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ST. LOUIS — The chaos that derailed discussion on $294 million in Rams settlement money at the Board of Aldermen on Friday appeared to continue into the night, when the board’s leader accused opponents of drinking during debate.

Roughly 10 hours after she stormed out of the meeting, Aldermanic President Megan Green went on Facebook and told one of the leading opponents to apologize for the sneak attack — and ask their compatriots to “leave the alcohol at home this time.�

Green said at a minimum, Alderman Joe Vollmer, of the Hill, was drunk. And she said alcohol flowing in one of the side rooms near the debate floor was part of the reason for the chaos.

Screenshots of the comments quickly made their way to other aldermen and reporters, giving Green’s opponents another opportunity to cast her as a sore loser Saturday morning.

“Now we were all drunk and picking on her,� Alderman Tom Oldenburg, of St. Louis Hills, wrote in a sarcastic text.

Vollmer said Green’s remark about him was defamatory, and that he had contacted an attorney.

“There was nothing but coffee in my Yeti,� he said. “As much as I like to drink, I don’t get drunk on the floor.�

The back-and-forth marked the continuation of a wild day and a whiplash-inducing two weeks that began with Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and key aldermen announcing they’d struck a deal on the Rams money, ending weeks of conflict.

The region’s business lobby, concerned with the post-pandemic state of downtown, had wanted a big chunk for infrastructure and development there.

Jones, Green and Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier had called for cash for the whole city, and for child care and college funds.

But on Jan. 21, Jones, Sonnier, Alderwoman Pam Boyd and Dustin Allison, chief of the region’s business lobby, stood before reporters and proclaimed a compromise: $74 million just for downtown, $40 million just for north St. Louis, and scaled-back child care and college funding initiatives.

Green refused to go along. In a committee hearing later that week, she clawed back some of the money for downtown in favor of child care subsidies.

That gave opponents — some supportive of more money for downtown, some skeptical the city could manage new programs, others underwhelmed by both plans — an opening to kill the deal.

And with little to no warning, they moved at Friday's board meeting to scuttle the big plan. ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ were about to propose cutting out everything except the $40 million for the city’s aging water system, a popular item, when the board descended into chaos.

There was a raucous back-and-forth over whether Green had wrongfully refused to allow one of the rebellious aldermen to speak. 

Then Green announced she was putting the meeting on hold until Tuesday, slammed her gavel, and walked out of the room.

When she left City Hall a few hours later, she expressed hope that cooler heads would prevail next week, and she said that included hers.

But that evening, Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer, who would have carried the water-only plan, posted on Facebook about the meeting and criticized Green for cutting off debate. 

Green then wrote her own comment. She said Schweitzer owed Sonnier, the alderwoman carrying the compromise bill, an apology for concealing the water-only plan until Friday's meeting. She said Schweitzer was wrong to focus on one issue and exclude the rest. Green said she hoped aldermen could have an open discussion on Tuesday. 

Then she added, "Please ask the colleagues who you colluded with to leave the alcohol at home this time. That will only lead to more rambunctious meetings.�

And when a resident demanded specifics, Green wrote, “Vollmer at minimum. He was visibly intoxicated.�

Oldenburg said Saturday he was awestruck.

“Unfortunately,� he said. “I think this means nothing gets done Tuesday.�

By Saturday afternoon, Green had deleted the comment about Vollmer from Facebook and sent him a letter apologizing.

“It lacked professionalism and did not adhere to the standards I set for myself or this Board of Aldermen,� Green wrote. “I will strive to do better and look forward to working collaboratively with you in the future.�

But Vollmer was unsatisfied.

He said he'd let his lawyer look at it Monday.