The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m.

Attendance:

A quorum was present:

Gary Miyashiro
Gerry Casiello
Ward Mazzucco
Hon. Richard Emerson
Joan DeSalvo
Rand Guffey
Christina Kearney
Michael Thompson
Parker Coates
Jerry Sarnelli
Natalie Ketcham
Don Takacs
John Shaban
Frank DeSalvo
Tom Derderian
Stan Rhodes
Urs Furrer
Julie Gorman
Scott Palmer
Christine Polio
Lewis Brey
Trevor Furrer
Don Stroetzel
Laura Hoeing
Andrea Cotton
John Davey
Tanya Miller
Norma Riess

Treasurer's Report

Gary Miyashiro presented the Treasurer's Report and noted a balance of $370.87 as of January 8, 2008. Ward Mazzucco reminded members that they are encouraged to contribute $100 annually to the RTC.

Nomination of Slate of Proposed RTC Candidates

Ward Mazzucco noted that every two years a slate of RTC members must be elected at caucus. Ward introduced Gerry Casiello to discuss the proposed slate of candidates. Gerry read the proposed list of candidates and moved to recommend that they be nominated. Urs Furrer seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously passed.

Recruitment of New Members

A general discussion ensued regarding ways to recruit new members to the RTC. It was agreed that two of the more promising ways would be to focus on the Redding Newcomers group and Meadow Ridge residents. Natalie Ketcham and Don Stroetzel agreed to look into the best way to recruit Meadow Ridge residents. Laura Hoeing and Lewis Brey are both members of the Newcomers and would be willing to explore best possible options there. Ward Mazzucco promised to obtain a list of all registered Republicans to assist in recruiting efforts. Don Takacs also suggested getting a list of Independent voters as well, which Ward promised to do.

Planning Commission Resignation

Ward then announced that a vacancy is opening on the Planning Commission because Greg Meyer is resigning. If anyone is interested in filling the vacancy or knows someone who might be interested, they should speak to Gerry Casiello.

Follow-Up by Jason Bartlett

Ward Mazzucco informed the group that after speaking to the RTC in December, State Rep. Jason Bartlett had sent a follow-up letter in which he offered to attend future meetings and requested that anyone with questions or comments should contact him directly.

Fundraising

Ward mentioned that he had yet to mail "thank you" letters in response to last year's fundraising letter and that he would be doing so shortly.

A discussion then occurred regarding possible fundraising events. One suggestion was hiring an event company to put on a Redding "family day fair." Natalie Ketcham mentioned that there are several of these companies that organize events and bring in the food and drink and then split the proceeds with the sponsoring organization. It has been tried with Redding Community Center events to good reviews, however the attendance was not good because the location was kind of "off the beaten path." Holding such an event on the green in front of Town Hall was suggested as a way of possibly increasing attendance. Gerry Casiello noted that if such an event were to take place, there would be a need for a public hearing in front of the Zoning Commission the first time such and event took place and that process from beginning to end would take about six weeks. Gerry also mentioned that the RTC would have to hire police and incur other similar costs. Don Takacs also suggested John Read Middle School as a possible venue.

Ward Mazzucco suggested that the Events Committee consider the issue further. Christine Polio then announced that she was not going to lead the committee in the future and a new Chair would have to be found. Natalie agreed to contact Pat Moisio to she if she could assist. Don Takacs and Scott Palmer also offered to assist.

Book Award

The discussion then turned to whether the RTC should sponsor a book award at Joel Barlow. Everyone agreed it was a good idea. Tom Derderian offered to again select the books (we had 3 different ones last year) and organize the award.

Growing Email Database

Ward Mazzucco then brought up the need to build an email database of Republican and unaffiliated voters. Ward mentioned that he had attended a function in Easton and met one of Easton's RTC members who said they had such a database in place. Tom Derderian agreed to lead the effort to build such a database and Ward promised to put Tom in touch with the Easton RTC member. Laura Hoeing also expressed interest in assisting.

Caucus Preparation

In order to conduct the caucus, a rules committee was put in place with Urs Furrer as Chairman and John Shaban and Rand Guffey as members. The Rules Committee then met to discuss the rules for the upcoming caucus.

Adjournment

Tom Derderian moved to adjourn the meeting and proceed to caucus, which was seconded. The motion unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.