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Director briefs public on utilities' progress VINELAND -- Joseph Isabella had a small crowd to speak to Thursday evening, but that didn't stop him from sharing the city electric utility's positive changes this past year. "We're moving to the 21st century and we're moving in a hurry, so stick with us, we have a long journey ahead of us," said the Vineland Municipal Electric Utility director. Thursday's meeting was the first since the city placed both the electric and water/sewer utilities under one new umbrella, the Department of Municipal Utilities. Eleven people attended the presentation in City Hall's Council Chambers. Harry Maloney, VMEU's assistant general manager, spoke about the 60-megawatt generating unit scheduled to go online at the West Avenue power plant in 2012. He said that thanks to the Cumberland County Improvement Authority, which is overseeing the financing for the project, the utility can sell some of the $60 million in public bonds to city residents to fund the generator. A few city residents asked if they would be allowed to make several monthly payments over time if they bought bond notes. Isabella replied that there would be a very short window for those purchases. He added that the sale date of the bond notes will be announced later. One resident said he was happy to see residents involved in the utility's future. "It's nice to see everybody together," Fritz Karl Von Reuter said. "It's fun to participate in something you believe in." Also at the meeting, Lisa Lucena, VMEU's assistant administrative analyst, said customers can now access their current bill, consumption, and billing history on the utility's Web site. There is also a new system available through which gift certificates can be purchased, allowing customers "to get the gift of water and electric," she said. Tom Van Noord, utilities' supervisor of accounts, spoke about renovations planned later this year to make the customer service area in City Hall easier for customers to use. He said an option allowing customers to pay their bills would be in place early next year. And John Snidenbach, the city's water/sewer superintendent, said the water utility is in the process of building two treatment systems and plans to build another well in the next few years. Additional Facts WEB SITE Visit the Vineland Municipal Electric Utility's Web site at www.vinelandcity.org/electric/vmeusite
Joseph Isabella |