Tweaks needed

Unveiling of the much-awaited Victor Crowell Park master plan was anticipated at the Middlesex Borough Council’s Tuesday, Oct. 28 meeting, but it didn’t happen.

Three meetings, designed to gather public input, were held in recent months. Despite several hours of discussion across those sessions, a few things made their way into the proposed plan that were contrary to the wishes of the Parks Improvement Committee and other officials.

“I have a few concerns,” Parks Committee member Rich Thomasey told the governing body, noting he had reviewed the proposed master plan last week.

How the apparent misread by Suburban Consulting Engineers (SCE) occurred, no one is saying. No SCE reps attended the Oct. 28 session.

The plan is being sent back to SCE for tweaks, before a rescheduled public presentation in the coming weeks. The Flanders-based consulting firm is being paid $50,000 to compile the document, which will be used to apply for county and state grants to fund VCP upgrades.

Improvements included in a recent conceptual plan were priced at $5 million with tens of millions more in projected need to dredge VCP’s Creighton Lake and remove sediment.

Thomasey identified several of his personal concerns. Among them were an “interior loop” comprising wood chips, a proposed pavilion near the green foot bridge, and redesign of the entranceway to the park through the former Foreign Express property.

The wood chips, Thomasey asserted, would be problematic for bikers or parents pushing strollers and wash away in the flooding that periodically hits the park.

The pavilion, he said, might become an “attractive nuisance” where teens could congregate after hours. That problem has sometimes existed previously at the stone boathouse.

The entrance redesign, he added, would negate the Foreign Express site from being used for additional parking. That was the purpose officials cited when the parcel was purchased a few years ago.

One other item cited by Thomasey, however, emerged as the lead head-scratcher. That was, the proposed relocation of the borough’s 9-11 memorial, which he opposes.

Located near the falls, the monument and adjacent stone benches pay tribute to Thomas Gorman, a Middlesex Borough resident and Port Authority police officer who perished on Sept. 11, 2001 after responding to the World Trade Center in New York City.

SCE’s master plan had the memorial relocated to the nearby Foreign Express property, presumably to remove it from flooding threats. That relocation was not mentioned – and not advocated – at this year’s public meetings.

At this week’s session, Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk weighed in, noting that he is also against moving the 9-11 memorial. He called the proposed relocation “ridiculous.”

Asked how a relocation without any public advocates could make it to the VCP master plan, officials claimed to have no idea.

During this year’s Sept. 11 memorial service, then-Borough Administrator Michael LaPlace mentioned the potential relocation of the 9-11 memorial to Inside – Middlesex. LaPlace’s resignation was accepted by the council on Oct. 14, part of what Mikolajczyk called an administrative “restructuring.” He remains on the municipal payroll until year’s end.

Thomasey told the council that if the 9-11 memorial is to be moved, the municipal complex on Mountain Avenue would be a more appropriate site than the former Foreign Express parcel.

Department of Public Works Supervisor Len Vidal has been assigned to work with SCE on rectifying the master plan’s problematic aspects.

Mikolajczyk said the master plan will continue to be open to revisions, even after SCE’s upcoming presentation.

“At the end of the day, this is a concept plan we use for funding,” the mayor said. “If you don’t have a plan, you’re stuck. This is to get us in the game.”

“This is part of the BS you put up with to get grants,” Mikolajczyk concluded.

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