Meeting Minutes
Derrick Kilgore
April 2nd, 2024 General Assembly Meeting
Meeting Minutes
Derrick Kilgore
March 05th, 2024 General Assembly Meeting
Meeting Minutes
Derrick Kilgore
February 5th, 2024 General Assembly Meeting
Meeting Minutes
Derrick Kilgore
January 2nd, 2024 General Assembly Meeting
Meeting Minutes
Derrick Kilgore
November 7th 2023, General Assembly Meeting ...

April 2nd, 2024 General Assembly Meeting

BENTON PARK GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING

APRIL 2ND, 2024

Number of attendance:  56

Meeting Called at 7:00pm

Welcome

New Members 

Lucy, Clara, Kyle, on McNair

Guest Speaker

Judge Katherine Fowler

Judge Heather Hays

KF listens to civil and criminal cases, lives in Lafayette.  Loves her job and serving the community.  

HH is her colleague and is an associate circuit judge.  Criminal associate division.  See’s everyone at their bond hearing.  Here to answer questions.  A misconception about judges is that they work very hard to help the community.  They want criminals to become functioning members of society.  Including, drug rehabilitation, and much more.  

Questions:

01.  Very impressed with the jury duty process, and the effectiveness of it.  

They have revamped the process of jury duty so that it is more effective.

02.  How do you think you could do better, if you had a magic wand how you would you imnorove the system.

More money for services.  Police, schools, judge, and they spend so much time on mental health issues, and various services.  They work with a lot of community partners, to help with the conditions of the people that need help.  They do not have enough resources, for housing, and mental health.  

03.  How can we help to make steps in the funding direction?

The best way to (St. Patrick Center, Places for People) help is contacting their partners.  They have representatives that come to court, meet them in jail, and are active with helping them.  Supporting the partners, helps the entire process.  Housing is the worst part.  

04.  Do the community partners know how many people they can accept?

Yes.  

If there are crimes happening, contact the courts in any way you can.  Email them, come to court.  It helps them since they have a small sliver on information when the case is presented.

05.  If there was more services for the homeless would you attract more homeless?

St. Louis county has more services, and that most of them are MO residents or IL.  

06.  Are the unhoused population counted as residents?  

Most of them say they live in the St. Louis area.  We have pre trial services that they meet with before their case.  They do not know if they are counted or not. 

For clarification, when the census is done, they do a tally of homeless shelters, and they do a tally of universities, which is handed in separately.  

07.  Is there a list of community services?

Mission St. Louis, Freedom Community Center, St. Patrick, People in Crisis and more.  

Minutes Approval?

Are there any questions for the last minutes?

Old Business

We need to approve this years budget.  We have been operating a loss for the last 4 years.  This year we have created a sponsorship committee.  We have an event coming up, which will be talked about later.  The summer concerts have been down scaled, for quality and funding purposes.  We are only doing 3 shows this year.  We will work to expand again for next year.  We are losing the Gateway Cup this year, they have decided to expand to different neighborhoods.  There really is no reason why they made the decision to leave.  Possibly lack of community involvement and sponsorship from the local businesses.  So it cost them more to have events here at Benton Park than in other neighborhoods.  

Questions:

How do we determine which acts we put on?

Answer:

We have a relationships with certain bands in which we love to work with.  We would love to include new acts so any suggestions should just be submitted.  

Formal vote to approve the budget.  Are plan is to break even this year.  

Majority in favor.

Police Report

Officer Rosa Rojas.  Crime activity report for the last 28 days, 3/4-3/31.  2 incidents in the neighborhood.  21st a Kia Rio was stolen.  25th of March another Kia was stolen in the 1900 Block of Sidney.  Over 100 calls in the last 28 days.  She has never seen so many people at neighborhood meetings, not has she seen this low of an incident report.  She encourages everyone to keep calling the police, and to continue to be patient with the police.

Alderman Report:  

They are coming close to the end of their legislative session.  The liquor license bill has passed, against her vote.  They are looking at a bill on homelessness.  Easing the requirements for shelters.  There needs to be some protected spaces for the homeless that doesn’t impede on public spaces.  Cara introduced a bill on reckless drivers that would put a boot on your car.  Infractions get tickets, and people aren’t showing up for courts.  They are considering redistribution of funds that would help garbage trucks, and other services.  She is concerned at the new hiring freeze.  The city is already running at 70% fulfillment.  Lastly, they had a meeting last night for some proposed changes on Gravois.  If you would like to see the changes, they are online.  MODOT is in charge of that street, and the funds aren’t there.  The state of MO does not support mental health, and they fund zero homeless services.  She feels that the federal government is failing us.  We are the 44th state when it comes to mental health.  MSD was on the voting ballot today, and 

Questions:

01.  Why did they place a hiring freeze.

That information was not divulged to the aldermen.  She hopes to get to the bottom of this.

02.  Speed humps, what is the timeline?

Speed humps take a long time.  The process changed a year ago, and there are a lot of working parts.  The approved ones are in the system, but in a queue.  

03.  Any idea with the church in Soulard?

The city has fined them, issued warrants, they put white boards on it.  Their boarding up was not enough.  The building committee did the best they could to clean it up.  The owners are MIA and unresponsive.  The city is working on it.  The city has the power to demolish it and invoice the owners.  They have funding that they could renovate the building, but it’s unavailable due to the neighborhood being affluent.  Neighborhoods can file a lawsuit on vacant properties.  If there is a lawyer in BP that would want to do it they could get some help from the (look up).  Legal cost can be recouped for legal cases.  

