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Christmas Old Towne Holiday Event, Dec. 14

SWEDESBORO -- On Friday, Dec. 14 from 4 to 8 p.m. the Swedesboro Woolwich Historical Society and the Swedesboro Economic Development are sponsoring a Holiday House Tour.

This Tour is a bridge from the past to the present that celebrates the unique architecture and qualities of Swedesboro and our neighboring towns. Some of the finest examples of 18^th, 19^th and 20^th Century homes will welcome you in their Yuletide tradition.

Local artists will be featured at various sites in town with items available for sale. A Colonial Tea will be held in Trinity Parish House from 4 to 8p.m.

Tour tickets are $10 and are available at the following locations: Mattioni Law Office, Mugs Coffee House, Needles & Pins Quilt Shop, Swedesboro Borough Hall, Swedesboro Library, Trinity Church and Matteo Kitchens.

Visit Swedesboro’s web site for a complete list of the
homes and artists on tour www.swedesboro-nj.us

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Despite Heated Battle,
Boro Council Show United Front

by Sam Scavuzzo

SWEDESBORO -- After a hard-fought election that saw a sitting council member vying against the mayor, the Borough Council of Swedesboro returned to work as a cohesive unit.

Democratic Mayor Thomas W. Fromm successfully retained his seat, defeating Republic Councilwoman Darlene Gage 62 percent to 37 percent, according to totals from the Gloucester County Division of Elections. Additionally, Democrats held on to seats vacated by outgoing Council members Michael Murray and Evelyn Churchville, as George J. Weeks and Diane F. Hale were victorious over Andre D. Ascalon and Francis X. Lusch.

The balance of power in Swedesboro politics will not change, as a three-three split between Democrats and Republicans still exists in the Council, with a Democratic mayor.

Any division or tension that may have existed disappeared at the Council’s Nov. 19 meeting. Both sitting Council members and Council members-elect spearheaded several different efforts to better the community.

As a unit, the Council unanimously voted to approve a ban on left turns onto Park Avenue from Lake Avenue during the hours of seven to nine a.m. Churchville was not present.

Individually, members led crusades for several different projects.

Republican Don Dryden Swedesboro proposed and induced Council to make a bipartisan resolution declaring December to be “Shop Swedesboro Month” and he encouraged residents to patronize them.

“It’s easy to go to Wallmart or Home Depot,” Dryden said.

“But they aren’t the ones paying school taxes, supporting the Little League. The local businesses are. We should be paying a portion of our money to businesses right at home. ”

Participating shops are offering specials to coincide with the month. These establishments include Botto’s, Mugs, Sweetsboro Pastry Shoppe, among others. The complete list can be viewed on the Borough’s Web site.

With the approaching winter season, Republican Salvatore “Sam” Casella is making it known that Swedesboro will help residents obtain heating if they are currently without the service.

“If the public needs help with heating, we’ll do everything we can for them,” Casella said.

Democratic Council President David Flaherty continues his work on obtaining a new roof on the fire house. Currently the building has a tarp covering, but an engineer from Woolwich is drawing up plans to include only a new roof. Before, estimates were based upon additional repairs to the structure.

The newly elected Hale and Weeks are already involved as they look forward to the implementation of Streetscape, a project to add to downtown Swedesboro. Prior to being elected, Hale served as the chairperson of the Economic Development committee and used her position to see the project brought to life.

Weeks and Hale look to work with residents on any ideas they may have for the town. Weeks highlighted a possible African American History Month Project that would have Kingsway Regional High School students participate in a contest to create a song, dance or skit about the subject. This idea was suggested by a resident.

When the two are sworn into office in January, they also are looking for ways to utilize available space for commercial use. “We are looking at the properties we have available so new businesses may be attracted to them,” Hale said.

Gage and Fromm got in on the action as well. Gage continued her campaign to stop The Gloucester County Times from distributing flyers that clutter people’s homes.

Fromm announced a crusade against absentee landlords. Acting on this, Fromm personally helped install a heater into a resident’s home who did not have a working one.

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East Greenwich Considers
Implementing RecycleBank Program

by Beth S. Biermann

EAST GREENWICH – The East Greenwich Township Committee is considering implementing an incentive-based recycling program by partnering with RecycleBank. On Nov. 13, the committee heard a presentation and discussed the benefits of such a program to township residents.

RecycleBank is a Philadelphia-based company that operates incentive-based recycling programs in several New Jersey communities including Woolwich Township. Through this service, residents are provided with recycling containers embedded with a barcode that is scanned every time the receptacle is emptied. Plastic, cans, glass and paper are all recycled together in one container, known as single-stream recycling.

The residents earn RecycleBank points based on the weight of their recyclables. These points can then be redeemed for rewards and discounts from over 350 national, regional and local corporate sponsors.

The sponsors provide coupons based on the points accumulated that translate into savings for the resident. For example, ACME and CVS both provide coupons for discounts on purchases made at their retail locations.

