The St. Louis Board of Aldermen met on Friday, February 13, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in the Board chambers. The meeting included the approval of minutes, multiple appointments to special districts, introduction of several board bills, perfection of bills, adoption of resolutions, and announcements regarding Mardi Gras and tornado recovery. Key votes included the failure of a data center moratorium and the perfection of a short-term rental tax bill.
The board will now come to order. Madam Clerk, please call the role. Alder Woman Sweater. Alderman Cone. Alderman Orion. Here. Alder Woman Keys. Present. Alder Woman Boyd. Here. Alderman Aldrick. Present. Alder Woman Velasquez. Fourteen present. According being present, we will be led in an opening reflection prayer by Alonzo Townsend, the son of American Blues singer, guitarist and pianist Henry Townsend. Chicago, Nashville, Austin, New Orleans. This past week, Tina Turner's kit was introduced by St. Louis City XC. Why is this important? Because it reflects exactly what I'm speaking of. Our rich, uh beautiful heritage that is literally the heartbeat of all American music. St. Louis Music and His Heritage has a most the most immense fingerprint on all of American of the whole American songbook and all of the world's most richest and most prized art form. I ask you all to consider to think about making sure that this city's most deepest treasure, our music, our musicians, our artists, are lifted or being the actual flag that we wave when it comes to St. Louis. I ask you to come out and make sure that you seek and that you show how right and see it and show all of our right rising musicians of this scene, how important they really are to their city, how important they really are to their community, and how important they really are to the infrastructure of St. Louis. Thank you so much for allowing me to have some of your time. God bless. Any introduction of honored guests, older woman from the 10th. Thank you, Madam President, members of the board. I would like to have as my first honored guest, our very own birthday girl down here. Interim Clerk, Clerk Rogers. Happy birthday, sis. I pray you enjoy your day, your time, and it's full of celebration and peace, right? Um, that you deserve the most. And then I also like to have as my additional honor guests, all the people that uh might be packing up now, but from five to about right now have been out with their cans raising money at Rise and Shine, the 26th annual Rise and Shine, Heat of St. Louis, um, as they raised money for the work, the unique work that U.S. I'm sorry, Heat Up St. Louis does um here the way they the way that they only can um in utility assistance. So thank you to Allen. Thank you, especially to the owner of the Hardee on Hampton who let me borrow his apron this morning. The woman from the 11th Hello, hello. All right, we are live. Good morning, and thank you, Madam President. Uh, my honored guests are the gentleman in the orange shirts sitting in the gallery, uh, Brian Watson with the laborers union. And I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank him and the union uh who came to the 11th ward and with chainsaws and every every tool that they could bring, they came along with me to cut down tree debris in the elevated 11th ward. And our ward looks so much better, gentlemen, because of you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you.