Lindenwood Park Neighborhood Association
Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday, July 17 at Epiphany Church
Present: Pat Acquisto, Karen Clifford, Sara Davis, John Harris, Carol Hofer, Tim Nowell, Greg Roggeman, Lisa Roggeman, Adam Rustige, Jenna Stout, Greg Todd, Emily Yale
Apologies: Milton Murry, Bret Narayan
Guests: Aaron Dohogne, Sophia Garcia, Robert Thorton
At the beginning of the meeting, the Board was joined by three guests: Robert Thorton, Aaron Dohogne, and Sophia Garcia.
Thorton operates Recreation Academy, a program that teaches soft skills to children through play activities. He is interested in partnering with LPNA to run camps at Lindenwood Park in 2025. Recreation Academy also offers mobile field trips for events. Board members discussed mobile field trips as a potential LinFest children’s activity in the future.
Aaron Dohogne spoke to the Board about tree watering needs in the neighborhood. He has recruited volunteers to assist in watering the trees planted by the City in tree lawns, but he will soon need additional help in transporting water. He approached the Board for $160-$320 to rent a Home Depot truck 2-4 times during the August – October months. Adam mentioned that he might be able to secure a friend’s truck for watering purposes, but it might not be available during Aaron’s 9am-1pm availability slot on weekdays. Pat suggested reaching out on Facebook and other LPNA communication lines to find volunteers with trucks. The topic of using Forestry’s truck was also mentioned. Aaron gave August as the deadline for Board approval.
At the end of the meeting, Carol Hofer made a motion to allocate $300 for Aaron’s watering truck rental. Greg Roggeman seconded and all Board members voted in agreement.
Sophia Garcia, neighborhood manager for the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC), spoke to the Board about SLDC resources (e.g. SaleUpSTL, HomeSTL, MobilizeSTL). There will be a Town Hall for the south side in the Buder Library’s auditorium on August 8, 5:30pm-7:30pm. Garcia hopes to engage more with the Lindenwood Park neighborhood and plans to speak at the upcoming membership meeting.
A motion was made to approve the Minutes from May 11, by Carol Hofer, and seconded by Lisa Roggeman.
Neighborhood Meeting: to be held at Watson Terrace Christian Church, September 9th at 7pm
- Guest speakers – Suzanne of Neighborhood Foresters, Sophia Garcia of SLDC
- LPNA Business
- Elected Officials
- LASM & Machacek
Aldermanic Report (Bret not in attendance):
Bret emailed a brief report with the following:
- New legislative assistant hired to attend, answer questions, and bring takeaways from meetings that Bret does not attend
- Board Bills:
- BB41 passed and was delivered to the Mayor. If signed, the November ballot will ask voters if they would like to add a 3% user fee to short-term rentals in the City. Half of the fee funds would go to the affordable housing trust fund to help with affordable housing in the region.
- BB74 (co-sponsored by Bret) to address issues with the senior citizen tax freeze.
- Legislative break is in progress, so not a lot of movement over the next few weeks.
Adam met individually with Bret regarding his lack of attendance at Board meetings. Bret requested that the 3rd Wednesday of the month meetings be moved to a different week to accommodate his schedule. Pat emphasized the need to book Epiphany in advance. It was decided that the Board will move the Wednesday meetings to the 1st of the month starting in 2025.
NIS Report: The Board welcomed Karen Clifford back as NIS!
Karen gave the following report on problem properties:
- 69xx Oleatha– hoarder property. Focusing on accumulation ordinance violation.
- 60xx Chippewa – early morning activity on back patio of Barney’s Sports Pub. Excise commissioner spoke with owner regarding this situation.
- 63xx Mardel – drug activity at the property. House is boarded up now.
- 70xx Oleatha – messy lot at this location. Following up on this property.
Committee Reports
Events:
- Meetup: Next meetup will take place in July at Chilanguita (patio/inside). Proposed plans for 2024 (subject to change): August – Babe’s /Vinnie’s (patio), September – Aya Sofia (patio), October – Los Arcos, November – Trattoria Marcella.
- Flea Market: Sold 18 tables (20 last year) + 6 LPNA tables = 24 tables (26 total last year). 1 no show. 18
volunteers.
- Took in $742.40 in cash on FM day
- Received a $200 donation from Watson Terrace church!
