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Road Warrior Newsletter


November 17, 2017

Dear NJGCA Member:

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

Here is what you will find in this edition:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:
• DEP Enforcement Alert: Tampering of Emission Control Systems; Renewed Threat of Higher Tobacco Taxes; The Prospect of Beer and Wine in Convenience Stores; Marketplace Update

NJGCA CLASSIFIEDS
- Monmouth County: Gas Station and Repair Shop Business Since 2001
- Asbury Park: Commercial Building for Sale. Possible Sale of Business
- Bergen County: Shell Gas Station with 6-Bay Repair Shop for Sale

NEWS AROUND THE STATE
Tesla Opens Its 1st C-Stores
How N.J.'s newest convenience store Royal Farms stacks up to  Wawa
After Debit Card Fee Reform, It’s Time to Focus on Credit Cards

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE!
• Entire Emission Repair Technician Course - Started Nov. 7th
• Emissions Inspector Training 1-Day only, December 7th

MEMBER BENEFIT PARTNER MESSAGE BOARD
• The Amato Agency: Garage Insurance and Workers Compensation! 
• ATS Environmental: Confidence in your Tank & Compliance Testing

• Bellomo Fuel: Exceptional Service, Aggressive Petroleum Marketing
• CBIZ Insurance: Our Business is Growing Yours!

Gill Energy: Getting you There!
• Lending Capital: "Commercial Loans Made Easy" Program
• Salomone Brothers: Tank Testing and Environmental Compliance
• TMP Energy Solutions: Another Way to Save On Your Energy Bills

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
• Participate in the NJGCA PAC today and help us keep our Agenda rolling in Trenton!

Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

JOIN NJGCA ON FACEBOOK -- CLICK HERE
TO SEE OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL -- CLICK HERE

                                                                                                                                                                 

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

DEP ENFORCEMENT ALERT: TAMPERING OF EMISSION CONTROL SYSTEMS
RENEWED THREAT OF HIGHER TOBACCO TAXES
THE PROSPECT OF BEER AND WINE IN CONVENIENCE STORES
MARKETPLACE UPDATE

First this week, I received an email from NJ DEP requesting that we inform our members that tampering of emission control systems on diesel and gasoline vehicles is prohibited. Obviously you all should know this and clearly should not be engaging in this practice, however, we were specifically asked to make sure it was not happening.  This also leads me to believe that you will see enforcement efforts ramping up, which we of course want our members to be aware of and prepared for.  The DEP compliance advisory and enforcement alert can be found HERE.
 
This week it was announced that voters in Aspen, Colorado approved an increase in tobacco taxes to the tune of $3/pack of cigarettes, and a 40% increase on taxes on other tobacco products, including cigars and electronic cigarettes.  This will go into effect on January 1, 2018, along with another new Aspen law raising the legal age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 21 years old. I wanted to discuss this with you so that you understand that we must be prepared for renewed efforts to raise the tobacco tax in New Jersey with the new, incoming Legislature (with an even larger Democratic majority in both Houses) and new Governor taking control in January. The Democrats were the party who proposed all of the new tobacco taxes that we have fortunately been able to defeat in the past three years, including the effort to impose a new tax of $2.70 per cigar.  Our job is only going to get more difficult in the near future, but we will never stop fighting!  
 
Another fight that we plan to undertake more aggressively in the coming year is the effort to allow beer and wine sales in convenience stores. This was also in the news this week in Indiana, as two retail groups joined together in opposition to expanding beer sales to drug and grocery stores.  We have laid the groundwork with legislators over past few years, but we expect huge opposition from liquor stores and restaurants that serve alcohol. However, we also do expect to have the supermarkets on our side. Although NJ alcohol laws are antiquated, the industries that sell beer and wine have invested their life savings and will fight like junkyard dogs to make sure that we don't intrude on their turf and endanger their sales.
 
A big irony that exists as a result of the election of Phil Murphy to be Governor is that he has campaigned on the promise to legalize marijuana. I think it would be very ironic if at some point you would be permitted to sell marijuana in your stores but not beer or wine.  We will see how all of this shapes up in the coming months.
 
Finally, I mentioned the marketplace last week, and just as a follow-up, there has been some minor movement downward in both crude oil and gasoline this week. It's too early to tell if the trend will continue through the end of the year, but I will continue to keep you updated.

 
Thanks for reading -- See you next week!

Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

                                                                                                                                                         

TRAINING CLASSES!!

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

Emissions Inspector Training Class - One Day Only!
THURSDAY, December 7th -- 7am to 3pm

Want one of your technicians to become a NJ Emissions Inspector? We can help! Our one-day class will provide all the information for becoming a NJ Emissions Inspector, and the State will administer the written test the very same day at our offices!  We are offering the class: Thursday, December 7 from 7:00am to 3:00pm. Cost $275.

Click HERE for the registration form.

Emission Technician Education Program (ETEP) - Entire Repair Technician Curriculum - Started Nov. 7th
Stop turning away work!!  The New Jersey Inspection Program requires vehicles that fail emissions inspection to go to a Licensed Certified Emission Inspector for Repairs!
 When the new program begins, a list of Certified Emission Repair Shops will be given to vehicle owners! If you want your business name on the list – make sure you have a Certified Licensed Emission Repair Technician & an Emission Repair Facility License!

This class runs on Tuesdays and Thursday from 2:00 PM to 10:00 PM for
FIVE consecutive weeks.
Class begins on Tuesday, November 7th and ends on Tuesday December 12th.
NO CLASS ON THANKSGIVING, THURSDAY, NOV 23.

Fees for members are $2,195 and non-members are $2,495.
$500 deposit is due at time of registration.

Click HERE for registration form.

