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Gov. Jon S. Corzine is asking the state Senate to replace the dean of the Pinelands Commission after 30 years of representing environmentalists. Candace Ashmun, 85, a Somerset County Republican, joined the commission in 1979, the year after Congress established the Pinelands National Reserve. After her term expired in June, the board's longest-serving member got word from the governor's office that she would not be reappointed. Instead, Corzine in December nominated Mercer County Democrat Jeffrey Laurenti. "I think it would be nice after all these years to have an explanation. But I don't expect it," Ashmun said Thursday. The American Littoral Society and other groups this week lobbied the governor and the Senate to reappoint and confirm Ashmun to another three-year term, noting her experience and reputation in conservation. The Pinelands Commission manages development and environmental regulations in the 56 municipalities that make up the reserve. The commission is composed of 15 unpaid members, seven of whom are appointed by the governor. Seven are appointed by freeholders in each of the Pinelands counties and the last by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. Republicans and Democrats alike, including Corzine, had reappointed Ashmun. She was former director of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions and consulted for green groups. "I was on the planning entity that preceded the Pinelands Commission," she said. "Mostly it's a question of institutional memory and helping the rest of the Pinelands Commission and the staff. Sometimes that helps. It's much easier for me to say, ‘We've done that, been there.'" The commission is apolitical. with a mix of Democrats and Republicans. "Everything the Pinelands Commission does is apt to raise someone's ire. I've never heard anything of particular concern from the governor's office," she said. Corzine's office did not return calls seeking comment Thursday. Laurenti is senior fellow at the Century Foundation, a public-policy group, and worked as director of the New Jersey Senate from 1978 to 1984. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has degrees from Harvard and Princeton. Lately, Laurenti said, he has been researching issues related to global warming. He said he sometimes brought foreign dignitaries visiting the United Nations to New Jersey to see the vast Pinelands. "It's a part of the state I felt very strongly about for many years. I would be happy to take the appointment," he said. Laurenti praised Ashmun's service to the commission and noted that his confirmation is not guaranteed. Gov-elect Chris Christie has been feuding with Corzine over his more than 200 lame-duck appointments. And senators have the discretion to block nominees from their own districts. "I assume I would not be appointed by the incoming administration," Laurenti said. Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday will decide whether to confirm Larry Niles to the commission to fill a vacancy. Niles, a former employee with the state Department of Environmental Protection, is perhaps best known for his work with imperiled shorebirds such as the red knot. Pinelands Commission member Robert Jackson of Middle Township said he would like to see Ashmun win reappointment because of her willingness to compromise. "Her knowledge is invaluable. She's probably one of the greatest advocates for balance," he said. Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello said Ashmun was fair and thoughtful when he appeared before the commission over projects such as the redevelopment of the railroad town Richland Village. "She understood how towns like Buena Vista are so controlled by Pinelands rules. She understood the environmental impacts, too. She was open to working with finding some solutions," he said. Ashmun said 1970s plans to run pipelines from offshore oil platforms across the state helped spur interest in protecting the Pinelands. The commission will have an increasingly difficult job conserving sensitive lands over the next 30 years, she said. But she is happy to have taken part in this preservation. "Hey, we still have a Pinelands and it's still protected," she said.
BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP - If six western Atlantic County municipalities send their trash to the Atlantic County Utilities Authority instead of to other counties, their fees to dispose of the trash will not rise any higher than the rate of inflation, officials said Wednesday night. Representatives of four municipalities, ACUA President Rick Dovey and other officials met Wednesday night for an information session about a plan to bring Buena Vista Township, Buena Borough, Estell Manor, Folsom, Hammonton and Hamilton Township into the ACUA waste-disposal system, Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello said. These municipalities had been sending waste to the Cumberland County landfill, which charges about $12 per ton less in tipping fees than the ACUA. Dovey said he would like to have a plan in place by May, and the ACUA intends to take a plan to the Board of Chosen Freeholders next month. The plan would include charging the six municipalities the same tipping fees they were paying in Cumberland County. The ACUA has been told it might lose as much as $5.6 million in state debt service assistance it has been getting for several years because of the state budget crunch. The state treasurer said told the ACUA to increase its income by taking in the waste that is currently going to out-of-county facilities, something the U.S. Supreme Court ruled three years ago it can force the six municipalities to do. "This is one way we could help make up for any reduction in state debt service aid," Dovey said. "We've got to plan ahead." The Atlantic County municipalities were concerned that if they sent their trash to the ACUA and Cumberland County later raises its tipping fees, they would lose any savings the deal would offer. The ACUA said it would be willing to guarantee that their fees to these towns would not rise more than the Consumer Price Index. Chiarello said the municipalities can live with that compromise. But the process will be slow and will hinder the municipalities' ability to form their 2010 budgets, Chiarello said. A lot depends on what Governor-elect Chris Christie does when he takes office. "The new governor hasn't been sworn in yet. The new treasurer hasn't looked at the books," Chiarello said.
Atlantic towns get break on trash fees (Press of Atlantic City, by Michelle Lee, 12/30/09) Atlantic County officials have changed a plan that would have driven up the trash-disposal costs for six municipalities by requiring them to send their trash to the Atlantic County Utilities Authority's landfill. The revised proposal also could make it cheaper for other Atlantic County towns to dump their waste. Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson and ACUA President Rick Dovey announced Tuesday that the utilities authority will lower its municipal waste fee for Buena Borough, Buena Vista Township, Estell Manor, Folsom, Hamilton Township and Hammonton to match the competition's rates. The ACUA would charge more for commercial waste. Most of those communities send their waste to the Cumberland County landfill, which charges $13 less per ton than Atlantic County. Hammonton sends some of its trash to Cumberland and some to an incinerator in Camden County. Charging those communities the regular ACUA rate collectively would have cost the six towns about $318,000 more per year. The ACUA also proposes cutting the waste-disposal fee for the 16 other municipalities it currently serves by $5 per ton. The reduced fees would last three and a half years if the municipal governments sign a contract. Dovey said the ACUA plans to offset the discounts by recapturing the estimated 100,000 to 140,000 tons of waste that currently leave the county. The six towns will be charged the regular disposal fee of $65.64 per ton for commercial waste. Dovey estimated there would be at least 80,000 tons of commercial waste per year that would generate about $5.2 million. Part of that money could also be used to help the ACUA refinance its debt service, which is about $8.3 million per year, Dovey said. The ACUA received $5.1 million in state subsides this year, but Dovey said the authority may lose that amount in 2010 because of New Jersey's state budget crisis. Levinson said the plan changed within the last few days because the extra disposal cost for the six western municipalities was "unacceptable." "We put our heads together and put together a workable plan that was equitable to all the municipalities," Levinson said. The proposal still needs to be approved by the county Board of Freeholders and the state Department of Environmental Protection. Another caveat Levinson noted is that if the waste-disposal rates in Cumberland and Camden counties rise higher than the regular ACUA rates, those six communities would have to pay the higher fee. Officials for the Cumberland County Improvement Authority, which runs the landfill in Deerfield Township, were unavailable for comment Tuesday. The CCIA and Camden County incinerator could lose about $1 million in revenue paid by the six Atlantic County communities. Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello said the lower fees sound good. But he's still concerned about the revised plan because it would cost the township about $15,000 more in transport costs to haul its trash to the Egg Harbor Township landfill. Chiarello noted Buena Vista is going through some financial difficulties and had to lay off two public works employees this year and require workers to pay for part of their health care. "I have to look at the total picture," Chiarello said. "Plus, I don't know when this would take effect." Estell Manor Mayor Joe Venezia said he was happy the waste-disposal fees would come down under the new proposal and hopes the city's trash hauler, Waste Management, will keep the same hauling costs. Hamilton Township Mayor Nelson Gaskill was also pleased that the municipal rates would come down but is concerned about the long-term effect the commercial waste-disposal fee would have on many businesses in his community. "In any situation like this, the devil is in the details," Gaskill said. Information meeting tonight A special meeting is scheduled to be held from 7 to 9 p.m. today at Buena Vista Township Hall, 890 Harding Highway. Officials from Buena, Buena Vista Township, Estell Manor, Folsom, Hamilton Township, Hammonton and the Atlantic County Utilities Authority are expected to discuss the proposal.