Announcement 

Lisa Optke

Downhill meetings in all of the neighborhoods.  April 16th at the Serbian Church (Serbian Drive and Geyer).  6pm8pm.  Economic development and other city departments.  Planning and redesign group.  On 314 Day, they launched three new products.  Flyer on the table.  The first one is home stl.  A first time buyers home assistance, if they qualify for being under 80% of income.  They have to work with their particular lenders.  The second, Scale Up STL, which is a low interest loan for small business or non profits.  Mobilized STL which is a low interest loan program for small contractors and suppliers working with construction.  You can find more information at www.developstlouis.org.  Check out the event calendar.  The business assistance center in City Hall.  Also there are classes at Sumner high school for people wanting to start a business.  SLUP-STL.com for information on the Land Use plan.  They are looking for input, and they are focusing on blocks of cities, and preservation areas and development.  Planning will talk about it in the town hall.  As you may have heard, the Metrolink contract has been approved for Jefferson, and they are starting the design process.  They will be looking for input on that.  

Lori

Venice Cafe will be the after meeting hang out.  

Committee Reports

Events

First concert is Sunday May 19th, The Mighty Pines from 4pm-7pm.  They are our biggest draw every year.  The other one is Sept 22nd (Alligator), and we are finalizing details for the third concert. Tunes on Tap in October, the date will be released soon.  We paid to have the Gateway Cup ($3,000) so that is saving us money by not having it.  We don’t have the exact number of the number in our savings account.  We have roughly $40-50K in our savings account.  We are working on revitalizing that, and expand our sponsorship initiative to replenish that account.  

Sponsorship

We have monthly givings set up for donations.  On 420 we are having a fundraising event at Bluewood Brewing.  They will have a raffle that night, and prizes.  Same day as their Art fair, so we encourage people to attend early.  

One of our neighbors has done a lot of work helping the neighborhood.

Melissa 

There is an event happening Sunday April 21st, at Italia 1879, which is the Buggie factory on Pestalozzi.  Five neighborhood artists will be showcasing, as part of the show, several of the items that are going to be there.  A portion of the proceeds will go to the Benton Park neighborhood.  We have an author in then neighborhood that was recently published Whiskey Tender.  It’s free, and there is a wine and cheese reception.  

Building

N/A

Safety

Group Me Chat

Flyers and door to door

Lemp and Arsenal traffic calming study

Monthly Meeting

Garden/Cave

Parks

N/A

Special Guest:  

Art Opening May 3rd, from 5-8pm, 4 Hands, local food.  Venice is opening their patio the same night.  They are also doing a Benton Park Donation Box.

Mr. Montgomery

Father of 2.  Goes to 100’s of meetings a month.  He has a wife, and a dog named Bella.  Former Deputy Sheriff.  He worked in Jefferson City.  One of the bills he worked on was a campaign called St. Louis safe.  Implemented to have police wearing body cams.  Worked on a bill to make sure that they are trained.  Three things they want to work in the sheriff office, policy, criminal justice reform, and partnering with their city offices.  They have had 12 deaths in the city jail due to drugs.  He has decided that the Sheriff office should have dogs in their unit, so they can catch drugs going into their building.  The August 6th election is where you can decide on who to vote for.  To learn more go to montgomery4sheriff.com.  

Charles from Trailnet

Put your hand in front of your face.  Now imagine you were driving 55 mph.  You would have crossed 5 football fields in that time.  You could have killed someone or yourself, from using your phone while driving.  Trailnet’s new campaign to curb people from driving distracted.  It’s called Drive the Change.  Put your phone down and buckle up every time you drive.  

Speaker Cara Spencer mentioned Cheryl Glass:

Our MSD bill is 100% than people who live in similar size homes in the county.  She has dug through rate proposals, and analyzing their rates.  They cannot tell you why their rates are different for those in the county. 

March 05th, 2024 General Assembly Meeting

Guests:

Captain Angela Dickerson (District 3)

Sergeant Phillips

Officer Rojas

Circuit Attorney Gabriel Gore

Alderwoman Cara Spencer

Members of the community

Welcome: Courtney Armistead

The meeting commenced with a warm welcome to all attendees.

Special Guest:

Police Captain Angela Dickerson

The newly appointed captain of District 3, introduced herself. With 23 years of service, she provided a brief overview of her work history, highlighting her recent transition from the North side to the South side. Captain Dickerson expressed her commitment to attending neighborhood meetings to familiarize herself with the area, noting the disparity in crime compared to her previous district. Sergeant Phillips and Officer Rojas were also present.

Contact Information: Attendees inquired about reaching Captain Dickerson, to which her contact details were provided:

Email: amdickerson@slmpd.org

Phone: 314-444-2585

Excitement About the District: When asked about her excitement regarding the new district, Captain Dickerson expressed enthusiasm for working in a diverse community and addressing challenges in troubled areas.

Guest Speaker: Circuit Attorney

Circuit Attorney: Gabriel E. Gore

Sworn in on May 30th, 2023, shared insights into the office's efforts to restore order, emphasizing the collaboration of experienced attorneys and operational improvements. Notable achievements include timely charging decisions, focusing on violent offenders, and reducing backlog cases. The office aims to expand diversion programs to prevent recidivism. The Circuit Attorney addressed questions regarding gun laws, traffic violations, juvenile offenses, reformative justice, and police funding.

Alderwoman's Report: Cara Spencer

Legislation: Discussions focused on new legislation to eliminate hurdles for opening shelters, surveillance, liquor license revamp, and combating reckless driving. Neighborhood Updates: Issues discussed included ongoing efforts to fix fountains, Rams funding delegation, and zoning overhaul plans.

Police Report: Officer Rojas

A summary of recent neighborhood crimes and activities, including robberies, carjackings, and thefts, was provided. Recommendations were given to secure firearms and avoid leaving them unattended in vehicles.

