Strengths, threats

Middlesex Borough needs redevelopment revenue to mitigate rising municipal government costs. The community continues to deal with disturbances from industrial properties but has achieved stability in its zoning enforcement office.

Those were among the takeaways from a town hall meeting convened by Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk and the Borough Council on Wednesday, Dec. 3 at the Ronald S. Dobies municipal building.

The session saw the governing body, municipal department heads and about 30 audience members review lists of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that were compiled at a 2024 town hall, and review changes since then.

The meeting was a sort-of state of the borough commentary with officials noting where progress has and hasn’t been made.

One topic that officials tiptoed around was any reference to  the borough’s K-12 school district. 

The 2024 town hall saw local schools characterized as a strength. Since then, the district has endured a series of controversies including a bitter contract dispute with its teachers and ongoing parental dissatisfaction after the reassignment of a popular Hazelwood School principal.

“I’m not touching the schools,” Mikolajczyk said, noting that no administrators were present to comment on district topics. The audience, however, included Board of Education member Shannon Quinn and board member-elect Jeremiah Carnes.

Mikołajczyk said the review conducted at the town hall was the start of 2026 municipal budget work.

The following topics were among those mentioned at the meeting:

• It will be difficult next year to replicate the 2.5% municipal tax levy increase that occurred in 2025, the mayor said. Although the levy hike was limited to that amount, many property owners still saw tax bill increases higher than that percentage due a variety of factors. Rising costs – such as a 36% increase in employee health insurance covered through a state plan – continue to be a budgeting headache for officials

• Low taxes can’t be maintained without economic development, Mikolajczyk said, noting that discussions have been held with one party whom he did not identify. Builders “are starting to get interested in Middlesex again,” he said. 

• The governing body is in the early stages of determining how to address an aging 100-year-old sewer system. “If it goes bad, it’s going to be a big problem,” Mikolajczyk said. “It’s something you can’t keep kicking down the road. You’ve got to address it.” 

• Mikołajczyk and Police Chief Matt Geist advised community members to continue reporting noise and odor disturbances by industrial zone businesses. The mayor noted there are “a couple of bad actors” on Baekeland Avenue. The state Department of Environmental Protection and Middlesex County Environmental Health Division have been investigating. 

• Signs and other improvements by the state in 2024 addressed safety problems at the Cedar Avenue railroad crossing, according to Mikolajczyk. “We’re just about as far as we can go (with improvements),” he said. State officials have mentioned a potential bridge overpass at the site as the ultimate solution, but the mayor noted it’s been priced at $500 million.“Not in our lifetime,” he said.

• There is an ongoing need for volunteers to staff various municipal and community organizations. If a Volunteer Fair is again held in 2026, it may be in a different format than those held the past two years, officials said. 

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