Cherokee-Lemp Special Business District, November 22, 2024

Meeting Date/Time: November 22, 2024 at 9:00am. The meeting was located at 1820 Cherokee Street.

Commissioners Present – John Brauer, Shashi Palamand, Mark Farley, and Barbara Moore (a quorum was present).

Guests Present – Shirley DeMay, Cherri Elder, Shannon Wolf, and Cheyenne Pfeiffer.

1. Call to Order
2. Approval of the Minutes from August 1, 2024 – Mark Farley made a motion to approve the minutes, John Brauer seconded, all were in favor and the motion passed.
3 Treasurer’s Report – The beginning balance in October was $12,990.62. We paid $360.00 to CTM, $175.50 to STL Programs, $143.82 to Google, $1,300.00 to CBRE, and $150.00 to Mark Skillington, leaving a balance of $10,861.30. There are bills outstanding of $828.00 for insurance, accrued legal fees of approx $5,000.00, and advertising/website related expenses of approx. $1,000.00, leaving an actual balance of approximately $4,000.00 at this time. Mark Farley made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s Report, Shashi seconded, all were in favor and the motion passed.
4. Dissolution of Special Business District & Related Items – Shashi Palamand presented Resolution No. 1124-01 to dissolve the Cherokee-Lemp Special Business District. The Board has received overwhelming support including signed petitions from the neighborhood in favor of dissolution. Mark Farley made a motion to approve said Resolution, John Brauer seconded, all were in favor and the motion passed. The Resolution document was then signed by all four commissioners present; the signed copy will be provided to Alderman Cara Spencer. A copy is attached here.
As part of the dissolution and winding up of the SBD, the Board will oversee disposition of the SBD’s main assets: (1) the parking lot located at 1907-1909 Cherokee Street; (2) miscellaneous personal property items on the street in the form of signposts, signs, trash cans, and benches; (3) remaining cash in the SBD bank account after all expenses are paid. Mark Farley made a motion to donate the parking lot to the Chatillon-DeMenil House Foundation, a well-established 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization located within the district. John Brauer seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed with three votes out of four (Shashi Palamand recused himself from this vote because he is on the DeMenil board, however he indicated his support for the motion).

DeMenil will pay for the title work, closing costs, and recording fees to transfer the lot to them, which will be done by special warranty deed. Cherri Elder proposed that her Merchants Association be given the lot instead. The Commissioners considered her request, however they still decided it is best to donate the lot to the DeMenil Foundation, which is a longstanding neighborhood landmark and has operated as a tax-exempt entity for several decades.

Cherri confirmed that the Merchants Association is not a tax-exempt entity. John Brauer indicated that the miscellaneous personal property items are available for donation to district individuals, businesses, or groups interested in receiving them. To clarify, the three signposts and two benches currently located on the parking lot will be donated to DeMenil. All other items are available to others.

Shashi presented a blank Deed of Gift form which will be used for transferring the various items to interested parties.

Cherri Elder confirmed her Merchant Association’s interest in receiving items. Shashi gave Cherri a Deed of Gift form with a draft Schedule listing the items available. Cherri will verify the count of items on the street and will get back to the Board as to which items she is interested in for the Merchants Association. After it is known which parties in the district want which items, the SBD Board will decide how the items will ultimately be distributed, upon which the Donation Forms will be finalized and executed.

Cherri proposed that future rent received by DeMenil from the lot should be used to pay for insurance on personal property items donated to the Merchants Association. Shashi did not think that would be possible or advisable but was willing to have a conversation with DeMenil at their next meeting to see what they can or may be willing to do. If there is any remaining cash after all bills are paid, the Board will donate such cash to parties in the district including (but not limited to) the Merchants Association.

Cherri Elder requested that the Merchants Association should also be given the website/domain name; Mark Farley will see what can be done regarding that and will get back to the Board.

Shirley DeMay requested that all documentation be posted on the website.
5. Adjournment – Mark Farley made a motion to adjourn, Shashi seconded, all were in favor and the motion passed.