Committee Reports:

Garden Cave: No update

Building Review: No update

Safety Committee: Derrick Kilgore

Group me chats have been created for the neighborhood. Broken down in zones, each zone will be accessible through our website (www.bpnastl.org/safety), with the intention of creating conversation between neighbors about crime, events, and community involvement. Yard signs will be going up in the neighborhood to promote this initiative.

Events Committee: Brittany Nelson

Three concerts are planned, featuring Mighty Pines on May 19th and Alligator Wine on September 22nd. Sponsorship details for the third concert are being finalized. Other Events: Tunes on Tap dates are pending. The Gateway Cup (no longer in Benton Park) and Naked Bike Ride were mentioned. An Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for March 30th, with community support. The Halloween event continues, and efforts to revitalize the Park Committee, led by Dan Gunther, are underway.

New Members:

Lizzy and Josh, residents of Arsenal, were welcomed as new members of the community.

Adjournment:

The meeting concluded with a reminder of the upcoming fundraising party and an invitation to gather at Greenfinch for socializing.

Respectfully submitted,

Derrick Kilgore

Secretary/Safety Committee Chair

Benton Park Neighborhood Association

February 5th, 2024 General Assembly Meeting

Benton Park Neighborhood Meeting 

Tuesday February 5th 2024, 

Meeting Started at 7:06pm

Agenda Overview:  Minutes are always on the website, and will be considered approved.

New Officer Liason: Officer Rosa Rojas

Officer Rojas has been working for 8 years during the night shift.  Community outreach for a month, and now working in the morning.  Any questions she will stay after the meeting for 15 minutes.  Last month we had 2 stolen autos.  One was a parked Escalade on the 2100 Block of Missouri.  A car was stolen on Lemp, unattended.  Two larcenies in the neighborhood.  2300 Cherokee a white male went into an establishment and tried to swing at an employee.  One burglary in 2800 Block of Missouri, Copper wire were stolen.  One assault in the 2000(?) block of Sydney.  Today at 12:30 there was a hold up at Lemp and Arsenal.  Red Escalade robbed someone at gun point.  She is from Wisconsin.

New member introductions:

Steven from Indiana.  Since 2001.

Kylie and Alex on Aresnal.  Since last summer

Scarla close to Gus’.  Been here for 2 years.

Alfred Montgomery running for Sheriff.  

Josh B.  

Amanda and Joe 3200 block of Missouri.  18 years.

Claire, Adrian, Beth, just moved.

New Business:

February is the month we propose the budget.  They will be on the website.  If you have questions or concerns please contact us via the contacts on the website.  A few changes from previous years.  Our commitment is community engagement, and finding support with the city.  Our budget will reflect that this year.  IN the past we have done a good job of supporting the community.  We are going to have fewer concerts.  Post covid we have experienced a decline in donations.  We had a great donation drive during the holiday party.  Your donations directly goes into funding the events we put on, as well as the meeting space, and more.  Lori has created a page that explains where the investment goes into.  We are also cutting back on our expenses.  We are going to scale back the Summer Concert Series into a few concerts.  We will no longer be hosting the Gateway Cup on Labor Day.  They are moving to Florissant, and that is awesome for the city, and we hope that we can still show support to this event.  

Lori White:

At the meeting last month we had concerns about cats, recycling, the lake in the park, and more.  As a follow up, we have a page on the site about recycling.  A cat committee is being formed to help with the cat issues.  If you are interested in joining the cat committee.  There is a loosely forming Park/Lake committee for cleaning purposes.  We are having a social after the meeting at Saturn Lounge.  If you have any interest in joining any committee then please contact Lori or go to the website.

Alicia from Benton Park Cafe is officially opening this Thursday February 8th for a 1920’s themed party.  Celebrating the new evening hours.  Time is 5p-10p.  Next month we are going to have Circuit Attorney Gore to speak.  

Building Review Committee:  Tim Mulligan

Darla Dougherty, the south side slum lord is being held accountable.  Prior to the RFT article, one of her properties is in the neighborhood.  2100 Cherokee St.  Three story house, that is in disrepair.  Legal Services approached us in an attempt to take over the property.  Building Committee has been working with them.  She is now arrested, which means we cannot proceed.  The building will be going up for sale.  We will be updated when more information is available.  

Tim wanted to introduce the committee that has been working on it.  The national historic district was created for BP in 1985.  It has a lot of benefits for developers, but it doesn’t do anything to protect what is built and what is torn down.  20 years ago we recognized that this wasn’t a trend that we wanted to continue.  They worked with the alderman at the time and worked with the city to come up with a District code for BP.  It was written into ordinance in 2006, and it mirrored Soulard’s code.  Some of the terms were ambiguous, and needed to be changed.  Previous attempt was thwarted by the pandemic.  Last fall, they amassed the team they have now.  

Marianne Smith, part of the group that help write original code.  Some things were missing, and other things blocked creativity.  They have been working and want to incorporate some of these revisions and standards.  They want to make the standards easier to implement city wide.  They are addressing two different groups with their standards.  Homeowners and to provide clearer requirements for new construction or significant renovations.  Mostly exterior.  They would like the neighborhood to see the drafts and make comments or concerns.

Sean Dobson, works with historic architect.  They will be posting updates on the neighborhood website and they have it linked to the city architecture ordinances.  When we have changes they will post the before ordinance and what it is being changed to.  

Meg Lusso, Cultural Resources Office.  https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/departments/planning/cultural-resources/index.cfm Map with color shows the jurisdiction of the office.  Available on their website.  They have 18 historic districts.  The difficulty of the historic neighborhoods is that they were all allowed to write their own codes.  They want all the definitions for the standards match between all districts.  

