‘Big if’

The decision whether or not to acquire the former Presbyterian Church property is taking legal and negotiating twists and turns for the Middlesex Borough Council.

The council passed a resolution on Tuesday, March 26 that calls for the municipality’s purchase price of the parcel to be reduced to $350,000 from the original $900,000 contract figure arrived at in 2022.

But prior to the resolution’s approval it was discussed in a roughly 20-minute executive session. The resolution was passed by a 5-0 vote. Councilman Jeremiah Carnes was absent.

During the earlier public meeting, Borough Attorney Chris Corsini called the potential purchase of the property a “big if,” signaling that the buy still might not happen. The degree of remaining pollution on the parcel appears to be an issue in the talks.

Mayor Jack Mikołajczyk and Corsini offered few details about the situation when asked by Inside – Middlesex during the public meeting. Both referred to negotiations, appearing to suggest that the call for a lower purchase price might be part of bargaining between the borough and church property owner.

The resolution states that the borough “seeks to execute a Second Addendum to reduce the contract price to $350,000, in light of the environmental contamination found on the site as determined by the borough’s Phase Two environmental examination and consistent with the Presbyterian Church’s communication to the borough attorney on or about Feb. 16, 2024.”

In the past, officials have mentioned recreation, senior services and an emergency shelter as potential uses for the former church building. The Mountain Avenue property is located adjacent to the Ronald S. Dobies municipal building. Online real estate sites say it totals roughly six acres in size.

On the other side of the church parcel is the former municipal landfill. The landfill property has been the subject of environmental remediation and monitoring. It was discovered in the 1960s that soil trucked from the former Middlesex Sampling Plant (MSP) site had been buried at the landfill two decades before. The MSP site had processed uranium as part of Manhattan Project research that developed the first atomic bomb.

Mikolajczyk and Corsini revealed little about the current status of the negotiations when asked why the borough is pursuing a “contaminated” property,

Corsini said officials would be free to talk more when negotiations are concluded. He said officials are doing their “due diligence” on the matter. Both the attorney and mayor stressed the council is not rushing into a deal.

Mikolajczyk said the governing body could not – at this time – reveal more details even though the resolution mentions a $350,000 purchase.

 “I hate to say it, but at this point, it is a pretty hot and heavy negotiation so we really can’t,” the mayor said. “We’re not just going to throw $350,00 out the window.”

Neither would reveal what the property’s potential contamination cleanup cost might be. Corsini said the study is “in the hands” of borough engineers. “We’re going to do due diligence to the end to make sure the borough is protected,” he said.

Mikolajczyk was asked if seniors or recreation staff would want to frequent the site, given the resolution’s description of it as contaminated.

“There’s a large definition of contaminated,” the mayor said. “It’s a large piece of property and not everything affects the building.”

“It’s very complicated,” Mikolajczyk continued. “It’s not as simple as it seems on the surface right now.” 

“We’re putting the time and the effort in to make sure Middlesex is in the best possible position – period,” the mayor said.

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