‘Talk is cheap’

Shrubs and bushes figure to be more lush this year due to above-average rainfall. But the wet weather and bureaucratic red tape have slowed efforts to protect two Heather Lane homes from being pitched into an adjacent stream.

There’s no prodding Mother Nature. But Middlesex Borough officials appear to be tiring of state government’s lack of help.

State Assemblywoman Michele Matsikoudis had two staff members at the municipal complex on Tuesday, March 12, part of a mobile office hours program. Matsikoudis and other legislators occasionally visit their district’s towns for a few hours to assist constituents with Social Security or other issues.

Matsikoudis talked with Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk and other local officials privately about the Heather Lane situation. It might have been interesting to be a fly on the wall.

The Assemblywoman was compelled to offer a few words on the situation to the roughly dozen or so people who gathered later for a Borough Council meeting. Mikolajczyk spoke on the topic after Matsikoudis departed.

Mikolajczyk was blunt in his assessment, noting there had been a discussion with Matsikoudis.

“We’re a little disappointed,” the mayor said. He added, “We don’t see it going anywhere.”

“Talk is cheap,” Mikolajczyk concluded. “We need some help.”

The borough applied for a state Resilient Communities Program grant in early January. It’s hoped that the grant can provide hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not more, to provide a permanent fix to the stream erosion that threatens the Heather Lane homes and more nearby on Holly Court.

Municipal officials and affected homeowners contend that the erosion problem has been exacerbated since 2021 by the feds’ Green Brook Flood Risk Management Project. That work has seen a pumping station and flood wall built not far from the endangered homes.

Matsikoudis sought to assure the audience at the council meeting. “We are doing everything we can,” she said, of herself and the 21st Legislative District team. She added that state government “sometimes moves slower than we’d like.”

The state’s 21st Legislative District, which now includes Middlesex Borough, is represented by Matsikoudis, Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz and state Sen. Jon Bramnick. All three are Republicans. Bramnick is running for governor this year.

Middlesex officials have been planning for a temporary fix to the erosion situation since last fall. The intent is to fortify a section of the stream bank with large, rebar-enforced cement blocks. Back then, supply chain issues became an issue.

A late January start was eyed for the project. A seemingly endless string of snow or rain storms has muddied the grounds near the stream, thwarting the access of heavy equipment.

Middlesex County has had 12.5 inches of precipitation since Jan. 1, according to the National Weather Service. That’s 4.5 inches above the county’s average for that period in a typical year.

Ken Beck, the owner of one of the endangered homes, had hoped Matsikoudis would stop by Tuesday to personally take a look at the erosion problem. Beck reached out to her office after hearing about the intended visit to Middlesex.

Bramnick has visited the Heather Lane site in the past, according to Beck, but neither Munoz nor Matsikoudis have done so. The home adjacent to Beck’s was deemed uninhabitable in March 2022, due the erosion’s severity.

When told that Matsikoudis had other things on her calendar prohibiting a Tuesday visit, Beck asked if her staff would stop by instead. Beck was told he’d get a call back the day prior to the council meeting. It never came, he said.

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