Alderman Report: Cara Spencer

On the legislative front, they are dealing with red light cameras.  Reallocating their $500 million funds.  Lastly, the passed a senior tax brief on your property taxes.  Funding the AirBNB legislative, they will be discussing that soon.  On the local front, they are working on getting the park fountains more functional.  Elbia, resident, has been persistent on making the change.  Mardi Gras is this weekend.  Cara is in direct communication with the festival operators.  Contact her, if you have any issues.  

7th Ward newly elected alderwoman.  Alicia Sonnier

What they want to do with the new board is a lot of community cohesion. Please disregard previous bills about the unhoused.  The new unhoused bill of rights, addresses the lack of space for the homeless.  In the city of St. Louis we have 900 beds for emergency, only used temporarily.  The new bill would be to expand shelters.  The city does not run shelters, but they are working on ways to expand available beds.  The committee hasn’t opened a shelter in 15 years.  The unhoused providers cannot navigate the process, but the new bill is geared to make it more of a community process.  On elf the specifics would be the provider sending a notification to the hearing date amongst the neighborhoods.  They are redoing the signature verification, and they call over the phone.  IF you don’t answer, then they wouldn’t be able to verify the signature.  They will utilize an office that has already been verifying  signatures for elections.  The threshold is 51% to get a hearing.  They want to move it to 25%, just to have the hearing.  

Dog Park:  Hayley Johnston

Renewal period has changed to the beginning of the year.  The code will change in the next couple of weeks.  Re-signup in January.  Dog Park group me chat has been started.  Community crime, and local things only.  

Safety Committee:  Derrick Kilgore

Yard signs with QR codes to sign up for the Block Captain Program, as well as the camera initiative will be going up in the neighborhood soon. We are working on a editable interactive map for identifying Block Captains. As well as expanded our camera coverage. We will be meeting the last Thursday of every month at Small Change at 7pm.

Cave/Garden Committee:  Bill Kranz

One flower box left if anyone is interested.  The second phase of the project is reopening the cave underneath the garden.  It’s a difficult project.  They also produce a report of all of the brewery page in which you can sign up.  

Edit: They have a compost bin there.  

Epiphany UCC:

Next Tuesday they will have a free spaghetti dinners.  They will have gift bags for the unhoused.  Also they are doing a concert on February 24th.  

Email hello@bentonpark.org if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

January 2nd, 2024 General Assembly Meeting


BPNA GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING 

TUESDAY JANUARY 2ND

Meeting began at 7:11pm


Welcome:

Introduction and new member welcome by Courtney Armistead.  


Old Business:

Meetings from the last minute have been approved and are available on the website.


Guest Speaker: Isiah Santiago (Cara Spencer Representative)

There is going to be a speed hump bill coming soon.  

https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/1NvFfooY-F8FnnlBmA4C4a1U14PWd7NvGlDSuns1DTjU/mobilebasic?urp=gmail_link

The EPA visited St. Louis in November regarding the smell from Sauget.  They have created a website about the smell and how to complain about it through the site.  

Good neighbor Guide fact sheet that answers a lot of general questions.  Cara wanted to communicate that they are here to listen, and if anyone has any questions please contact her office.

Email: spencerc@stlouis-mo.gov Phone: (314) 622-3287

Update coming soon on speed humps.  Tentative locations are 2700 block of Salena, 2415 block of Salena, and 2200 block of Wyoming.


Questions:


  1.  What percentage of recycling bins getting recycled?  Would like a monthly report on the percentage of bins that are actually being recycled.


Answer:  Date is currently not available.  Isaiah will follow up with Alderwoman Meghan Greene, Cara Spencer, as well as specific departments involved.


  1. Neighbors are having a feral cat problem in their area.  Started with 3, and now it’s 9 with kittens.  The cats are also attacking dogs.  Animal control is unable to help.  How can they get this resolved?

Answer: Isaiah will attempt to contact animal control to further investigate why they cannot help, and proper steps to rectify the situation.


Sidenote: Courtney Armistead

Moving forward we may be looking to get a better understanding of the city website and guides that are geared to educate the actions of the neighborhood association.  Civic engagement is important to building the neighborhood.  We want to make sure we are promoting diversity and inclusion in the neighborhood.  We will be working on the 2024 budget, and will have an approval meeting next month at the neighborhood meeting. 

Questions:

  1. A request to decorate highway bridge in Benton Park with holiday lights in Winter 2024.

Answer:  Lori White will assist in making this happen.

  1. It has been requested that we create a monthly night for neighbors to connect.

Answer:  That is something we will look into, and follow up with in the future.

  1. It has been requested that our meetings become more participatory with the community.

Answer:  We are looking for ways to increase the voice of the community, and we would like feedback on any ideas on the matter.  

  1. It has been suggested that our website is updated with more current information and links to city services.

Answer:  Lori White will investigate.

Committee Reports:


Events: There will be no events until Spring 2024.

Building Review:  N/A

Safety:  The next meeting will be Thursday January 25th at Chemistry PR and Multimedia (location may change).

In 2024 we will be reinstating the Block Captain Program, and further expanding the Benton Park Surveillance Initiative (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd2xldvaHWPf_hDYgyzaQQtQTXdfUIuTQT0lkeukriekWk2aA/viewform).  

Garden Cave: The work continues on the cave.  More information will be available on the website.

Dog Park: The dog park is still there.  The dogs love it.  Reseeding in the spring.  The dog park is looking to do fundraising going forward. 

Parks:  N/A

Question:

  1. The small lake in Benton Park looks bad, as well as a floating trash can.

Answer:  This needs to be brought up to our former Alderman Dan Guenther.

