Ecological advice

Nearly two decades after it inexplicably disappeared from Middlesex Borough government, the Environmental Commission will return.

Members of the nearly reformed commission will be appointed by Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk at the Tuesday, March 26 Borough Council meeting.

The agenda for that session lists the intended appointees to the panel.

Clare Levourne and Mike Schneider will be appointed for three-year terms; Holly Muller and Greg Cosentino, two-year terms;  Steve Ember and Gina Salgado, one-year terms. Councilman Robert Dessino will serve as the Joint Land Use Board’s (JLUB) representative. Patti Clark will serve as an alternate.

Talk of making the commission active once again began more than two years ago. But initially, then-Mayor John Madden said there was a lack of interested volunteers.

The commission’s duties are outlined in state statute. The group promotes environmental projects such as recycling and also weighs in with recommendations on development applications.

The commission’s input on site plans is strictly advisory. Approval and rejection power will remain solely with the Joint Land Use Board.

The council authorized the formation of a commission via ordinance back in 2000. Recently, however, the borough clerk said there is no record of the panel meeting after 2007.

Exactly why the borough’s Environmental Commission ceased operations is an open question. According to state law, a legally constituted commission cannot be abolished unless the municipal governing body repeals the ordinance that established it.

Rather than being abolished, Middlesex’s commission stopped convening for reasons that are unclear today. Shortly after 2007, efforts to redevelop sections of Lincoln Boulevard began. 

The New Jersey Legislature passed a law in 1968 that authorized municipal governments to establish conservation commissions. Those commissions were intended to advise on natural resource and open space issues.

Later amendments renamed them environmental commissions and expanded their duties to include pollution prevention, solid waste management, noise control and public education on related matters.

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