Committeeman Fred Grant stated that regardless of whether the RecycleBank program is implemented, the township’s trash hauler will be switching over to single stream recycling as of Jan. 1. It was his opinion that because RecycleBank also uses a single-stream process, this would be a good time to implement the reward system to encourage even more residents to recycle.

In previous meetings with RecycleBank, Grant negotiated several cost-saving measures specifically for East Greenwich.

Other townships outfit their trash trucks with individual flippers that can both scan and weigh the recycling containers, resulting in each resident receiving credit for their individual recycling total.

East Greenwich is instead considering having the trash hauler do the scan only. This will significantly cut down on costs, as the equipment required to weigh each individual recycling receptacle costs approximately $30,000 for each truck.

As a result of this decision to forgo the weighing equipment, the total tonnage of recycling for a particular route will be divided evenly over all residents that recycled that day (as evidenced by the scan registered of their personal recycling bin). This will also ensure a fair distribution of rewards for residents such as senior citizens who wouldn’t have as much recycling as a large family.

A second negotiation involved the annual cost of the program to the township. RecycleBank typically charges $2 per year per home, but East Greenwich will only be charged $1 per year per home. This translates into an approximate cost of $32,000 per year to the township.

Other townships that have implemented the RecycleBank program have experienced a 95 to 98 percent recycling rate once the incentive-based system gets underway. The current East Greenwich recycling rate is 70 percent.

Given the likelihood that a reward system will result in a rate of recycling similar to the other townships using the program, East Greenwich anticipates an approximate increase of $14,000 a year in tipping fees for hauling more recycling materials.

Adding the RecycleBank charge per home to the increased tipping fee, the total estimated cost to the township would be $46,000.

However, there will also be monetary benefits to the township should it implement the RecycleBank program. Savings will be seen in a decreased tonnage of non-recyclable trash. This will translate to an estimated $28,000 decrease in tipping fees at the county incinerator and landfill.

East Greenwich is also paid for a portion of their recycling materials that are useful to the trash hauler. This revenue is expected to total approximately $40,000 with the anticipated rise in recycling rates. Added to the $28,000 savings in trash tipping fees, this would represent approximately $68,000 in revenue for the township.

Compared to the cost of $46,000, East Greenwich would see an estimated net profit of $22,000 annually.

Mayor John DeGeorge stated that he doesn’t see any risk to the township in partnering with RecycleBank. He also highlighted the long-term environmental benefits that would come from an increased recycling rate and the immediate rewards benefits that residents would receive.

Pending review of the contract by township solicitor Thomas North and a vote by the township committee to officially approve it, the township could implement the RecycleBank program as early as Feb. 2008.

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Progress Being Made On
Woolwich Municipal Building Construction

by Beth S. Biermann

WOOLWICH – Township Engineer Dennis Dougherty reported to the Woolwich Township Committee that work is progressing significantly on site improvements at the construction site for the new municipal building.

As of the Nov. 19 committee meeting, the storm sewer was 85 percent complete, curbing was 30 percent complete, and water and sewer had been approved. Dougherty also stated that building construction had begun.

In other business, Director of Community Development Anthony Zappasodi reported that the Logan-Swedesboro-Woolwich Rotary Club wants to donate three shade pavilions to Woolwich Township. The pavilions consist of a 20 by 30 foot blue awning made of materials that prevent ultraviolet radiation from penetrating to the shaded area below.

The Rotary Club raises money to purchase the pavilions and applies for a matching grant from a skin cancer organization. In order to complete the application, the Rotary Club needs the township committee to specify three locations for the awnings.

The committee discussed several sites, including the playground at Locke Avenue Park, High Hill Park near the ball field, and the new municipal building site.

The committee members agreed to go look at an awning at the Logan Township football field, also donated by the Rotary Club. They will then finalize the list of sites for Woolwich.

The committee was also notified by the Rotary Club that volunteers will be needed to install the awnings after they are purchased and donated.

Zappasodi and Deputy Mayor James Lavender both reported receiving numerous phone calls from residents with traffic concerns on Bunker Hill Drive, Gentry Drive, and the back end of Fredrick Boulevard (farthest from Governor Charles Stratton School). Cars have been observed speeding and running stop signs after school and in the evening. Residents requested more police presence.

Zappasodi and Lavender brought these traffic issues to the attention of Police Chief Russell Marino, who was in attendance at the Nov. 19 meeting. Marino replied that the police department could certainly increase police presence and write tickets in the area.

Lavender suggested posting an electronic speed sign because he believes that when people see that they are speeding, they will slow down.

While attending the League of Municipalities Conference, Committeeman Ted Otten mentioned learning about small LED speed signs that can be mounted on existing speed limit signs. Zappasodi added that he has an information packet that he can pass along to Marino to investigate the cost and feasibility of such an option.

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