General Comments, Questions, or Concerns:


Comment:  The person who does the street cleaning does an excellent job.  On your phone you can set a reminder on your phone to move your car on street cleaning. 

Guest Speaker:

Scott Vogel: Benton Park Cafe will now be open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings.  There will be a speakeasy themed party Thursday February 8th from 5-10pm.  




Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes

Meeting Topics:

1. Website Enhancements and Donations

During the meeting, we delved into the idea of adding donation options to our neighborhood association's website. The discussion revolved around making the donation process as user-friendly and accessible as possible. We agreed to form a small committee to investigate various online payment platforms that align with our needs.

2. Social Media Strategy

Our attention turned to our social media presence. We brainstormed and proposed engaging posts for Instagram and other platforms. These posts would serve to highlight upcoming events, such as Scott Vogl's party and the latest EPA initiatives. An interesting idea was to encourage members to set reminders for street cleanings in their personal calendars, ensuring active community participation.

3. Traffic and Safety Concerns

The issue of traffic speed and neighborhood safety took center stage. We discussed the effectiveness of speed hump bills in slowing down vehicles and shared anecdotes of their impact. Specific locations like Small Change on Lynch, 2415 Salena, 2700 Salena, and 2200 Wyoming were brought up as areas where traffic management needs improvement. Some members suggested exploring alternative solutions, like using brick below the pavement to naturally discourage speeding. Additionally, we touched on the EPA's website as a resource to address concerns related to unpleasant odors in our neighborhood and considered distributing good neighbor guides to foster a stronger sense of community.

4. 2024 Neighborhood Association Pillars

Our association is committed to making 2024 a year of progress in specific areas. We identified two main pillars for the year: diversity and inclusion, as well as civic engagement. A key point of discussion was the February meeting, which is slated to be a budget-focused session where we will outline strategies to fund our initiatives.

5. Tangible Change Requests

Members passionately voiced several requests for tangible change within our community. These requests included:

  • Regular monthly recycling reports to keep residents informed.

  • A plan to clean the lake, remove dead fish, and install more trash cans to combat littering.

  • Addressing the challenge of feral cats in the neighborhood, with a focus on humane relocation options.

  • A commitment to promoting diversity at our events and meetings, in response to Lori's request for a more inclusive atmosphere.

  • An enthusiastic call for more cave-related activities to tap into our unique neighborhood resources.

  • Formation of an Xmas committee to organize festive holiday events and decor

  • Exploring the idea of lighting up the bridge, with involvement from Scott Vogel, Ashley (wife of the membership guy), and several of our new members.

  • A recurring request for monthly recycle reports to stay eco-conscious.

  • A pledge to hold more active meetings, including brainstorming sessions to generate fresh ideas.

  • The need to revamp our website, making it a better resource for connection and information.

  • Emphasizing the importance of feedback and accountability among our members.

  • Organizing volunteer clean-up events to maintain our beautiful neighborhood.

  • Establishing the Tangible Change Committee to oversee requested changes and provide regular updates at each meeting.

Summary:

This comprehensive meeting addressed a wide array of topics, including website enhancements, social media strategies, traffic and safety concerns, our neighborhood's 2024 pillars, and various tangible change requests, such as recycling reports and feral cat management. Members were engaged and committed to making positive changes within our community.

Action Items:

  • The formation of a committee to explore online donation options for our website.

  • Scheduling and creation of engaging social media posts for upcoming events.

  • In-depth investigation into traffic-calming measures for the specified locations.

  • A renewed focus on diversity and inclusion initiatives within the neighborhood.

  • Detailed planning for the February budget-focused meeting.

  • The establishment of the Tangible Change Committee to oversee requested changes and provide regular updates.

  • A commitment to keeping members informed about progress on action items and upcoming events.

The meeting concluded with a sense of enthusiasm and dedication to addressing the outlined action items and ensuring the success of our upcoming events and initiatives.


Key Follow-Ups:

  1. Website Enhancement Committee: Continue researching online donation options for the neighborhood association website. Email: marketing@bentonpark.org

  2. Social Media Team: Coordinate and create engaging posts for upcoming events and community updates. Email: marketing@bentonpark.org

  3. Traffic and Safety Subcommittee: Investigate traffic-calming measures for specific locations mentioned in the meeting. Email: safety@bentonpark.org

  4. Diversity and Inclusion Working Group: Develop strategies to promote diversity at neighborhood events and meetings.

  5. Tangible Change Committee: Form this committee to oversee requested changes and provide regular updates.

Contact Information:

Committees and Chairs:

Additional Contacts:

Feel free to reach out to the respective contacts for follow-ups, questions, or collaboration on the discussed topics.














November 7th 2023, General Assembly Meeting Minutes

BENTON PARK NEIGHBORHOOD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Tuesday November 7th.

The meeting was called to begin at 7:10.  

Introductions.  

Welcoming new members, and introducing new board member.  

New members

Joe, Abi, Gayle, Wendy, Lori, Chris, Mark, 

New board member:  Executive board and membership chair.  William Aungst (professor at SLU)

Guest Speaker:  Jean Corbett (Brightside St. Louis)

https://stlcityrecycles.com/

 St. Louis City recycles.  Brightside hosts greening, and cleaning throughout the city.  Clean up projects, and grants for planting in public spaces. The outreach arm of the city recycling department.  The state of recycling right now in St. Louis is one of the topics.  The city is recycling despite the rumors.  Explains the process of the recycling in the city.  The issue is the contamination of the dumpsters.  Today’s purpose is to help us understand what exactly goes into the recycling dump.  Literature has been passed out (see attachment).  What goes into the bin are containers that hold their shape.  Utensils do not go into bin.  Plastic bags do not go into the bin.  Do not crush anything unless it’s cardboard.  They have a scanner that determines what it is by the shape. 


