Transportation and Commerce Committee Meeting – June 5, 2026
Transportation and Commerce Committee Meeting – June 5, 2026
The Transportation and Commerce Committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen met on Friday, June 5, 2026, at 9:06 a.m. to consider a resolution supporting a property tax abatement for Winland Foods and to approve minutes from the previous meeting. Chair Cone presided, with a quorum present.
Consent Calendar
- Meeting Minutes (June 2, 2026): The committee unanimously approved the minutes from the June 2, 2026 meeting. A motion by Alderman from the 4th Ward, seconded by Alderwoman from the 8th Ward, passed with 4 ayes. (Alderman Oldenburg was absent and later noted as excused.)
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jerry Connolly (public comment): Mr. Connolly opposed the 80%, 10-year personal property tax abatement for Winland Foods, recommending instead a 20% abatement. He argued that the Port Authority meeting on April 9, 2026 lacked financial analysis from SLDC and that no such analysis accompanied the resolution before the Board. He estimated the abatement’s value at $2.5 million, equating to the cost of repairing 48 tornado-damaged homes at $50,000 each, and stated that the current terms made a mockery of city officials’ stated goal to boost revenue by growing the tax base. He urged the committee to amend the resolution to a 20% abatement.
Discussion Items
- Resolution 33 as amended – Support for Winland Foods Tax Abatement: Alderwoman from the 1st Ward introduced the resolution, which endorses an 80%, 10-year personal property tax abatement for Winland Foods’ expansion. Bob Chapin (Vice President, Winland Foods, with 31 years at the company) testified about the project: a $38.5 million expansion of the South St. Louis plant to produce specialty pasta products (manicotti, jumbo shells). The expansion includes a new processing line and two automated packing lines, creating 25 new skilled and semi-skilled positions (operators and technicians). He noted that the plant had been slated for closure 1.5–2 years ago but is now expanding, reflecting the company’s long-term commitment to St. Louis. No committee members asked questions.
Key Outcomes
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from June 2, 2026 were adopted.
- Resolution 33 as amended: Moved by Alderman from the 4th Ward, seconded by Alderwoman from the 8th Ward, and passed out of committee with a due pass recommendation. A previous roll call was requested and no objections were heard. Alderman Oldenburg (2nd Ward) was excused for necessary absence.
- Adjournment: The meeting adjourned after the vote.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning. It is uh Friday, June 5th at 9.06 a.m., Madam Clerk. Uh, the Transportation and Commerce Committee will now come to order. Please call the roll. Alderman Oldenburg. Alderman Narayan. Here. Alderwoman Schweitzer. Present. Vice Chair Cox Antwit. Here. Chair Cone. Present. Alderman Oldenberg. For present, we have Quorum. Wonderful. I'm on my phone. I don't have the agenda in front of me. Do we have um meeting minutes from our last meeting on Tuesday available, Madam Clerk? Yes, we do. Hey, I will entertain a motion on our meeting minutes from earlier this week. June 2nd, 2026. I move that we approve the June 2nd, 2026 minutes. Second. Then move by the Alderman from the fourth, seconded by the Alder Woman from the 8th that we approve our meeting minutes from June 2nd, 2026. Madam Clerk, please call the role. Altman Oldenberg. Alderman Orion. Alder Woman Sweitzer. Hi. Vice Chair Cox Antoine. Hi. Chair Cone. Hi. Alderman Oldenberg. Four I votes. You have sustained the motion from the Alderman from the fourth to pass our meeting minutes or adopt our meeting minutes. I know that we have resolution number 33 as amended on the uh calendar for today for discussion. Alder woman from the first year recognized. Thank you so much, uh, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I appreciate you all coming back today to hear this. Uh this is a resolution in support of a property uh real um a property personal property tax abatement for Winland Foods. Uh we do have some folks uh here from Windland Foods that are in the waiting room. If Madam Clerk could please move them over. Um STL Asia, if you could make me uh hold. I can't uh have the capability at this time. Thank you. The only person I see online is Mr. Jerry Connolly.
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