OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

St. Louis Board of Aldermen Meeting: September 26, 2025

Board of Aldermen — Friday, September 26, 2025
BodySt Louis, Missouri
SessionBoard of Aldermen
DateFriday, September 26, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:01:12

Transcript — Verbatim
0:07

The board will now come to order.

0:08

Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

0:10

Alderwoman Schweitzer.

0:14

Alderman Oldenberg.

0:16

Alderman Cohn.

0:18

Present.

0:19

Alderman Orion.

0:21

Alderman Devotee.

0:23

And she's getting a resolution.

0:24

Alder Woman Velasquez.

0:26

Alder Woman Sanyer.

0:29

Alder Woman Cox Antwi.

0:31

Alder Woman Sweint.

0:32

Alderman Browning.

0:34

Alder Woman Clark Hubbard.

0:36

Alder Woman Keys.

0:38

Alder Woman Tyes.

0:41

Present.

0:42

Alder Woman Boyd.

0:44

Present.

0:45

Alderman Aldrick.

0:49

President Green.

0:52

Alder Woman Oldenberg.

0:53

Alderman Oldenburg.

0:57

Alderwoman Velasquez.

1:01

13 present.

1:02

We have quorum.

1:04

A quorum being present.

1:05

We will be led in an opening by the co-lead for St.

1:08

Louis Be Smart, Peggy Newfield.

1:16

Yes.

1:20

No, but opening reflection.

1:22

Okay.

1:29

Thank you to the St.

1:30

Louis Board of Alderman for announcing the 2025 Smart Week resolution.

1:35

This resolution is necessary because unsecured firearms in homes and cars pose a risk for children and teens being injured or killed.

1:44

You've heard that firearms are the leading cause of death in children under 18 years old.

1:50

That's an average of seven children every day, according to CDC 2023 statistics.

1:56

Another concern is the suicide in youth is increasing.

2:00

44% of child suicides involve a gun.

2:04

We know that using a gun is 90% fatal, which means there's no second chance.

2:09

But in addition to gun deaths nationally, more than 17,000 children receive injuries from shootings.

2:17

And in St.

2:18

Louis, for this year, as of September 3rd, the St.

2:21

Louis Post Dispatch reports 45 shootings of youth, of which 20 were killed and three under five years old.

2:28

Gun violence shapes the lives of children who witness it and of those who know someone who was shot, and they may live in fear of the next shooting.

2:39

So the national annual Smart Week campaign is in August, but in St.

2:45

Louis, we're celebrating August and September since schools start at different times.

2:50

One of the smartest things adults can do to keep kids, classrooms, and communities safe from gun violence, is to raise awareness about secure gun storage.

3:01

The smart week message is simple.

3:04

As you get your children ready to go back to school, parents have homework too to lock up your guns in your homes and your cars.

3:12

So be smart, uh Smart Week builds on the foundation of Be Smart, which is a nonpartisan public education program.

3:21

I urge you to go to our national website, Be SmartForKids.org and learn the five simple actions for adults.

3:29

It starts with storing guns securely and also uh safety conversations, um, not only to your children what to do if they see a gun, but to any any adults who might be watching your children.

3:41

You need to ask before you drop your kids off if you have a gun, how is it stored so that everyone can be safe?

3:50

So schools, hospitals, city, and council uh and and uh city and county uh government agencies and community agencies, um, we all have roles to help turn around this public health crisis.

4:05

And uh we thank the uh board of aldermen today for encouraging the smart week message, and we invite everyone tell your family and your friends, amplify it on social media.

4:16

It doesn't have to be smart week.

4:18

Together, we can make sure maybe this is a good school year.

4:22

Thank you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████49%
Legislative Process█████████████████19%
Public Safety███████████████16%
Community Engagement██████6%
Economic Development████4%
Animal Welfare███3%
Environmental Protection█1%
Infrastructure█1%
Housing█1%
Summary of Proceedings

St. Louis Board of Aldermen Meeting: September 26, 2025

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen held a full board meeting on September 26, 2025, with 13 members present, establishing a quorum. The meeting included an opening reflection on gun safety, adoption of resolutions honoring a community leader and supporting secure gun storage, final passage of two board bills, and referral of a resolution on legislative staff unionization.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Peggy Newfield, co-lead for St. Louis Be Smart, delivered an opening reflection urging the board to support Smart Week. She cited CDC 2023 statistics: firearms are the leading cause of death in children under 18 (average of 7 children per day), 44% of child suicides involve a gun (90% fatal), and over 17,000 children receive gunshot injuries nationally. In St. Louis, as of September 3, 2025, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported 45 youth shootings, 20 of which were fatal and three under age five. She emphasized secure gun storage and the Be Smart public education program.

