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REDDING REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE MINUTES A quorum was present: Richard Emerson Guests: Zach Eastright Ward Mazzucco ("WM") called the meeting to order at 8:06 pm. Minutes of October 6, 2008 Meeting WM noted that a review of the minutes from the October 6th meeting would be passed until December's meeting. Treasurer's Report Gary Miyashiro presented the Treasurer's Report and noted a balance of $1,499.81 as of November 10, 2008. A motion was made by Gerry Casiello to approve the Treasurer's Report, which was seconded by Frank Taylor. The motion passed unanimously. General Matters Vacancy Committee Committee Co-Chair Jule Gorman introduced Kevin Kinyon and Tom Doremus, two town residents that the Vacancy Committee is recommdending for membership. WM thanked Kevin and Tom for their interest. Julie then re-introduced David Box who was recommended for membership last meeting. A motion was made to approve David's admission to the RTC and seconded. A vote on the motion, per the RTC bylaws, will be held at the December meeting. Julie Gorman also introduced a guest, Russell Stewart, who is interested in perhaps serving on the Board of Finance. Russell, previously a Greenwich resident before moving to Redding five years ago, is particularly interested in issues related to the Georgetown Development. Finally, WM announced that Christina Kearney will be stepping down from her position on the Board of Finance. WM announced that Rand Guffey is interested in taking Christina's place. A motion was then made that, in the event of a vacancy on the Board of Finance, the RTC would recommend to the Board of Selectman to nominate Rand Guffey to the Board of Finance. The motion was seconded. The motion unanimously passed. Christina Kearney then spoke to the RTC thanking members for their support and encouragement. WM thanked Christina for all of her efforts on behalf of Redding. 2008 Election WM led a general discussion of the national 2008 election results, noting that it appeared that Democrats had a higher voter turn out based on the amount of newly registered Democrat voters compared to newly registered Republicans. Jerry Sarnelli said that he would contact the registrar of voters in Redding to see if numbers are available regarding how many Republicans/Democrats /Independents turned out to vote in town. A discussion also took place regarding ways to continue to build the RTC data base. Several comments were made regarding the effectiveness of "blast emails" and Jerry Sarnelli asked members to redouble their efforts to send email addresses to him to help grow the data base. The conversation then turned to the Congressional and state campaigns. Shays Campaign Zach Eastright, Redding coordinator for the Shays campaign, came on his own to thank the RTC personally for the "great job" Redding did for Chris Shays. He said that Chris needed a lot of help and support and Redding gave it. He especially noted that he loved handing Chris the last edition of the Redding Pilot prior to election day in which letters to the editor ran 24 to 1 in his favor. Chris was having a tough day and the show of support from Redding was much appreciated. Zach then discussion the results from the various towns throughout the 4th Congressional District. Of particular significance was the large Democratic turn-out in Bridgeport. Normally, Chris would take 30% of the vote in Bridgeport, this year he received only 16% and that was the difference in the election. In the past, Bridgeport had gone Democrat 2 to 1, this year the ratio was 4 to 1. Zach noted that Chris Shays was the only Republican to win in Redding besides John Stripp. WM thanked Zach for all of his efforts and asked that he convey to Chris the RTC's appreciation for all he has done on behalf of the citizens of Connecticut. Melanie O'Brien Campaign WM led a discussion of Melanie O'Brien's ("MOB") race for the 2nd District seat. On MOB's behalf, WM express her thanks to the RTC and especially to Julie Gorman for their efforts. Julie Gorman and Hank Bielawa added comments regarding the specifics of MOB's race, noting in particular that MOB did well in Redding and Bethel but that Danbury's vote swung the election for her opponent. Toni Boucher Campaign WM introduced and congratulated newly elected State Senator Toni Boucher ("TB"). TB thanked everyone for their hard work. A wide-ranging discussion took place regarding her race, the 4th Congressional results and legislative issues facing the state. TB emphasized that door-to-door canvassing made the difference in her race and others and suggested that similar efforts would be needed to prevail in local elections in 2009. Election 2009 A discussion regarding preparations for the 2009 election cycle the occurred. WM said that current office holders would be surveyed to see if they want to run again and the Vacancy Committee would seek to recruit candidates as well. A caucus slate would be presented to the RTC in April. WM noted that Natalie Ketcham might have a Democratic opponent next year and that it will be very important for the RTC to work hard in 2009 to ensure Republicans hold the First Selectman seat and others as well. Georgetown Development Natalie Ketcham ("NK") discussed the status of the Georgetown development. She informed the RTC that the developer was now seeking tax incentive financing from the town and state to keep the project moving forward. After describing the details of the financing program, NK explained that the Georgetown developer had proposed a similar plan two years ago. Redding turned it down then because the private market seemed strong. Now, however, the "times have changed" so the decision becomes more a question of finances. According to NK, the question now becomes - do we want to invest future tax money to get the project going in order to increase the possibility of future tax revenues? There is a risk to the town if the development doesn't get going. We now have a waste water treatment plant sized for between 800-1000 residents. If the project fails, the town will face long term planning issues and the costs associated with the water treatment facility. Natalie said that there is a meeting planned with the developer on November 24th to review his company's financial health in order to determine, as best as can be determined, whether and to what extent he can remain financially secure assuming he were to be approved for the loan. Next Meeting WM announced that the next meeting will be held on December 1, 2008. Adjournment A motion to adjourn was made and seconded. The motion unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:32 p.m.
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