after being worn down. Leroy Fitzwater provided some additional criticism of communications over the past year, suggesting an ongoing lack of consensus and cohesion. The conversation reached a bit of a stalemate and some audience members began motioning to return to the rest of the meeting. Mitch Goist noted that if all that was going on was independent due-diligence, he would have never been dragged into this in the first place. There was then an extensive period of cross-talk. Brenton Henry asked for clarification on the process to override the Board–according to Article 4, Section 5, membership can override Board decisions with a two-thirds vote.

Another motion to move on came from the audience, and the meeting then returned to committee updates.

Properties (Station): Topher Jaworski provided updates for the Station, noting a return to cheering at the St. Louis Marathon (after winning Best Cheering Section last year), as well Ladies Night on 4/14. The pricing structure for the Station has also been updated.
Beautification: Jeff Weitzel, chair of the Beautification Committee, announced that there will be a fundraising art auction at Lark, and that he is accepting art donations.
Communications: Brenton Henry, Communications chair, discussed the functions of the Communications Committee, the plan for more transparency tools, and the workings of the double-blind election tally. Brenton stated he made a post about the Board developments on both Facebook pages. He noted that Facebook comments were turned off for the post, relating to the aforementioned issues, due to incivility.
CI&E: Brad Pitlyk announced that upcoming CI&E events are on the calendar.
Development: Chris Currington stated the Scholarship Trivia Night would take place on 4/25, and that Jim and Andrea have offered an Innsbrook Escape to raise funds.
Historical: Philip Hanley happily announced that the Time Capsule event was a major success and that there will be two more chances to submit letters to the Time Capsule on 4/11 and 4/12.
PRT: Jimmy Sgroi was confirmed as the new chair of the PRT. He is currently an architect at HOK.

Treasurer’s Report

Neil Putz, Treasurer, announced that our asset accounts have slightly increased, down to about $88,000 from around $91,000. The main expenses were new items for the development committee, along with repairs to Soulard Station.

Secretary’s Report

Andrew Paniello, Secretary, thanked the membership for taking the time to read the minutes. He noted there have been some tense meetings lately and he is doing his best to remain objective.

Organization Roundup

SBAC: there will be an Easter Bunny event on 4/4 from 12-2.
KVV: the KVV will host a Kentucky Derby Party on 5/2. They will also appear at Soulard Pride, sponsored by SRG.
Legion: the Legion was happy to have hosted three successful fish fries this year.
SSBD: Shawn Caruso noted that crime is down in the neighborhood, which may be related to enhanced security measures.
Neighborhood Stabilization: James Simpson noted that the City’s website has been updated and that citizens can dial 311 for the Citizen Service Bureau (non-emergencies).