Questions:

01.  TV Dinners.  

Do not go into recycling.

02.  Dumpster dumpers:  People outside of the neighborhood using our dumpsters the wrong way.

They are trying to reach as many people as possible to educate.  They hope that we can spread the word about recycling with the neighbors.  

Suggestion:  A number that we can call if we see illegal dumping.  

Answer:  That number does exist, you can call Brightside or CSB.  

03.  Why not remove the recycling bins, if they aren’t being used?  

Answer:  Sometimes the frequency of recycling pick up changes from week to week. 

Please come to the office to get a free recycling bin.  If you have a recycling bin at home, you will be more incentivized to recycle.  Contact Jean if you have questions, comments, or concerns. 

New Business

Alderperson Report:

Cara Spencer will talk to us about new board bills and legislative issues going on right now.  They passed the AIRBNB bill.  It was signed yesterday by the mayor.  

https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-laws/board-bills/boardbill.cfm?bbDetail=true&BBId=14253

They are trying to protect communities.  They are working on a set of bills about homeless situation.  On hold for the moment.  It is impossible right now for a shelter to open, so there is a bit of a homeless crisis.  They are trying to identify the number of people that are homeless.  

MSD (sewer department) is a monopoly.  They are looking to raise our rates 33%.  They are trying to make the raise decreased.  We have a higher cost for sewage compared to other cities.

Last, they are discussing the funds from 2021.  They have spent 84 of the 500 million of the fund, and they are pushing to get those funds used effectively.

Second lastly, dispensaries.  The BOA allowed dispensaries into the city.  The planning staff at the time that dispensaries could would not qualify if there were a buffer.  Because of density, would end up in North St. Louis.  Two dispensaries are currently going across the street from a school.  Cara is asking the city to reconsider that buffer.  

Question:

01. Is the BOA working with the COC?

Answer:  Cara works with the COC, and if she is not sure if the Mayor and the city is working with them.  

02.  Please elaborate on the lack of new homeless shelters.  

There hasn’t been a homeless shelter in 20 years, because of petitions.  Usually because neighbors have control, and no one has historically wanted a homeless shelter near their house.

Contact Cara Spencer directly, if you have any questions or comments.  

Committee Reports:

Event committee:

Very successful series of summer concerts.  Tunes on Tap had 8 houses and 150 people participate.  Last event of the year is the holiday party December 1st.  The party will be at Bluewood Brewing.  We will be taking pictures of Santa before the parade, and then the parade through the neighborhood.  We drive down every street in the neighborhood.  Our holiday meeting is a way to meet neighbors and renew memberships with merch on sale.  We may have a silent auction, and we are accepting donations.  If anyone wants to donate contact the president or events committee.  If anyone is interested in joining the events committee.  Starts at 6pm.  Parade starts at 7pm.  

Tim Mulligan:  Not here.

Safety Committee:  No new developments

Garden/Cave:  Bill Kranz

Garden was a successful year.  Everything is currently frozen so that is shutting down for the year.  Monthly report is out covering cave activities, anything underground, etc.  About 100 members on this email list.  On the BPNA website you can contact Bill to get on the list.  They are recreating a book about caves in St. Louis written 20 years ago.  64 pages are available.  Trying to also get a endoscopic color camera into a drilling hole, to get a better view of the caves.  They are trying to get a robot to go down that hole as well.  Lastly, they have a new light camera with radar.  (LIDAR).  

Parks:  Barbara

Dog park is going great, dogs are having fun.  However they are running out of money, so they are going to have a basket at the holiday party.  They are planning a pub crawl with your dogs, which was a success last time.

Guest speaker:  John Timmons

Lives between Cherokee rec center and the BP. He has a living fence, and wants to do a seed-o-rama.  Seeds are going to waste, and he would like to change it.  He has very rare plants.  He is going through plants that have seeds.  

How to save seeds.

01.  Dry them (paper bag or envelope)

02.  Refrigerate or freezer.  

03.  Heating pad (potting soil) Germination in 2 weeks.

He will have seeds available for neighbors to take, and they will have another seed-o-rama next year.  

Meeting concluded at 7:54pm.

October 3 Meeting Minutes — 2023

Benton Park Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes

Date: 10/3 Location: 2911 MCNAIR
Agenda
Fill out the volunteer form if you’d like to volunteer

Summary: The Benton Park Neighborhood Association meeting was held on 10/3 at 2911 McNair. The meeting began at 7:03 PM and covered various topics related to neighborhood activities and concerns. Attendees discussed events, updates on ongoing projects, and ways to engage with the community. National Night Out celebrations were also highlighted.

Key Points and Bulletins:

  • National Night Out celebrations were held at the park during the meeting.

  • Introduction of STL TrailsLC, a nonprofit organization focusing on urban tree care and environmental awareness.

    • Website

    • Discussion about the importance of tree maintenance and the role of volunteers in caring for neighborhood trees.

    • STL Trails C provided information about their organization, encouraging community members to participate in tree care activities.

  • Information shared about upcoming neighborhood events, including Tunes on Tap garden music tour, a concert in the park, and a Halloween parade.

  • Discussion about the challenges faced by residents regarding police response times and communication with law enforcement.

    • email

  • Concerns raised about the Citizen Service Bureau's automated response system and the need for more direct communication with city departments.

  • Attendees shared their experiences and suggestions for improving community safety and communication with law enforcement.