Museum celebrates black Santa (The Daily Journal, by Joel Landau, 12/30/09) The African American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey has 75 different items associated with Christmas. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Gift of giving benefits the community (The Daily Journal, 12/26/09) Contractor Larry Stiteler and his crew from East Coast Roofing and Siding replaced the roof on a home of a needy family in Newtonville this week. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP - During the holiday season, Richland Village in Buena Vista Township sees as many as 10,000 visitors. Officials are hoping that a soon-to-be-installed flashing light system will help keep all of them safe. The small tourist destination, which features shops, a model railroad museum as well as the Santa Express, a themed train ride that operates at Christmastime each year, is the perfect place to walk around. The only problem is the heavily trafficked thoroughfare that runs straight through it. Route 40 slices through the middle of Richland. The road, 50 mph in most sections, slows down to 45 mph in Richland, although Mayor Chuck Chiarello said that drivers rolling through seem to take that as a recommendation rather than a rule. A $150,000-grant from the State Department of Transportation is paying for the installation of three flashing lights designed to alert drivers to slow down. The lights, similar to those used near schools, can be turned on by the township during events or can be manually activated by pedestrians trying to cross the busy roadway. "At one point, we were looking for an additional traffic signal, a full-fledged signal, but, fortunately, there weren't enough accidents to make that happen," Chiarello said. "The state came up with the idea to put up flashing lights that could be accessed at various intersections." The road already features crosswalks and signs alerting drivers to yield to pedestrians, but that doesn't always work, he said. A few years ago the township petitioned state Sen. Jeff Van Drew D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, for help with getting the grant money. Once the grant funding was received, there were planning stages, designs and electrical work that needed to be done. Chiarello hoped to see the lights installed by this holiday, but said they will likely be up by early next year. The grant funding covers the entire project. The only cost to the township is future electricity usage. A small price to pay, Chiarello feels, for assurance. "We want visitors to be safe," he said.
Saying goodbye to Cleary School (The Daily Journal, by Joseph P. Smith, 12/24/09) Cleary Middle School in Minotola has closed, when students come back from holiday vacation they will begin at the new Middle School. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
New roof...is on the house (The Daily Journal, by Joseph P. Smith, 12/23/09) Contractor Larry Stiteler and his crew from East Coast Roofing and Siding replaced the roof on a home of a needy family in Newtonville this week. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
A proposal to force all Atlantic County municipalities to haul their trash to the county landfill has little chance of being approved in its current form, Freeholder Chairman James Curcio said Friday. Curcio said the freeholders will likely want to see another plan by the Atlantic County Utilities Authority, or ACUA, that does not impose a financial hardship on municipalities currently paying less to haul their trash to waste-disposal facilities in other counties. Affected municipalities could face more than $300,000 in additional trash-disposal costs under the ACUA's proposal. "I think it just cannot get off the ground at those numbers," Curcio said. "I don't think that there's a sufficient public policy reason to impose waste flow if it is going to result in additional costs to any municipality in the county." Officials in Buena Borough, Buena Vista Township, Estell Manor, Folsom, Hammonton and Hamilton Township have united to oppose the plan. They want to meet with ACUA, county and state officials regarding the proposal. Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello sent a letter to the area's local, county and state legislators Friday, saying his municipal building will be open at 7 p.m. Dec. 30 for them all to meet. "There could not be a worse time for the county to impact our financially strapped communities located in the Pinelands and the western end of Atlantic County," Chiarello writes. "With uncertain knowledge of potential state aid cutbacks and the looming budget crises, the attempt to raise extra money for the ACUA will directly hurt our property taxpayers. We need to send a strong message now." Estell Manor Mayor Joseph Venezia called the ACUA plan "a dirty, crummy deal." "It sure sounds to me that the ACUA is trying to monopolize where trash is going to be sent," Venezia said. "There's no competition. Competition is a major, major asset in our favor." Hamilton Township Committee on Monday will consider a resolution that formally opposes the plan. "What happened to the free-market system?" Township Committeeman Roger Silva said. ACUA President Richard Dovey said while he is not surprised about the concern, the proposal is not final. "We haven't made a presentation to the freeholders yet," Dovey said. "The process is just beginning. A presentation for what this is all about and what we think we can achieve and how we can minimize the impact on the local budgets is still being prepared." However, Dovey said, the freeholders must eventually approve some kind of plan that will allow his agency to raise the money it needs to cover its debt service. "The reality is that something has to happen somewhere along the line," he said. ACUA officials said New Jersey's budget crisis means they could lose a $5.1 million state subsidy that helps the agency make its debt payments. The ACUA is basing it proposed waste-flow policy on a 2007 U.S Supreme Court ruling on a case out of New York. The court ruled that government can dictate where municipalities dump their trash. The six municipalities take their trash to facilities in Cumberland and Camden counties, saying that costs less than using the ACUA landfill. The ACUA estimates it can realize about $9 million in revenue from the 20,000 tons of waste hauled out of the county by the six municipalities, and from another 120,000 tons of commercial waste taken to out-of-county disposal sites. The freeholder board has the final say on the proposal and would have to change an existing ordinance for the plan to become new policy. Curcio, whose 5th District freeholder seat represents all of Buena Borough, Buena Vista Township, Estell Manor, Folsom and Hammonton and part of Hamilton Township, said the ACUA needs to develop another plan to raise the money for debt payments. "We have to help them find a way to solve this," Curcio said. "If it means making changes internally in the ACUA, that may be part of it."
Soldier does wedding march, then ships out (The Daily Journal, by Joel Landau, 12/17/09) Frank Baker Jr. of Collings Lakes married Paula Yost after just returning from Iraq. Mayor Chuck Chiarello married the couple at the Buena Tavern. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
GPS devices found in school field (The Daily Journal, by Tim Zatzariny, Jr., 12/11/09) State Police found items dumped in a shoebox outside of a local school. Anyone wishing to claim any of the found items should call Detective Sgt. Brian Foody at the Buena Vista barracks at 609-561-1800 x 3403. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
Septic inspection rules adopted for Pinelands (The Daily Journal, by Kirk Moore, 12/12/09) The state Pinelands Commission decided Friday after hearing from rural homeowners and municipal officials to require inspections every three years only for advanced septic systems on undersized lots. And hold off from putting the same requirement on residents using traditional septics. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com State Police found items dumped in a shoebox outside of a local school. Anyone wishing to claim any of the found items should call Detective Sgt. Brian Foody at the Buena Vista barracks at 609-561-1800 x 3403.
BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP - Beach Road residents have become used to the flood waters that come with heavy rains like Tuesday's, but it doesn't mean they like it. The Sanderlins moved in three years ago, only to find about a year ago that a torrential rain had flooded their basement and forced them to spend several thousand dollars in repairs. Neighbor Scott van Acker saw the rain damage the walls and carpet of his basement, according to his one-time housemate Alyssa Eachus. Kathleen Hildebrandt might just have it the worst. The 70-year-old retired widow renovated her basement with plans to sell the home. She even had a new house picked out. Then came a heavy rain a little more than a year ago. "The reason we didn't move was the flood," Hildebrandt said Wednesday. "I had to refinance my house for $5,000. Then I had to pay $17,000 for the basement. The insurance only paid $9,000. I should have this house paid off." Instead, she says she now plans to live there until she dies, collecting about $800 per month from Social Security, saddled with a new mortgage and unable to buy a new home. Hildebrandt's frustration over the situation bubbled up again Wednesday morning when she woke to find her street filled with water from Tuesday night's rains. Water had come off the street and descended into her property, which like most on Beach Road is situated slightly lower than the roadway. "This morning the whole street was flooded," said Travis van Acker, who lives in a home across the street from his brother, Scott. Firefighters routinely show up with their trucks to pump water into a ditch behind one line of homes along the street, and they did the same Wednesday. By midafternoon, the road was largely free of water, save for broad puddles in some areas. The problem, Hildebrandt said, is not merely the presence of nearby lakes in the Collings Lakes section of Buena Vista Township. It's the damaged storm drain outside her house that the township has not paid to fix in the 38 years that she has lived in her home. "It would be different if I had just this one flood," Hildebrandt said. "I've just had one flood too many." Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello knows the problem quite well. (And if he didn't, the 12 calls he said he received Wednesday morning certainly have him informed now.) "The problem is the entire drain needs to repaired, all the way from Beach Road to the (nearest) lake," Chiarello said. That's more than 1,000 feet, and it would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $258,000, according to a quote Chiarello said township officials obtained. For a township with a $4.2 million budget - much of it derived from grants - that's a lot of money. Chiarello said he has sought to obtain grants but has yet to have any luck, in part because the Federal Emergency Management Agency deemed it ineligible for disaster funding. Collings Lakes was named for its many bodies of water, and flooding is not uncommon around them, Chiarello said. For example, the township just repaired the drainage along nearby Cains Mill Road, Chiarello said. The lakes are mostly held in their current form by dams, and like most southern New Jersey lakes were not formed naturally. At one time, the region consisted of cranberry bogs. Fairfax, Va.-based Risk Assessment Mapping and Planning has a FEMA contract to survey Buena Vista and other parts of western Atlantic County for flood plain mapping. Chiarello said once that's done, officials will have a greater knowledge of the flood patterns, which could help draw grant money.
Mayor Chuck Chiarello of Buena Vista Township was elected to the position of First Vice President of the New Jersey League of Municipalities. For complete details go to: www.thedailyjournal.com
BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP - Mayor Chuck Chiarello long has had his hands in issues of statewide importance, and now will use that experience in a more official capacity. It was announced Friday that Chiarello was named first vice president of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, an organization that represents the association of the state's 566 municipal governments. After a year, he will become president of the organization. Chiarello has served on committees, sat on regulatory boards and even lobbied for legislation that would have an impact on municipalities throughout the state. "As you advance through the organization, until you get to president, the responsibilities become larger," he said. "You have a voice on legislation on behalf of the municipality." Chiarello said his nomination to the post came about for a number of reasons. Seniority was a key, he said, as he has represented Atlantic County in the league for the past 10 years. But so, too, was the political landscape. League Executive Director Bill Dressel said Chiarello is the perfect candidate for vice president and president because of his dedication to the organization. When called on, he said, Chiarello always has been there to serve, regardless of the capacity. "He's not only a very articulate spokesman for the League of Municipalities and representing municipal issues generally," Dressel said. "But he has proven to be a great mayor and local official." Chiarello has been mayor of Buena Vista Township for the past 15 years, and has served on the township government for 18 years. The league leadership position does not come with any pay, Dressel said. Chiarello said the position is an honor for him and for the county. Chiarello said he has no idea when the last time a representative from Atlantic County served as first vice president - there are second and third vice presidents - or president of the league. The league often helps shape legislation at the state level. Chiarello said a past president was called to Trenton 96 times in one year. He's willing to put in that time, too. "It's a statewide responsibility," he said. "We're looking out for all the towns in New Jersey, and keeping an eye on really everything that impacts our municipalities."
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Address: Buena Vista Township
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