Call the lawyer

Fueled by the recent Culture & Heritage Committee controversy, Presbyterian Church negotiations, and commercial property tax appeals, Middlesex Borough ran up a nearly $10,000 January bill from its primary legal counsel’s firm.

The Borough Council approved payment of the monthly legal bill totaling $9,825 at its March 26 meeting.

Asked about the amount, Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk and Borough Attorney Chris Corsini attributed the cultural group and church parcel issues as leading reasons for the unusually high bill.

Inside – Middlesex subsequently filed an Open Public Records Act request and obtained the invoice submitted by the council’s legal firm – Savo, Schalk, Corsini, Warner, Gillespie, O’Grodnick & Fisher. The bill shows work done for the borough by Corsini and several other members of his firm.

It turns out, additional matters contributed to the January legal bill. They included work on six commercial property tax appeals and other civil litigation. One seemingly questionable suit is being defended where a plaintiff has sued numerous state and Middlesex County officials, alleging that a probate matter was mishandled.

At the March 26 meeting, the council took action on the C&H and church matters.

The governing body introduced an ordinance establishing a revamped seven-member Culture & Arts Committee, which will work in conjunction with the Recreation Department. 

Future historical projects will be handled by the library’s Board of Trustees. Mikolajczyk had suggested changes after interviewing seven former members of the committee in the wake of five resignations last fall.

The Presbyterian Church matter saw the council pass a resolution on March 26, attaching an addendum to the 2022 contract to acquire the parcel. The original contract price was $900,000, but the addendum seeks to lower it to $350,000.

The resolution refers to the six-acre former church site on Mountain Avenue as “contaminated.” Officials have termed the ongoing talks about the property as “complicated,” and suggested the purchase still might not happen. The borough has had a consultant study the property.

Both issues contributed to the sizable January bill. The totals mentioned below were determined by Inside – Middlesex as best possible from the Savo, Schalk January invoice.

Some billed dates mention multiple matters as being worked on. A few others, such as a Jan. 16 charge, state generally what the topics were on a particularly date, such as “regarding pending legal matters,” but specifics are not given.

The C&H committee is mentioned in 10 billed items, accounting for seven hours of legal work. At $185 per hour, that amounts to $1,295.

Presbyterian Church property work is separated from other items on the bill. Its 3.9 hours of work is totaled at $661.50.

One group of charges refers to a plaintiff named “Marchisotto,” which is the probate-related matter in United States District Court. Defendants include members of the judiciary, the government, and anyone remotely involved in prior court action relating to the plaintiff’s deceased father’s estate, according to online sources. The January bill notes that former Mayor John Madden was among the defendants.

In January, one of Corsini’s associates spent 2.9 hours on the case, resulting in a $536.50 charge to the borough.

Another piece of civil litigation, involved an appellate oral argument, also handled by Corsini’s associate. A total of 6.1 hours of work resulted in an $1,128.50 charge to the borough.

Six tax appeals are listed on the bill, three noted as relating to 2023 and three to the current year. In 2022, the municipality conducted a property revaluation, its first in decades. Officials have said the review of values shifted the real estate tax burden, with commercial properties assuming a greater share than the past.

The appeals listed on the Savo, Schalk bill suggest that some commercial property owners are not on board with their newly adjusted values and bills.

The legal bill mentions work on six commercial appeals, accounting for 5.1 hours of work costing $943.50. Expenses are also listed totaling $750 for the three 2024 cases, a total charge of $1,693.50

The six appeals relate to the following properties:

(2023 cases)

• Amherst Investment Group – no address is listed on the bill. Borough tax records show the entity owning a commercial property at 17-19 William St.
• CHD Enterprises LLC – commercial property at 129 Lincoln Blvd.
• Lincoln Enterprises LLC – commercial property at 132 Lincoln Blvd.

(2024 cases)

• OT Bound Brook LLC – 600 Bound Brook Road. Online records show this address as being the Hampton Gardens apartments. The parcel’s owners paid $297,000+ in property taxes in 2023, according to the borough’s online tax records.
• 136 Lincoln Holdings LLC – commercial property at 136 Lincoln Blvd.
• Rosenthal Realty Management LLP – warehouse/storage commercial property at 544-600 Lincoln Blvd.

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