SRG General Meeting Minutes June 2025 (Draft)

Aug 6

Soulard Restoration Group
General Membership Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, June 5, 2025 at 7PM

Minutes prepared by Andrew Paniello, Secretary

PRESENT
Officers: Amanda Ramcharan, President; April Flores, President-Elect; Adriano Martinez, Past President; Andrew Paniello, Secretary

Directors: Joy Christensen, John Cline

REGRETS

Officers: Neil Putz, FY26 Treasurer

Directors: Beth Bennett, Paula Dostal, Wade Weistreich, Bob Printz

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 7:00pm sharp. It is the first General Membership meeting with the new board.

Round Table — Committee Updates

Membership
Christina Del Azodi, Membership Committee Chair, announced that the membership party in May was a success. Approximately 220 people attended. Christina also introduced our new members in attendance and gave a special mention to Julie Price, our long-time membership chair who recently received a lifetime achievement award for her dedication to Soulard. It was then announced that Devon Marshall would host the social after the meeting.
Safety
Andrea Maddox-Dallas, Safety Committee Chair, reiterated that the committee is looking for a new chair, though–after four years of service–she is willing to stay on and help until a new chair is appointed. Andrea discussed some past successes, which included improved relationships with the police and parks departments, as well as new lights and safer streets.
Beautification
Jeff Weitzel, Beautification Co-chair, announced the beautification committee’s next meeting is on Wednesday, June 11th. The committee plans to discuss beautification plans for the summer, as well as some possible upcoming events, such as an art auction and patio crawl.
Communications Committee (ComCom)
There were no updates from ComCom.
Community Involvement & Events (CI&E)
Brad Pitlylk, CI&E Chair, reminded the Membership that Bastille Day is approaching (July 12). Soulard will continue with its usual Bastille Day traditions, which will start in Soulard Market Park. There will also be an upcoming bags (cornhole) tournament in the same location. The dates of these events coincide with the summer concert series (further explained below), which both committees believe will increase attendance.
Development
Jim Dallas, Development Chair, gave a heartfelt shoutout to his wife, Andrea Maddox-Dallas, for all of the valuable work she has done as the Safety chair. Jim also announced the dates for the upcoming concert series: 7/12, 8/9, and 9/6. The contracts for these concerts were recently approved.
Historical
Philip Hanley has narrowed down the possible locations for the Soulard time capsule. September 22nd was announced as a tentative date for the long-awaited ghost tour.
Parlour Tour
Jeanne Kirby, Parlour Tour Chair, reminded the Membership that the Parlour Tour will take place on December 6th AND 7th this year. The committee is actively looking for volunteers, with more info to come. It will be our golden (50th) anniversary this year and the tour is going to be extra special.
Code & Zoning and Plan Review Team (PRT)
There were no updates from PRT.
Properties (Station)
SRG celebrated our recent winning of the “best cheering section” in the St. Louis Marathon, an honor that came with a $500 prize. Additionally, two panels have been painted and fabricated to replace the rotting wooden panels at the station. A new garage door opener and other improvements are also on the radar.

Treasurer’s Report

April Flores reported on financials, on behalf of Neil Putz:

Checking: $39,520.58
Savings: $1,003.68
Money Market #1 (Molly’s Donation): $12,120.23
Money Market #2 (SRG Growth Account): $44,522.65

Total assets: $97,167.14

April also announced the committee budgets are being submitted to, and reviewed by, the board.

Secretary’s Report

Andrew Paniello, your humble secretary, introduced himself and said he was happy to be serving in this role. He then requested a motion to approve the April General Meeting minutes, which was offered by Brad Pitlyk. The motion passed unanimously. Andrew also assured Membership that all outstanding Board Meeting and General Meeting minutes will be posted promptly.

Crime Report

Officer Gregory McClendon had to leave early for tornado duty. He entrusted April Flores to report the crime data. In general, crime has been down in Soulard compared to the year before, particularly regarding felony theft (over $750).

Soulard Neighborhood Organization Updates

Soulard Business Association (SBA)
There were no announcements from the SBA.
Soulard Special Business District (SSBD)

There were no announcements from the SSBD.

Community Improvement District (CID)
Terry Hoffman, CID Chair, discussed new trash receptacles, banners, pet waste stations, etc. as a result of the newly approved CID. The successful expansion of the CID has now freed up some of the committee’s cash flow, which will now be directed to the southern end of Soulard. This portion of Soulard, which already tends to get neglected, was excluded from the CID expansion due to the city requiring geographic continuity for this sort of rezoning and the brewery effectively cutting it off. Terry also discussed how a delay in street resurfacing, caused at least partially by recent tornados, will cause a delay in traffic calming efforts–nevertheless, the traffic calming efforts are still in the works. Amanda added that the CID website is now up to date and is a great resource for answering FAQs.
Mardi Gras Inc. (MGI)
There were no announcements from MGI.
St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC)
There were no announcements from SLDC.
Krewe of Vices and Virtues (KVV)

KVV announced their plans for–and extended their invitation to–the upcoming parade. They will be based at the intersection of Russell and Geyer.

South Broadway Athletic Club (SBAC)

Dan Guenther had several updates related to the South Broadway Athletic Club. Upcoming events include the Queen of Hearts Raffle (ongoing), the Chuck Laxton Art Show (6/6 and 6/7), a candidate forum for the 8th Ward aldermanic seat, and book signing and unveiling event (6/13) for the Club’s 125th Anniversary book. There will also be a punk rock pig roast on 6/21.

Neighborhood Stabilization Update

James Simpson reexplained his role, which is liaison between city services and its neighborhoods. He encouraged the members to reach out about service-related problems they encounter. He also mentioned that, in light of the recent tornados, the city is looking for volunteers and donations, in various forms.

President’s Report

Old Business

Amanda Ramcharan announced that the board is in the process of hearing budget proposals from our various committees, with plans to vote on the budget in July, once all budgets have been presented. She also announced some of our new liaison appointments.

The Soulard Board has decided to make a substantial donation to victims of the recent tornado. Lastly, Amanda reminded the membership that our July meeting will take place on the 9th, due to the holiday.

New Business

With the help of Peter Hoffman and the Legal Services of Eastern Missouri–who are currently providing their work, pro bono–we recently issued a notice to the property at 1222 Allen (the partially burned down church). The goal of the notice is to get the current property owner to either bring their property up to code, for both safety and aesthetic reasons, or sell the property to someone who will. The notice was issued in May, meaning we can proceed starting in July.

Peter Hoffman fielded questions from the membership about the property and the legal strategy. Questions primarily related to the timeline, suit process, legal standing, and other issues. Peter also discussed how the verbiage for our proposed new bylaws will be useful in this case. The bylaws have been shared with the general membership via the email blaster and will be voted on in August.

The board welcomed Tommy Richhouse of Soulard Nation to briefly speak about his organization. The organization works with local artists to find venues and other opportunities. Soulard Nation has a few planned events coming up, including a float trip and possible 4th of July Block Party. Tommy then sang a cover of “What I Got” by Sublime.

Amanda motioned to adjourn at 8:06pm. Some members stayed after the meeting to listen to speeches from the Ward 8 aldermanic candidates.