The incredible residents of Maple Shade dove headfirst into the Gingerbread House Contest, getting their hands deliciously messy! These fantastic houses will be on display, showcasing their sweet creativity in the main lobby of the Municipal Building.

Swing by, feast your eyes on these sugary wonders, and cast your vote for the most scrumptious house! Voting opens from December 15th through the 28th, so make sure your voice is heard in this sweet showdown!

TAX COLLECTOR

ANCHOR PROGRAM

The deadline to file an application for the Anchor Program is Friday, December 29, 2023.

Please click HERE for the application, any questions, and the status of your benefits.

GO PAPERLESS!

We are pleased to announce a new electronic billing option for Water and Sewer Bills. 

You may now receive your Water and Sewer Bill online via email.

Click HERE for directions.

You can also go to https://mapleshade.com/tax-collector/ or contact the Tax Collector’s Office at 856-779-9610 ext. 156 to sign up.

Sustainable Maple Shade Invites you to Attend their January Meeting

The next Sustainable Maple Shade General Meeting will be held on January 9th at 6:00pm in the Maple Shade Library Meeting Room. All are welcome to attend.

Sustainable Maple Shade is Looking for More Volunteers

Want to be part of the change to make the earth a cleaner place? Want to help make our town be more resilient for the future? Join Sustainable Maple Shade on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. at the Lions Club for an evening of food, facts and fun. Meet the current members of the Green Team, learn about the projects we are working on and how you can help. RSVP by January 4th by scanning the QR code below or by emailing sustainablemapleshade@gmail.com.

Sustainable Maple Shade Expands NexTrex Recycling Program

Sustainable Maple Shade now has NexTrex Recycling boxes at the Municipal Building, Columbia Bank, the Fire House, the WaterGate Common Building and the Park Crossing Club House. Residents are encouraged to continue to drop off their NextTrex accepted plastic at the above locations in order to help Sustainable Maple Shade earn another bench. Acceptable NextTrex plastics include clean and dry produce bags, ice bags, cereal box liners, bread bags, newspaper sleeves and plastic e-commerce mailers. 

Sustainable Maple Shade Earns Silver Status

Sustainable Maple Shade has met the rigorous requirements to achieve Sustainable Jersey certification at the silver level. Certified towns were announced at the Sustainable Jersey Annual Luncheon on November 14, 2023, in Atlantic City at the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Conference.

For the 2023 Sustainable Jersey application cycle, Maple Shade was one of the 20 towns to achieve certification at the more advanced silver-level to make a total of 70 towns that are silver-certified in the program. Silver-level certification requires that a town meet a minimum of 350 points. Sustainable Maple Shade earned 360 points.

The Business and Economic Development Commission (BEDC) invites current Maple Shade residents to participate in an important community survey. Your insights are key to fostering growth & development, and making Maple Shade an even better place to Live, Eat, and Play! The BEDC's quick 18-question survey is your chance to influence positive changes in our town. Plus, as a thank-you for your valuable input, you'll automatically be entered into a Shade Bucks raffle—a token of our appreciation for your time and ideas.

Click the link below to take the survey now! Paper copies are also available at the Municipal Building. Join us in shaping a vibrant future for Maple Shade!

https://forms.gle/dXyy41tZxtd8vhc77

The Maple Shade Police Department is revving up for the holiday season! November has been a busy month and December will surely be fun-filled as well!

We started out the month by teaming up with some wonderful Secret Service Agents who came out and made information cards for parents that includes biographical data, a current photo and inkless fingerprints as part of the Operation Safe Kids initiative. Thank you to our Secret Service partners!

On November 4, the men and women of the MSPD were invited to Howard Yocum Elementary School to join in celebrating our veteran heroes with a breakfast and ceremony. The staff and students presented an award to Dsg. Scot Wallace of the MSPD for “Veteran of the Year”. 

The Fill the Truck Food Event wrapped up at the Maple Shade Custard Stand on November 14, 2023. Continuing with tradition, it was a cold November night, however that did not stop our generous donors from stopping by with vehicle loads full of food.

