November 25, 2015

Dear NJGCA Member:

Thank you for reading this week's NJGCA Road Warrior!

Here is what you will find in this edition:

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!

MANDATORY TIRE REGISTRATION UPDATE: IMPORTANT WEEK
BREAKFAST MEETING IN LEBANON TWP. POSTPONED!!
FIRST TOWN IN NJ APPROVES PLASTIC BAG FEE
THANKSGIVING GREETING

This week's message will be short, but still very important...
 
Tire Registration Update:  I saw that many of you responded to my request to contact your legislators regarding mandatory tire registration this week. Some of you even forwarded me the response that you received from Senator Booker, which was pretty interesting. If you have not seen it, Senator Booker's letter is HERE.  I took the opportunity to pen a letter of my own to the Senator, re-addressing my concerns and building off of his position on the issue to present a logical, common-ground solution that we should both be able to agree on, as an alternative to the provision in the current Highway Funding Bill which is being considered in conference committee.  To read my letter to Senator Booker, click HERE.  My letter to Senator Booker makes reference to tire manfacturers marketing directly to consumers.  The example referenced is available HERE.
 
Additionally, as you know from last week's Road Warrior, there is a new conferee on the Tire Registration Conference Committee, and lucky for us, his office is 20 minutes from ours.  Eric and I met him this morning, along with my counterpart Roy Littlefield from WMDA/TIA in Maryland, and NJGCA Board Members Craig Copeland and Joe Ocello.

Eric Blomgren, Joe Ocello, Sal Risalvato, Congressman Pallone, Craig Copeland and Roy Littlefield

 
The meeting with Congresmman Pallone went well. He understood our issues relatively quickly, and he agreed that this policy would be burdensome and harmful to small business owners.  However, he fears that, politically, it might be too late, since the provision is already present in both versions of the bill that went into Conference Committee. Congressman Pallone indicated that the will reach out in favor of a study of tire registration options, which would focus on a more technologically-advanced procedure (such as chip scanners) and also having a third party organization, such as The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) being the one to store the consumer information, instead of handing it right over to manufacturers. We continue to work diligently on this effort and we keep hope alive that there is a reasonable compromise to be found somewhere.
 
Next, I need to unfortunately postpone the Diner Tour meeting in Lebanon Twp on December 1st.  It seems that I might be in Washington DC next week, and I want to give you this update before we get too close to the date and it becomes a last-minute scramble. Please look for more info regarding the rescheduled date in future emails.  
 
Next, an important issue for NJGCA convenience store owners; this week, Longport became the first town in NJ to impose a fee for the use of plastic bags, with a unanimous vote from borough commissioners. You may recall that Princeton was considering a similar ordinance, which ultimately never passed.  However, in Princeton, a compromise solution was formed when merchants banded together to create a bag-recycling program. The NJ Retail Merchants Association advocated for the same program to be developed in Longport, instead of imposing this "tax" or fee.  Our concern is that Longport has indicated that it hopes to become an example for every municipality in the State, similar to the problems we are facing on the issue of raising the age to sell tobacco, and the paid sick leave issue, which municipalities have chosen to take up on their own after they were defeated at the State level.

Finally, I want to send a holiday message to you and your families.  My first order of business is to thank everyone who so generously participated in our Turkey Drive.  Your kindness is an example of what this holiday season is truly all about. I hope that when you sit down at the table with your family, you take a moment to reflect on how lucky you are, and how your contribution changed Thanksgiving for one or more families this year.  With all the turmoil and unrest in the world right now, we take this opportunity to think back on the people that came to this country to enjoy the freedoms that we are so blessed to have.  They saw fit to hold the first Thanksgiving, and it turned into a great American tradition that we still carry on today.  So, take time to reflect, relax and enjoy the blessings that you have.   Happy Thanksgiving!

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

TRAINING CLASSES!!
All classes held at NJGCA HQ -- 4900 Route 33 West, Wall Township, NJ 07753

**NEW** Emission Repair Technician Re-Certification Class
Four (4) Full Days -- 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM -- December 9, 15, 22 & 29

Section 8 – Advanced Gasoline Technologies (Wednesday, December 9)
Section 9 – Advanced Light Duty Diesel (Tuesday, December 15 & 22)         
Section 10 – Hybrid/Electric Technologies (Tuesday, December 29)

Cost = $635 Member
$765 Non-Member

For more information and registration form, CLICK HERE.

Emissions Inspector Training -- Tuesday, December 8th

Class Starts 7:00 AM (donuts and coffee provided)
Pizza and soda served at 12:00 pm
MVC Test at 1:00 PM

Cost: Member = $250
Non-Member = $300

Please bring $50.00 check made payable to NJMVC to satisfy the State's licensing fee

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

FUTURE CLASSES WILL BE ADDED UPON REQUEST AND ACCORDING TO DEMAND. CONTACT DEBBIE at 732-256-9646 or DEBBIE@NJGCA.ORG TO LET HER KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TAKING A SPECIFIC CLASS.  THIS WILL ALLOW US TO GAUGE YOUR NEEDS AND KEEP TRACK OF THOSE WISHING TO PARTICIPATE!!

