TCT Minutes, July 7, 2014

PRESENT: Vince, Alan, Neal, Patricia

AGENDA:

1. Web report.
2. Tent storage.
3. Coalition meeting
4. Phone bill due. Will be paid.
5. New Pastor report.

VINCE:

Vince reported on his meeting with the new FUMC pastor. His impression is favorable.

John said space for tents okay. Vince did not call Mike Coburn because had not yet contacted John. Discussion followed.

Members outlined what we need to do:

1. Neal will attempt to go to the coalition meeting.
2. The phone bill is due. Alan and Neal will make arrangements to get it paid.
3. We need to get into contact with churches who fit criteria of being a possible host. Patricia says we may have to start with lining up only one site. Perhaps we need start out with a smaller site. It at least would be a beta test that we could point to when asking other churches to be a host. The permit is site specific. That means if we move every 3 months, we may have to get a permit for each move. However, if we have several sites lined up, we may get a blanket permit. So we need to approach possible churches. Patricia will send out a list of eligible churches to us before the next meeting.
4. While brainstorming about financing this, we discussed possibility of having a fundraiser. Example: Sponsor a pallet. Sponsor a whatever.

Tasks
We discussed what tasks face us to get moving again.

1. Vince needs to contact Mike Coburn about tents. He also needs to contact John.
2. We need to move towards getting a definite answer from Bethlehem about whether they will be a sponsor. Even if they say no, it is clear that they are and will continue to be supportive. We need to get an answer from them without being pushy. Here are a few things we can do in approaching them:
   • We can ask them what the steps need to be gone through to get to a yes or no.
   • We need to ask what possible impediments exist to getting a “yes.”
   • We can ask if there are any steps we could take to resolve any possible impediments.
   • We can ask what are the steps the church needs to take to resolve possible impediments and ask them if we can assist them in doing so.
3. Patricia will send out list of possible churches to the members of the team.
4. Vince will make effort to contact Pastor Nina to ask for brief visit. Vince will act as our representative. He will ask her for her assessment of our team’s efforts and what can we do to help. He has access to several Methodist ministers who have had positive experiences with hosting tent cities. They also report community attitude has been generally supportive. Vince thinks that they may be willing to come to Tacoma and talk to us, as well as interested ministers. One of their messages would be that the community will welcome a tent city back.
5. We are going to come up with 3 or 4 churches we’re going to pitch. Possibilities include Gathering Place and Disciples.
6. We need to ask ourselves where can we find potential donors?
7. Each of us will talk to friends/neighbors, etc who are religious to see what contacts we can get from them.
8. What categories of people and organizations are most likely to respond to an appeal for cash, equipment.

NEXT MEETING: Next meeting: July 21, 2014, at FUMC.

Respectfully submitted: Alan OldStudent