- Income: $1,302.40
- Expenses: $230.40 – includes donation to Church: $150
- Total Net Profit: 1,072.00
- (2023 profit $815.48)
- LinFest:
- Sponsors: Reached possible limit of sponsors – waiting for last $1000 to come in from Raising Cane’s.
- Vendors: Still trickling in, and artisans are at the limit. Special Events permit and Park permit was
submitted – just need to send in the site map. Food vendors are tricky – only have Biggie’s, NY
Tom’s food truck and Scoops of Joy. Promises from El Paisano, Speedway food truck – would like 3
savory trucks and 1 dessert.
- Working on getting outstanding money and insurances, finalizing kid’s events – possible video game
truck and maybe balloon artist/magician/clown. Band has been secured – Swipe Right.
- Hiring of tables and chairs has exploded in cost. Minimum payment of $800 + $200 for delivery,
regardless of size of table. Must have secure storage as per hiring company.
- No update on building reno as per Kim. Removed the possibility of having a generator as cost and delivery is too high for number of vendors who requested it (3).
- Trivia Night: This year’s theme is Space Odyssey. Pat has sold 13 tables and secured sponsors for every round. She is working on the raffle baskets.
- Lindenwood Live Concerts: Tim and Greg Roggeman noted that the last concert’s attendance was low, due to the hot temperatures. Tim brought up the topic of contracts with bands regarding cancellations and payments. Tremendous Slouches will be playing at the next concert.
- Lawn & Garden Contest: 9 winners (including Greg and Lisa Roggeman’s backyard garden!) were announced in this year’s contest. Miriam is making a promotional video of the winners for social media.
Beautification:
- Park: Emily has not heard any additional information regarding the construction of bat houses, but there is another Eagle Scout project idea (see New Business section). Bret sent communication that the pickleball and hockey rink resurfacing at the Park is not happening. There is a question over if the funds were encumbered by Joe Vaccaro. Pat will be looking into budget documentation to verify funding status. Emily has not been able to get progress reports on Park projects from Kim, so she requested that Adam contact Kim directly given the conflicting information.
- Community Garden & Wabash Garden: Milton was not in attendance.
- Green Team: Due to MoDOT phasing out the Adopt-A-Highway program, Tim is preparing for the Green Team members to dispose of their own bags from highway cleanups. There is a large supply of bags in stock. The next cleanup is scheduled for September 7. Tim noted that the lawn care provider for the Park continues to do a good job.
Communications
- Greg Roggeman and Greg Todd recently met to improve the membership sign-up portion of the website. A few other changes to note: Wendy has stepped down from the Committee and the contact at Hot Lava has recently changed from Darren to Jake.
Membership:
- Welcome packs: A total of 21 delivered in May for Feb, Mar, Apr new residents. Added at least 25 pieces
of info to each pack. Eileen Bacon (block captain co-chair) has expressed an interest in taking over
the welcome packs. Lisa will buy a supply of envelopes and print out labels for her and show her what
needs to be done.
- Members: 280 current members (281 in April). Reminder letters were sent out to 10 members who lapsed in
April (2 renewed) and 17 members who lapsed in May (5 renewed) and 20 who lapsed in June (12
renewed). Lisa continues to post on social media.
Safety:
- The committee will be meeting tomorrow (7/18) night.
Block Captains:
- The block captains recently met.
Century Homes:
- A total of 16 plaques and 1 yard stake were sold during the spring sale.
- Committee members are delivering plaques to porches this week.
Treasurer’s Report:
- Total deposits = $4921.42. Total deductions = $2908.46. June’s closing balance = $10418.28.
Old Business
- LPNA Banner: Pat is working on ordering the banner, but she needs the design requirements. Tim also brought up the need for reprinting other older, damaged banners.
- 501(c)3 Status: This will be the subject of a future special meeting.
- QT: Vacant properties bought by QT are boarded up and overgrown with high grass. Karen noted that Forestry has added these properties to the cut list.
New Business
- Cabinet in Community (Sept. or Oct.): Soliciting information from LPNA to bring to Mayor. Adam will find out more about those attending besides the Mayor.
- SLDC Town Hall: This event will be held on August 8, 5:30pm-7:30pm, Buder Library.
- Eagle Scout Project: A prospective Eagle Scout has approached the LPNA to construct picnic tables for the Park. There were concerns over storage and security of the tables. Emily Yale will gather additional information about the proposed project.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:17pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jenna Stout