The Joey Reiser Foundation visits St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia on a regular basis. This photo taken around Halloween shows a group of their members during their last visit. Many of the regular members are from the Collings Lakes area or in the Reiser family.

The group celebrates Joey Reiser who lost his life to cancer at a young age.  They raise money for scholarships and other charitable activities.  Alice Reiser (seated third from left) and John Reiser (standing in rear third from left) are Joey’s parents.  Township Committeeman John Williams and his wife Sue are seen in the second and third row second from the right.

For more information about the Joey Reiser Foundation, call 609-567-6368.

Pole Barn Replaces Blue House in Richland Village

A pole barn will be leased or sold for retail use only. It will be located next to the “It’s a Toy Store” on Route 40. The 1500 sq ft. barn will fit in with the theme of Richland Village. It will be completed by late December.

Buena Regional Middle School & Abundant Living Choirs perform on December 2^nd at Township Hall

Collings Lakes Elementary Christmas Play on December 13^th

Santa & His Elves were on hand November 12^th at Saw Mill Park

A Crowd of 200 visited Township Hall on December 2^nd for a fun evening.

A festive tree lighting at Saw Mill Park with a visit from Santa & Co. were among the fun things to do.

Saw Mill Park Tree Glows

Judge Raso and Family

Hamilton Township Municipal Building is now the new home of Buena Vista Township Municipal Court which became effective January 1, 2017.

The Township Committee has looked at the court situation for a long time dating as far back as 2008 when we did a study to consider consolidating our court with five other municipalities.

More recently, in the past year, it has become evident that we needed to look for alternative ways to provide these services.  An ongoing discussion was had with the Mayor and Business Administrator of Hamilton Township to the point where they reached an agreement that will be in effect for the next five years.

Being a State Police community, the amount of revenues of State Police fines amount only to just court costs.  In these difficult economic times, it is hard to survive on primarily court costs.

Our expenses exceeded $250,000 per year and our revenue was approximately $95,000 per year.

On Friday, December 2, 2016, the Buena Vista Township Special Events Committee held the 17th Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony at Township Hall.  The evening began with a Welcome from Mayor Chuck Chiarello.

Karen Coates along with Kim Albert led the Buena Middle School Select Choir and the Abundant Living Church Children’s Choir in a wonderful selection of holiday songs.

A crowd of over 200 was on hand to greet Santa and Mrs. Claus and their Elves as they arrived via the Richland Volunteer Fire Company in a fire   truck parade of fire and emergency vehicles.  Once the tree was lit, Santa heard the wishes of all the children and they received special gifts.

Minnie Mouse made a special appearance and had her picture taken with many of the children.  Hot chocolate and cookies were available to all.

A big Thank You to our Special Events Committee for making the evening a success! Merry Christmas!

Atlantic City Electric Lineman Todd Haig shows Buena Vista Township officials an LED streetlight Dec. 6. Township officials pictured left to right are Teresa Kelly, Buena Vista Township Deputy Mayor; Township Committeemen John H. Williams and John Armato; Kenia Nunez-Acuna, Township Administrator; Steve Martinelli Sr., Township Committeeman; and Chuck Chiarello, Mayor, Buena Vista Township.

Atlantic City Electric to Install LED Streetlights in the Township 

MAYS LANDING, N.J. (Dec.8, 2016) – Atlantic City Electric (ACE) recently began work to convert nearly 700 existing street light fixtures to more energy efficient light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs in Buena Vista Township, N.J. Over the next month, ACE will convert all streetlight fixtures in Buena Vista Township to LED.

Buena Vista’s Township Committee approved a bond in September to fund the project after determining that new LED streetlights will save residents money while reducing the township’s carbon footprint.

“We are pleased to offer a more energy efficient lighting option to our customers,” said Vince Maione, Atlantic City Electric region president. “LED bulbs use less energy, reduce operating costs and are better for the environment compared to traditional streetlights.”

“The LED project will not only save Buena Vista taxpayers money in the long run, it’s an environmentally-friendly action in shrinking our carbon footprint,” said Buena Vista Township mayor Chuck Chiarello. “Our streets will be brighter with less energy being used and on-going maintenance to our streetlights will be greatly reduced. Buena Vista Township is among the very first towns in Atlantic County to implement this type of program that should be a model for other communities to follow. The Township Committee was 100 percent behind this project and expedited it in record time allowing work to begin promptly,” added Chiarello.

Atlantic City Electric lineman Todd Haig installs a light-emitting diode (LED) light Dec. 6 in Buena Vista Township. Atlantic City Electric recently began work to convert nearly 700 existing street light fixtures to more energy efficient LED lights in the township.

LED lighting benefits include:

• • LED lighting reduces environmental impact. On average, LED’s can reduce energy use by up to 65 percent depending on the type and size of the existing fixture.

• • LED bulbs require less maintenance. LED’s have a life-span of approximately 20 years compared to about 5 years for a standard High Pressure Sodium bulb.

For more information about Atlantic City Electric, visit atlanticcityelectric.com. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/atlanticcityelectric and on Twitter at twitter.com/acelecconnect.

Our mobile app is available at atlanticcityelectric.com/mobileapp.

As reported in ShoreNews Today; Legislation sponsored by Sen. Jim Whelan and Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo, D-Atlantic, that would help existing industrial businesses in the Pinelands region grow and create jobs was signed into law by Gov. Christie Monday.

The law would allow existing rural development areas zoned for industrial use in the Pinelands to qualify for incentives through the Grow New Jersey and Economic Redevelopment and Growth programs.

“This is a great day for Atlantic County,” said Whelan. “Working in a bipartisan fashion, we were able to implement a law that is going to help Atlantic County’s largest manufacturing facility expand and create jobs.”

“Atlantic County families are still reeling from the recent casino closings,” said Mazzeo. “Extending incentives to companies who want to stay and grow in New Jersey will provide a much-needed lifeline to our region while at the same time having no negative effect on our beautiful Pinelands.”

The new law will help Comar, a company in Buena Vista Township that manufactures plastic bottles and packaging materials for medication, powders, supplements and more. The company said it would be forced to leave the state unless it can expand its existing facility.

With assistance from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Comar will expand, allowing for the creation of about 150 new jobs and bringing in more tax revenue to the township, according to a joint statement released by the legislators.

Buena Vista Township Mayor Chuck Chiarello said the region cannot afford to lose any more jobs or businesses and called the passage of the law a win-win for Comar and Atlantic County.

Whelan and Mazzeo said feedback was solicited from various environmental groups on the legislation, including the Sierra Club. Comar will not be increasing its footprint, and the new law narrowly applies to existing businesses already zoned for industrial use.

Credit of Story is ShoreNewsToday