Boro gets more time to pay back $37M loan New stipulations give county greater say in Nat'l Lead matters BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer Middlesex County officials have agreed to again extend the deadline for Sayreville's payback of a $37 million loan. The borrowed money, used to condemn the 400-acre former National Lead site in 2004, was to be repaid by this week but will now be due in four months, on Dec. 1. Under the new agreement, the county now has the right to approve the selected developer and the terms and conditions of any redevelopment agreement. The Sayreville Economic Redevelopment Agency (SERA) asked for the extension, saying that four of the 12 developers who have expressed an interest in redeveloping the property are due to submit formal proposals by Aug. 6. A SERA subcommittee ranked the four companies as the top contenders to rejuvenate the former industrial property. SERA will review the proposals and hold public hearings over the next two months, and is then expected to designate a redeveloper. Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel said the new loan agreement states that SERA will assign to the county $5 million from the sale of another property it owns that is currently under contract to be sold. That payment will be credited against SERA's obligations to the county. "We are taking these steps because in the last year, SERA has approached the redevelopment of the National Lead site in a business-like fashion, because we see progress taking place as a result of SERA's recent efforts, and we are convinced the county's interest is best served by this action, and because a number of additional and essential steps will be taken during the extended time period," Crabiel said in a statement. Also, the county will enforce a provision of the original July 2004 agreement by requiring SERA to immediately execute a deed in lieu of foreclosure to be held in escrow by the county counsel. SERA will continue to pay the county for various administrative fees, grant the county the right to be present and participate in all future meetings with National Lead, include protection for the county in all agreements that might be made with potential redevelopers and provide monthly status reports to the county, Crabiel said. "All the conditions previously imposed by the county and previously agreed to by SERA regarding the existing loan payment agreement with that agency remain in full force and effect," Crabiel said. "We are taking steps to protect the county's financial interest and to move this redevelopment project forward," he added. "With these additional conditions the county has further secured the repayment obligation of SERA." SERA had designated a conditional redeveloper for the waterfront property in 2006, but that entity, LNR Northeastern Investments, Inc., failed to negotiate a settlement with NL Industries regarding cleanup, and failed to make promised administrative fee payments. The developer withdrew from the project last fall, and SERA then began a new search for a redeveloper. "It has been a long and sometimes bumpy road," Crabiel said. "However, many important steps have been taken toward the achievement of that goal and today we are announcing another of those steps." The county has extended the repayment deadline three times, with the intent that a redeveloper would be named and would be responsible for the loan repayments. Each time, the freeholders placed conditions on the extension to safeguard the county's investment. "All the essential entities, the county, SERA, National Lead and the MCIA [Middlesex County Improvement Authority], are actively involved in continuing discussions with a view toward settlement on value and remediation," Crabiel said. "In the end, with this new agreement in place and facilitating these talks, we expect a major commercial, recreational, aesthetic and financial boon to the borough of Sayreville and all with an equal benefit for the county at large."