By PETE WALTON
Two properties formerly used by the Taylor Memorial Baptist Church on Sylvania Avenue in Avon will be auctioned on Dec. 8.
The borough’s Board of Commissioners approved arrangements for the auction at their meeting this week.
The church and an adjacent parsonage were acquired by the borough when efforts to sell them failed. The borough demolished the church and has set a minimum bid of $675,000 for the land. The parsonage and the lot it stands on have a minumum auction bid of $750,000.
Borough Administrator Timothy M. Gallagher said there will be two open houses at the parsonage. In addition, appointments to inspect it can be scheduled prior to the auction. A bid package will be available at the borough offices for $25.
Bidders will register for the Dec. 8 auction between 9 a.m. and noon at the Avon Marina. The auction for the parsonage lot will take place at 2 p.m., followed by the auction for the church property at 3 p.m.
Initially called the First Baptist Church when it was built in 1886, the church was renamed in 1927 in honor of a former pastor. After the congregation dwindled, the church tried for more than a year to find a buyer before conveying the property to the borough, which also tried to sell it before commissioners voted last December to tear it down.
Mayor John B. Magrini said the properties would be listed on the Monmouth/Ocean Multiple Listing Service to expose it to as many potential buyers as possible. It will also be posted on Internet real estate sites such as Zillow, he said.
There was extended discussion at the meeting as to how commissions to brokers would be handled during the bidding process. Borough Attorney Barry A. Cooke said that real estate brokers and salespersons would be less likely to bring buyers to the auction unless they knew they would be paid.
Cooke said that as a part of the bid package, buyers would have to indicate in advance what commissions they had agreed to pay brokers. Those commissions would need to be factored into bids at the auction and announced so that all of the bidders could know the price they would have to beat, he said.
The commissioners said that if a bid were to be accepted, closing would take place by Feb. 7, 2017. The borough does not have to accept any bids if no one offers the minimum price.
“If we break even, that’s fine,” said Commissioner Robert Mahon. “Plus, the properties become taxable.” Gallagher said that at the minumum prices set by the commissioners, the borough would more than recover all the costs it had incurred in connection with the acquisition.
In other action at the meeting, the commissioners imposed a curfew between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. from Oct. 28 through Nov. 1 for persons under 18 unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. No one of any age will be permitted to wear a mask on any of the borough’s streets and lanes during those hours.
Six Class II officer candidates were authorized to attend the Monmouth County Police Academy from Jan. 30 through May 24, 2017.
The 35 mph speed limit on Ocean Avenue returns Oct. 15 and remains in effect until May 1 of next year.
A cleanup will take place at Sylvan Lake on Sat., Oct. 22 beginning at 9 a.m. Volunteers are welcome.