Discussion Items

  • Resolution 113 – Honoring Brendan Jones: Introduced by Alderman Browning (9th Ward) and co-sponsored by 12 other aldermen. The resolution honored Brendan Jones for her extensive community service, including work at the Board of Aldermen, founding Animal House, and leading the LaClees Landing Neighborhood Association. The resolution was adopted unanimously by voice vote.
  • Resolution 116 – 2025 Smart Week: Introduced by Alderwoman Clark Hubbard (10th Ward). The resolution recognized August 25–29, 2025, as Be Smart Week in St. Louis, promoting secure gun storage. The resolution was approved and banked (all aldermen as co-sponsors).
  • Courtesy Resolutions: The board adopted the courtesy resolution consent calendar. Several co-sponsors were added to various resolutions.
  • Introduction of Honored Guests: Alderwoman from the 11th Ward acknowledged a personal incident and thanked the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for their investigation. She also requested a moment of silence for Maggie King, mother-in-law of former Alderwoman Benice Jones King, which was observed.
  • Appointments:
    • Board of Adjustment: Appointment of James Dallas (Holly Hills) and Rachel Nast was referred to the HUDs committee (13 aye votes).
    • Holly Hill Special Business District: Appointment of Rachel Nass was approved (13 aye votes).
  • First Reading of Board Bills:
    • Board Bill 73: Street vacation in the 14th ward.
    • Board Bill 74: Acceptance of $697,678.87 hazard mitigation grant from the state of Missouri Emergency Management Agency.
    • Board Bill 75: Establishment of a four-way stop at Cherokee Street and Virginia Avenue.
  • Second Reading and Report of Standing Committees:
    • Board Bill 61: Speed humps in the 1st ward.
    • Board Bill 70 (as amended): Speed humps in the 14th ward.
    • Board Bill 52: Repeal of liquor license issuance in the 13th ward liquor control district.
    • Board Bill 69: Rules for boiler and pressure vessel inspections.
  • Third Reading and Final Passage:
    • Board Bill 60 (Accessory Dwelling Units zoning amendment): Passed 12 ayes, 1 no (Alderman Narayan). Alderman from the 4th ward expressed concern about proliferation of short-term rentals.
    • Board Bill 39 Committee Substitute (Millennium Hotel demolition): Passed 13 ayes. Alderman from the 14th ward highlighted the project's significance for downtown revitalization, noting collaboration with the Arch Foundation and Alderwoman from the 8th ward.
  • Resolution 118: Introduced by Alderman Aldrick and President Green, committing the board to negotiate in good faith with the UAW legislative staff organizing committee. Referred to Personnel and Administration committee (13 aye).

Key Outcomes

  • Votes: Both Board Bill 60 and Board Bill 39 committee substitute were passed for final passage (12-1 and 13-0 respectively). Resolution 118 was referred to committee.
  • Appointments Approved: James Dallas and Rachel Nass were appointed to the Board of Adjustment (referred) and Holly Hill Special Business District (approved).
  • Meeting Adjourned: The board adjourned until Friday, October 3, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. in the Board of Aldermen Chambers.

Announcements

  • Upcoming committee meetings: Legislation and Rules (Sept 30, 2 p.m.), Public Infrastructure (Oct 1, 3:30 p.m.), Public Safety (Oct 2, 2 p.m., to take up Prop S and Board Bill 74), HUDS (Oct 2, 11 a.m.).
  • Town hall on MWBE program: Saturday, Sept 27, 11 a.m. at O'Fallon Rec Center.
  • Tire Amnesty Day: Sept 27, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Carter and Grand.
  • 10th Ward one-on-one meeting: Sept 29, 6:30 p.m. at Union Memorial UMC.
  • Naturalization ceremony occurring at the same time as the meeting.

Meeting Transcript

The board will now come to order. Madam Clerk, please call the roll. Alderwoman Schweitzer. Alderman Oldenberg. Alderman Cohn. Present. Alderman Orion. Alderman Devotee. And she's getting a resolution. Alder Woman Velasquez. Alder Woman Sanyer. Alder Woman Cox Antwi. Alder Woman Sweint. Alderman Browning. Alder Woman Clark Hubbard. Alder Woman Keys. Alder Woman Tyes. Present. Alder Woman Boyd. Present. Alderman Aldrick. President Green. Alder Woman Oldenberg. Alderman Oldenburg. Alderwoman Velasquez. 13 present. We have quorum. A quorum being present. We will be led in an opening by the co-lead for St. Louis Be Smart, Peggy Newfield. Yes. No, but opening reflection. Okay. Thank you to the St. Louis Board of Alderman for announcing the 2025 Smart Week resolution. This resolution is necessary because unsecured firearms in homes and cars pose a risk for children and teens being injured or killed. You've heard that firearms are the leading cause of death in children under 18 years old. That's an average of seven children every day, according to CDC 2023 statistics. Another concern is the suicide in youth is increasing. 44% of child suicides involve a gun. We know that using a gun is 90% fatal, which means there's no second chance. But in addition to gun deaths nationally, more than 17,000 children receive injuries from shootings. And in St. Louis, for this year, as of September 3rd, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports 45 shootings of youth, of which 20 were killed and three under five years old. Gun violence shapes the lives of children who witness it and of those who know someone who was shot, and they may live in fear of the next shooting. So the national annual Smart Week campaign is in August, but in St. Louis, we're celebrating August and September since schools start at different times. One of the smartest things adults can do to keep kids, classrooms, and communities safe from gun violence, is to raise awareness about secure gun storage. The smart week message is simple.

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