BPNA General Assembly Meeting Tuesday April 7th, 2026
Benton Park Neighborhood Association
General Assembly Meeting Minutes
Date: April 7, 2026
Location: Bluewood Brewing
Meeting Start Time: 7:05 PM
Meeting End Time: 7:58 PM
Attendance: 20 members
Facilitator: Christina Cousins
Attendees
Christina Cousins, Lori White, Jeremy Rentfro, Bill Kranz, Derrick Kilgore
Welcome & Introductions
New Members:
Heather (new to the neighborhood)
Laura (new homeowner on McNair)
Old Business
Approval of prior meeting minutes
New Business
Alderperson Report
Election Day; Proposition E was the only item on the ballot
City is currently in budget season
Board of Aldermen (BOA) is out of session and will resume later this month
Executive branch and EIA are working on the city budget, including police funding solutions
Next BOA meeting: April 24th
Preparing for spring initiatives
Continued coordination with Lori White to ensure legal compliance
Questions: None
Police Liaison Report
Sergeant Ezekial Moore (3rd District)
Officer Rojas expected to return next month
No murders, sexual assaults, or robberies reported
Aggravated assaults: 15 year-to-date
Felony thefts: 8 total; 3 in the past 28 days
No shootings reported this year
Neighborhood Stabilization Officer Report
311 System Updates: Improved tracking system and dashboard for CSB calls
Street Sweeping: Residents should report streets that have not been serviced
Cherokee Park Encampments: Cleared; outreach conducted and resources offered
Vehicle Towing: List submitted; upcoming tow enforcement initiative (“tow blitz”)
GO St. Louis Event: Street closures expected this Saturday morning
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gcUs-LoPB8zjl6iRPBxbfYCp5HEsjcQP/view?usp=drive_link
Committee Reports
Mighty Pines Concert Crew
Event scheduled for May 17th
Volunteers needed (contact Lori White)
Local Business Update
Everybody Eats launching Taste of Black St. Louis
Opening May 1st (soul food + Creole concept)
Building Review
No report
Safety Committee
Planning zone-based alley clean-up initiative
New yard signs and flyers in production:
Promoting GroupMe chat
Supporting neighborhood camera initiative
Next meeting: April 30th, 7 PM at Small Change STL
Dog Park
No report
Monthly Social
Next event at Spoonful of Sugar (date/time TBD)
Friends of Benton Park
New sponsor: Edele & Mertz
Tree Planting Recap:
24 trees planted on March 22
28 volunteers participated
Grant-funded; replacement ratio of 2:1
Upcoming Events:
Park clean-up: April 18th (9–10 AM)
Gardening event: May 2nd
Contact Christina for volunteer opportunities
Garden/Cave
3 new gardeners joined
5 garden boxes currently available
Presenting to the Americana Brewing Association for potential funding
Monthly meetings to be held at Bluewood Brewing
Events
No report
Arts & Culture
Benton Park Art Show
Date: April 26
Time: 1–6 PM
Location: Atelier 1879
Organized by Scott Beam and 3 additional artists
Streets
No report
Guest Speaker
Shawn Ordway – St. Louis Assessor
13 years with Assessor’s Office; 1 year as head
Reassessments occur every 2 years
Property valuation methods:
Cost approach
Sales comparison (market)
Income approach
Inspections conducted on ~1/6 of city properties
Permits used to track property value changes
Market sales used to validate assessments
Explained reassessment discrepancies and corrections
Senior Property Tax Freeze Credit:
Applies to city taxes only (not school, zoo, etc.)
Q&A Highlights:
When do new assessments take effect?
Submitted to taxing division around March/April
Notices sent in May
Appeal Timeline:
Informal appeals due by June 30th
Finalized July 1st
Appeals after that require escalation
Additional Updates
Caitlin (Church Update):
Ongoing concerns regarding proposed data center at the Armory (Davis Center issue)
Board of Public Service advanced the item earlier than expected
Vote scheduled for next Tuesday
Advocacy ongoing for transparency
More info: nomodatacenters.com
Adjournment
Meeting adjourned at 8:01 PM