CLASSIFIEDS! -- FOR SALE & HELP WANTED ADS 

NJGCA MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER GILL ENERGY LOOKING TO HIRE FOR (3) DIFFERENT POSITIONS!

District Manager
Store Manager
Trucking Operations Manager

For more information about these positions, and to submit a resume for consideration, please contact: ravigill@gillenergy.com.

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

11/25/2015:
Readers want a road tax solution
If more money is needed to fix NJ's roads, Lauren Maehrlein is willing to kick in another 5 cents on top of the current 14.5 cents per gallon that NJ drivers have been paying in motor-fuel and petroleum-product taxes since 1993. "Prices for everything go up, and people need to accept that if they want safe, intact roads, they need to pay for them," reasoned the New Milford reader. Maehrlein obviously isn't among the 57% of NJ drivers who rejected any idea of hiking these taxes when surveyed last month in a Rutgers-Eagleton poll. Neither is Clifton's Helen Berkenbush, who is willing to go as high as 20 cents more. Both of them together can't match the generosity of Luciano Marquez of Hasbrouck Heights, who's willing to open his wallet for another 45 cents a gallon. But none of these arguments does anything to replenish the TTF, the repository of motor-fuels revenue. Starting July 1, the fund will have only enough money to pay interest on the bonds it has generated.  

11/24/2015:
Portland Bans New Gas Stations to Fight Global Warming
The Portland City Council took a stand against global warming by approving a resolution that effectively prevents any new gas stations from being built in city borders. According to a report by the Daily Caller, the resolution prevents the construction of new facilities to transport or store oil, gasoline, coal and natural gas within Portland. However, the council did not unilaterally ban gas and oil to avoid violating interstate commerce laws. Still, the resolution will make shipping of fossil fuels prohibitively expensive for companies. “Our work is not done yet, but we feel that with this unanimous vote, there is good chance that the codifying language will be strong and signal to the fossil fuel industry that Portland is not open for their business,” director of a local environmental group said. Environmentalists claim the council's resolution is a huge victory against energy interests. 
 
11/19/2015:
Goldman eyes $20 oil as glut overwhelms storage sites
The world is running out of storage facilities for surging supplies of oil and may soon exhaust tanker space offshore, raising the chances of a violent plunge in crude prices over coming weeks, experts have warned. Goldman Sachs told clients that the increasing glut of oil on the global market has combined with mild weather from a freak El Nino this winter. The twin-effect could send prices plummeting to $20 a barrel, the so-called ‘cash cost’ that forces drillers to abandon production. “Risks of a sharp leg lower remain elevated,” it said. Oil has fallen from $110 a barrel early last year and is stuck near $40 for US crude, and $44 for Brent in Europe. The US investment bank said the overall glut in the commodity markets may take another twelve months to clear. It cited ‘red flag’ signals on the Shanghai Future Exchange over recent days. Copper contracts point to “imminent weakening” in China’s ‘old economy’ of heavy industry and construction, it said.

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD:

TMP Energy Solutions
Another Way to Save on Your Energy Bills

We have had a number of NJGCA members successfully reduce their rate per kWh signing up through our energy saving program. We know it's difficult to collect 12 months worth of previous electric bills to get an "accurate" analysis when comparing a variable rate to a fixed rate, but we now have another option available. 

This new solution is a power purchase option; the other program is still in full force and has saved members thousands of dollars. If you sign up for the power purchase option, you will be grouped with other NJGCA members until the minimum KW demand is acquired. By pooling the member's usage together, you will be able to take advantage, as large energy users do, and receive a lower kWh rate.

Each member will receive their own contract. Each member is responsible to sign and return the agreement the day it is received in order to secure the price for their group.

Please do your due diligence, so when you receive the proposal and the agreement you will be able to make an intelligent decision.

If by chance, you still want us to assess you bills, to give you a price to compare, we will require 12 months of your most recent utility bills.

There are no bills required, but we would still like to have one bill per meter on file to check account #'s, meter #'s  service addresses and other pertinent information incase there is a problem.

The term of the agreement is for 12 months. During this term period, you will have price protection against any energy price increases along with a low fixed kWh rate.

If you are interested in becoming part of this power purchase option, please contact Greg Cannon at the NJGCA.

Remember when you sign up your energy through the NJGCA Energy Program, TMP makes a considerable donation to the NJGCA Scholarship Fund through their proceeds. This has no affect on your rate, and costs you nothing out of pocket.

We hope to help hundreds of NJGCA members reduce their utility costs by participating in this and our other cost reduction programs.  Our purpose, in the endeavor, is to help NJGCA members lower their energy costs while supporting the NJGCA Scholarship Fund. 

Contact GREG CANNON at 732-256-9646 or email Greg at greg@njgca.org. Mention that you are interested in saving money on your energy bills. NJGCA & TMP Energy Solutions will handle all the rest.