A decision whether or not to proceed with the municipality’s acquisition of the former Presbyterian Church property, appears headed to the Borough Council this month.
The governing body held the latest in a long string of executive session discussions on the topic on Tuesday, Jan. 23. During that evening’s earlier open session, Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk predicted a resolution related to the property would be before the council in February.
Mikolajczyk would not say whether he expects that resolution will call for the church property’s acquisition or rejection of a proposed purchase. “Our goal is to weigh all the options and do what’s right for Middlesex,” he said.
The council has discussed the church property at numerous executive sessions since July 2022. A resolution authorizing the signing of a $900,000 purchase agreement was passed two months later. Officials explained then that the deal was pending an environmental assessment of the parcel.
The property is seen as potential space for senior and recreation programs, uses that the former OLMV School was eyed for roughly five years ago before a lease deal fell through. The former Presbyterian Church parcel is adjacent to borough hall on Mountain Avenue.
Long-running environmental issues have been a major sticking point in the potential Presbyterian Church acquisition. The church property sits adjacent to the former municipal landfill which was once found to have contaminated soil from the former Middlesex Sampling Plant that was part of the Manhattan Project.
Although remediated, the former landfill has been subject to continued government monitoring. A consultant turned in a report to the council on the church property in 2023 that totals more than 900 pages, including appendices.
When asked at the recent meeting, officials did not give a specific figure on how much has been spent on attorneys and consulting fees during the church property review. But they said it was not excessive.
Mikolajczyk said costs have been “within the realm of reasonableness.”
Containing costs have been “part of the consideration” during negotiations, said Borough Administrator Michael LaPlace.
While Mikołajczyk would not say whether the council is moving towards approval or rejection of the purchase, there have been suggestions it is the latter.
In late December, during an interview with Inside – Middlesex, former Mayor John Madden mentioned several recommendations for the council shortly before he departed office.
Madden said then that the council was awaiting a report on the church property from the state Department of Environmental Protection. He added that he believed the governing body should abandon plans to purchase the parcel due to environmental concerns.
While the council prepares to make a decision on the Presbyterian Church parcel, it has taken action to rename two other parcels that were acquired during 2023. During the Jan. 23 meeting, the governing body designated the two tracts’ new working titles.
The former Foreign Express property, which is adjacent to Victor Crowell Park, will be referred to as the Victor Crowell Park Annex.
The borough took ownership of the former Sampling Plant site last October from the federal government. That tract has been renamed the Mountain Avenue Facility.
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