A special thank you to all of our local businesses that hosted our donation bins. We could not have done this without you! Thank you to Bentley Truck and our drivers, Chuck and CJ Wiest, for all the help. Thank you to Johnny Fischer for supplying the parking lot and lots of free water ice! Please show your support to our local supporters at:

• Bentley Truck Services
• The Alden Cafe
• A Shade Above Hair Salon
• Rise Chiropractic Inc.
• Montessini
• Montegrillo
• Happy Hour Social Club
• Sub Shoppe
• Smith Brothers
• 9 West Main Hair Salon
• Crust N' Fire
• Eastern Lift Truck
• BJ's Wholesale
• Stonhard 
• The Maple Shade Custard Stand
• Ed & Sons Auto Glass

Congratulations to our contest winners, Fierce Diversity!

1st Place- Fierce Diversity

2nd Place-Maple Shade Girls Softball

3rd Place- Maple Shade Soccer Club

4th Place- Maple Shade Youth Cheer

Everyone is a winner with this event! The Maple Shade Food Bank received thousands of donated non-perishable items just in time for the holiday season!

Interesting Fact: You may have noticed the MSPD personnel sporting facial hair. Did you know that those officers pay to participate in, “No Shave November” and “Beards for the Year”? 

Officers pay monthly, or for the year to don their facial hair. A portion of that money is donated directly to the Maple Shade Food Bank and a portion of the  donations are set aside to purchase give away items for our community members throughout the year. 

On November 16, Teri Zahradnick, of the Maple Shade Food Bank was presented with a $2000 donation from this fun, hair growing event.

Congregation Kol Ami, in Cherry Hill, NJ, has always supported the law enforcement community. On November 14, the synagogue opened it’s doors once again to show it’s appreciation to law enforcement officers in the area. Officers and Administrative personnel were welcomed with a hearty, traditional breakfast, provided with handmade cards and graced with a visit from local students. We were honored to be invited as special guests to this celebration. Thank you Kol Ami! 

Tip of the Month

from the MSPD

Lock it or Lose It! Lock your vehicles. Lock your doors even when you are at home!

Keep an eye out for our upcoming event:

Pizza With Patrols

Have a safe and healthy holiday season

from the MSPD!

RECREATION

TECH HELP THURSDAYS

LIL SOUS CHEFS COOKING DECEMBER CLASSES

LEGO & TOY DRIVE

The above picture shows the results of our 2023 Toy/LEGO drive for Pediatric Cancer Awareness. Thank you to all those who have contributed to putting a smile on the faces of kids that are in the hospital battling illnesses. These items will be delivered just in time for the holiday season. Maple Shade proudly supports Kart 4 Kids!

WATER & SEWER UTILITIES

Winter is quickly approaching, and cold temperatures can easily damage an exposed water meter. If your water meter is installed in an unheated location, such as an unheated porch or a crawl space, it needs to be protected from the cold. If your water meter is damaged because it becomes frozen, you may be responsible for the replacement fee, currently $480.00.

Maple Shade Utilities will supply and install an insulating jacket on your water meter free of charge, so property owners do not have to worry about the liability of the replacement fee. The installation of an insulating jacket takes less than 10 minutes. All you need to do is call the utility at (856) 488-7450 and schedule an appointment for the installation of an insulating meter jacket.

The staff of Maple Shade Utilities would like to wish you and your family Happy Holidays!

DECEMBER TOWNSHIP MEETINGS:

Wednesday, December 13th - Zoning Board Meeting at 7:00PM

Thursday, December 14th - Town Council Meeting at 6:30PM

Wednesday, December 20th - Planning Board Meeting at 7:00PM

DECEMBER EVENTS:

Saturday, December 2nd -

Holiday Festival from 4PM - 7PM - Main Street by Gazebo Park

Friday, December 8th -

Photos with Santa from 6PM - 7:30PM - Municipal Building

*Pre-Registration Required (see information above)