    • Police: 3rd District Patrol

      Captain Joseph Morici

      314-444-2500

      jamorici@slmpd.org

      Liaison: Officer Jazmon Garrett

      314-444-2500 Ext. 2595

      jdgarrett@slmpd.org

  • Updates on ongoing projects, including the Shenandoah property development and tree maintenance efforts.

    • email the

  • Reminder about the association's email address (hello@bentonpark.org) for contacting organizers and scheduling agenda items for future meetings.

Key Follow-Ups:

  • STL Trails C representatives will coordinate with interested community members for tree care activities and training sessions. Website

  • Concerns about police calling in sick and communication have been forwarded to relevant city officials and the neighborhood’s concern has been heard by the City

  • Residents interested in reporting tree-related issues will use the CSB (Citizen Service Bureau) report system. Submit your complaints online.

  • Follow-up communication will be established with residents experiencing difficulties with the online reporting system. Email hello@bentonpark.org

  • The association will continue engaging with community members to address concerns and improve neighborhood communication to help us all become better neighbors

These minutes are a summary of the discussions and key points covered during the Benton Park Neighborhood Association meeting. For more detailed information or specific inquiries, community members are encouraged to contact the association via email at hello@bentonpark.org
Meeting adjourned around 7:40.

Meeting Minutes + Agenda — September 5, 2023

Here’s the agenda for the meeting on 9/5!

Neighborhood Association Meeting Minutes 9/5 / 23

1. Fundraising and Community Support:

  • Importance of fundraising due to reduced sponsorship during COVID.

  • Significant annual investment in neighborhood events like concerts, Halloween parade, and Christmas party.

  • Initiation of a fundraising committee involving local businesses and neighbors.

  • Encouragement for community support through donations and volunteerism.

    Email fundraising@bentonpark.org for more info or to make a one time of recurring donation

2. Event Updates

  • Gateway Cup was a bigger success with merch and drinks sales than last year! The neighborhood association pays $3,000 to have this event in our neighborhood, so we are doubling down on fundraising to keep it there!

    • Tell your local business buds about us, and to donate, email fundraising@bentonpark.org!

  • Next concert is Aligator Wine on Sunday Sept 17th!

  • Rescheduling of some events due to weather… announcements soon.

  • Tunes on tap on Saturday October 14th! We provide beer and supplies, we just need neighbors who wanna meet neighbors who have a hard for music!

  • Success of the musical house tour as a fundraiser and a call for volunteers for hosting gardens during the tour.

3. Construction and Zoning Concerns + Green spaces committment:

  • Concerns expressed about new constructions and zoning changes, specifically the conversion of an auto repair place.

  • Our historical neighborhood must include a commitment to preserving and enhancing green spaces through tree planting and pocket park creation.

    • neighbor suzanna has a great PDF on how to save your trees from the city chainsaws + she and lori are going to meet about ways to keep trees in our neighborhood and water out of our basements.

  • Emphasis on collective community involvement to address these concerns.

4. Environmental Initiatives and Neighborhood Issues:

  • Discussion of environmental initiatives like rain gardens and tree care.

  • Attendees' interest in organizing collective efforts to address neighborhood issues, including construction concerns and support for green initiatives.

  • Exchange of contact information among attendees to facilitate future collaboration.

5. Neighborhood Concerns:

  • Excessive use of concrete in new constructions impacting water absorption.

  • Flooding issues in basements due to impermeable surfaces.

  • Questions about the city's role in regulating construction and its environmental impact.

  • Discussion on potentially modifying zoning codes.

6. Community Issues:

  • Road hazards on highways and the need for a more efficient reporting system.

  • Suggestion to involve the governor's office in addressing highway-related concerns.

  • Concerns about short-term rentals and their impact on the neighborhood.

  • Coordination with authorities regarding a smell issue.

  • Discussion on the enforcement of the recently passed gun bill.

  • Updates on crime statistics, especially related to juvenile activity.

    • Year to date crime is down -38.7% - there were 10 incidents reported and all were related to car theft or theft of things in cars.

    • Officer Jazmon requested to be added to updated invite to the neighborhood meeting

  • Consideration of reporting an $8 theft incident.

7. Community Engagement:

  • Discussion on the construction of new houses and the need for improved water absorption practices.

  • Concerns about extensive use of concrete and its environmental impact.

  • Mention of similar concerns in other neighborhoods and the need to modify zoning codes.

  • Highlighting the importance of green spaces and balancing development with nature.

*. Charter Updates:

  • Brief discussion about proposed updates to the neighborhood association's charter.

  • Emphasis on aligning the charter with commonly understood neighborhood boundaries.

  • Unanimous vote YES to approval vote for proposed charter changes.

Contact info :

President  Courtney Armistead       president@bentonpark.org

Vice President Bob Panian vicepresident@bentopark.org

Secretary Derrick Kilgore secretary@bentonpark.org

Treasurer Ryan Ely treasurer@bentonpark.org

Membership VACANT  membership@bentonpark.org

Committees and Chairs

Wanna form a committee? Email marketing@bentonpark.org

Safety Derrick Kilgore safety@bentonpark.org

Building Review Tim Mulligan buildingreviewcommittee@bentonpark.org

Parks Dan Guenther parks@bentonpark.org 314-304-6797

Community Garden/Cave Bill Kranz garden@bentonpark.org cave@bentonpark.org

Events Committee  Brittany Nelson eventscommitteechair@bentonpark.org

Dog Park Committee Haley Johnston bentonparkdogpark@gmail.com

Marketing/Social Media Lori White marketing@bentonpark.org

____________________________


Additional Contacts

Alderman Cara Spencer spencerc@stlouis-mo.gov 

Legislative Assistant Isaiah Pasek-Santiago pasek-santiagoi@stlouis-mo.gov


Neighborhood Stabilization Officer (NSO) Larry Isom   314-657-1376 Isoml@saintlouis-mo.gov

Police:  3rd District Patrol Captain Joseph Morici 314-444-2500 jamorici@slmpd.org

Liaison: Officer Jazmon Garrett 314-444-2500 Ext. 2595 jdgarrett@slmpd.org

Neighborhood Meeting Minutes — August 1, 2023


New Members Welcome! 

