Park board approves $1,500 transfer from community foundation to seed Christmas drive-through

The Ste. Genevieve City Park Board voted to approve a resolution requesting $1,500 from the Saint Genevieve Community Foundation Friends of the Park account to support an inaugural Pierre Marquette Park Christmas drive-through.

The Chair moved the resolution and Barbara Bossler Peterson seconded it; a roll call was taken and the motion passed. During discussion board members stressed the need for accounting and oversight for the funds. A board member asked, “If we vote this, it's public money, right?” and the Chair and staff clarified the funds would be disbursed from the foundation account to the Friends of the Park bank account rather than from the city’s general revenue.

Barbara Bossler Peterson, a park board member, said the Friends of the Park bylaws require quarterly statements to the park board and that “we will be providing the park board with statements on what we have spent the money on.” The group also noted the Friends account had grown over recent years and that the committee expects event business fees to cover costs so that the seed money could be replenished.

The board discussed transparency measures: using the Friends’ bank statements to track expenditures, quarterly reporting to the park board, and including an ordinance reference or account link when publicizing the event. The Chair said staff would provide documentation and the Friends of the Park would report back with detailed spending statements to the park board.