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

FOR SALE:

Business For Sale: Monmouth County gas station and repair shop in business since 2001 is for sale. Owner is relocating out of state and is interested in selling business and equipment. Owner is open to limited financing. Business has a strong 10 year lease. The building has two repair bays and the gas pumps are leased to a large independent tenant. Repair shop business currently employs a Manager and two full-time Technicians. For inquiries and more info, please call Mark at 908-670-7798.

FOR SALE:
Commercial Building in Asbury Park, Possible Sale of Business, Too!  For listing information, please click HERE.
FOR SALE:
Shell Gas Station with 6-Bay Repair Shop for Sale in Bergen County!

Business established in 1980. Fully equipped repair shop with 5 lifts including an alignment rack with a 2-year-old Hunter Hawkeye alignment machine. New Hunter tire machine & wheel balancer. AAA aproved and very busy.
Towing business also available which includes 3 Freightliner/JerrDan flatbeds (2015, 2016 & 2017), a 2012 Dodge crew cab wrecker with a Jerrdan Quick Pick & dual cable winch & 2 service trucks (a 2012 GMC 2500 utility truck with a plow & a 2014 Ford transit battery/service vehicle).

Pumping over 1,000,000 gallons per year. 100x300 lot with plenty of parking. Excellent location!!! Call Jim @ 201-851-3084.

         

                                                                                                                                                                         

NEWS AROUND THE STATE: THE NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW

11/16/2017:
Tesla Opens Its 1st C-Stores

 In its most direct challenge to the convenience-store industry to date, electric-car maker Tesla has built two 40-stall Supercharger stations in Kettleman City and Baker, Calif. According to Tesla-focused online news source Teslarati, the stations are meant to serve as members-only lounges so families traveling between Los Angeles, San Francisco or Las Vegas have a comfortable place to wait while their vehicle charges. Tesla’s members-only lounge could be a preview of what the electric-charging c-stores of tomorrow might look like and the sort of competition existing c-stores might expect from Tesla in the future. Click the link above for a closer look inside Tesla’s first c-stores and other industry-related moves it’s making…
 
 11/10/2017
How N.J.'s newest convenience store Royal Farms stacks up to Wawa

Royal Farms, a new Baltimore-based convenience store chain, has set up shop just down the road in South Jersey from the established pound-for-pound area leader Wawa. The head-to-head competition appears to foreshadow what the challenger has in mind for the future. Royal Farms plans to open five more stores in South Jersey over the next 18 months. With about 185 stores, mostly in the mid-Atlantic, Royal Farms is not within sniffing distance of Wawa's more than 1,000 along the East Coast from New York to Florida.  But the upstart offers intriguing menu items, such as fried chicken, on and off the bone and in salads and sandwiches, along with standard convenience fare, such as tobacco, money orders and lottery, as well as value-priced fuel.  Click above for a snapshot of how Royal Farms compares to Wawa in areas such as coffee and sandwiches.
 
11/09/2017:
After Debit Card Fee Reform, It’s Time to Focus on Credit Cards

Seven years ago, Congress decided the big banks were ripping off merchants and consumers on debit cards. Members introduced some old-fashioned competition to make this business fairer and your prices lower. And recently, over the protests of the big banks, Congress reaffirmed its commitment to keep debit card fees fairer and more competitive for merchants and consumers. Now, you wouldn’t start building a two-story house and stop after only one story. You wouldn’t have only half a suit dry cleaned. So it’s fair to ask: Now that everyone (but the banks) agrees debit cards needed fixing and have benefited from reform, when will some fairness and competition come to credit cards?  Every time these swipe fees come up, the banks spew a smokescreen of disinformation, fearful of losing the tens of billions of dollars they’re gouging from small merchants and consumers. But despite all their propaganda, there’s one fact they simply can’t deny or hide: that the fees the banks charge merchants when a customer swipes a credit card are rigged.  Click the link above to continue reading.
 

                                                                                                                                                                 

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. 

                                                                                                                                                                        



POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC

DEFENDING OUR MEMBERS.
PROTECTING YOUR INTERESTS.
ANSWER THE CALL & CONTRIBUTE TODAY!!

Promoting our agenda in Trenton is of utmost importance to NJGCA and our members.

However, in order to truly affect the debate, we must ensure our friends in the Legislature are re-elected. It is for this reason that your Association has established the NJGCA PAC.

For too long, the weight of funding our Political Action Committee, the arm of the Association responsible for political donations, has rested upon a few. This is not only unfair to those few members who have shouldered this burden, but means we are not utilizing our full strength to affect the debate in Trenton.

To truly understand the importance of supporting our allies, consider our successes in Trenton:

We defeated BELOW COST SELLING
We made history in getting FIRST RIGHT OF REFUSAL signed into law!
We have built large support for RIGHT TO REPAIR and got it passed out of the Assembly
We defended your small business against the false accusations of Attorney General Anne Milgram
We gained wide support to move New Jersey to an all PIF Inspection System and close the CIF lanes
...and MUCH MORE!!

In each instance, we achieved these goals with the help of our friends in the Legislature!

If every member contributes just $100.00 we will be able to provide the help necessary to ensure victory for our allies. 

PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
NJGCA PAC
4900 Route 33 West, Suite 100
Wall Township, NJ 07753
Please make your donation payable to NJGCA PAC

I understand that times are tough for all NJGCA members, but this is just as important as any battle we have fought in the past.

We have made great progress in Trenton. I hope that you will answer the call. 

                                                                                                                                     

*NEW* Energy Information Agency Weekly Retail Gasoline Prices

Each week, the Energy Information Administration publishes a list of average gasoline prices for the previous three weeks. NJGCA will begin including this list with the Weekly Road Warrior.  Remember, these prices are reflective of self-serve everywhere except NJ.