Scott V! 

Brian! on James st. 

Susan! On indiana

William and Ashley! on Missouri 


Update: 

Looking at charter, the boundaries aren’t reflective of what the city considers our boundaries … in the middle of Gravois as opposed to the alley behind Gravois


Cara’s update:

8th ward alder, spencerc@stlouis-mo.gov

Map of the 8th ward


UPDATES 

Board of aldermen are on a break

(Chambers doesn’t have ac)

 

Gun control bill

Restrict open carry of firearms bill passed … will mayor sign? We’ll see


Regulating AirBNBs

      • (stl is one of the last cities in the nation to have any regulation)

      • It has not even been discussed! 

      • Weigh in with Cara (email)

        • President of the board and the mayor (emails) 

        • To learn more, watch one of the hearings (link)

          • The idea is for the building division to be the regulatory agency and require permits for anyone who’s getting an airbnb. Some zoning, tightening it up a little bit more. We cannot issue taxes in st Louis, under Hancock, state of MO statute. We can’t charge any more for permit other than the cost of the service. Current airbnbs need to get a permit. $100 a year for each airbnb is what is being discussed. But nothing has happened yet so weigh in! 


First charter commission

      • Renewing the city’s charter, learn more about the citizen board here

Dan G commissioned a study of Gravois 

      • Gravois is owned by the city but managed by modot.  More updates to come. We’ll post them when we find them.

Closure of Cherokee access to 55 is permanent 

      • There were several accidents and just one person thought that maybe it would be good to keep out of all surveyed. It’s permanently closed.

Board of aldermen hired legislative assistant

Isaiah is the new legislative assistant for Cara/ward 8 pasek-santiagoi@stlouis-mo.gov


Church on Gravois x Russell


Benton Park, The Park

      • You have been heard! The trees are down by the lake, and they’re getting addressed soon!

      • Fountain has been down a couple years

        • Parks dept couldn’t find the part they needed, but they found it recently! Expect to fix the fountain by the end of the summer.


Conditional Use Proposal
Pestalozzi and Jefferson

  • Catering for private events. Chris Bork Project. Southside Space building.


Come to our concerts! 

Next one is aug 20, Pernikoff Brothers


Tunes on tap

This is our musical garden and home tour! We need volunteers to host a local musician and 10-20 people at most sprinkled throughout Saturday, October 14th. The neighborhood will provide local brews and help setting up. Email events@bentonpark.org if you’re interested in volunteering.


Yemanja’s Brazilian Day is happening on 9/9! 

September 9th, 12-8 at Yemanja Brazil, 2900 Missouri Ave, St. Louis, MO 63118

This is a street festival, the street will be closed from Missouri to McNair

      • Samba lessons

      • Soccer workshop (need)

      • Miami/chicago dancers coming in

      • Jiujitsu class for women’s self defense! 

      • Caipirinhas !

There’s a local CSA (community supported agriculture) from an urban farm in Cahokia

newcahokiacommons.farm 

      • Email info@newcahokiacommons.farm to subscribe! Food through November! 

      • It’s super fresh and pickup is Tuesday 4:30-6 at Earthbound Beer
        2724 Cherokee St, St. Louis, MO 63118

        • Artisan cheeses dairy and plant

        • Honey

        • Eggs, chicken and duck

        • Flowers

        • Master brewer and distiller 

Cave update!

English Cave + Community Garden 

Trying to get access to the cave, but it can take decades before you get the opportunity. 

Bill, our cave man, recently had the opportunity to get into the Lemp Cave … there will be a video of the visit

They will also be showing video of Lemp Cave at Spine Cafe and bookstore. We’ll post more onthe neighborhood social media.


Dog park


Adam, with the Metro Toxic Air Task Force

If you’d like to report the smell/toxic air, you can use this form! it will take 5 minutes to report and every report helps. (report early and often!)

CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE FORM


“The smell” - it’s not the brewery smell! It’s a burning iphone toxic smell coming from Sauget.

The smell was here years ago, it went away, and now it has RETURNED


The task force believes its coming from the Yolia waste management in Sauget 

They deal with hazardous waste. The smell contains arsenic lead and mercury … not great!  

        • Google st Louis toxic air yolia to learn more

        • We have the right to have air that’s safe to breathe based on the law of this country. =

What can you do? Report the small.

Here’s how:

Date time, what’s the smell like, what’s the effect

The more reporting the better.

More details:

Air quality is supposed to be highly regulated (permit good for 5 years) 

      • It requires them to do testing/ what are you burning etc…

      • In the rollbacks to the EPA 2016-2020, the permit was weakened

      • Permit up in 2024 January

      • If we can get input from community, we can send the smell away AGAIN


State of Missouri Medicaid Renewal is happening. Check on your people!

Renew everyone who participates on medical health insurance that falls under medicaid

If you have a family member etc who may be using medicaid

  • Children and adults and seniors

They need to have someone who is familiar with the the division of family services to make sure they are renewed for their services


Adam Lane - City of St Louis treasurer

Amnesty for parking tickets through September (but likely through end of 2023) 


Question to treasurer: What’s happening with the Rams money? 

      • The board of aldermen will vote on what happens with that money but in the meantime it is in an Investment account. and it has earned 5 million dollars as of now.