Residents file motion seeking to halt demolition of Keego Harbor's Roosevelt Elementary
KEEGO HARBOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Residents in Oakland County are fighting to preserve a century-old school that is up for demolition.
UPDATE: Michigan judge grants temporary restraining order to stop demolition of Roosevelt Elementary
Community members, along with Michigan nonprofit Heart of the Lakes Community Inc., filed an emergency temporary restraining order against the West Bloomfield School District to halt the demolition of Roosevelt Elementary.
The motion, which was filed at Oakland County 6th Circuit Court, alleges that the school board violated the Open Meetings Act by awarding bids for demolition and asbestos abatement behind closed doors during Monday's meeting.
On Thursday, the motion was amended, alleging that the district has now sped up the process of demolishing the 103-year-old school.
The motion included an affidavit from a community member, who alleged that the district began demolition on Thursday, a little over two weeks before the district was allegedly supposed to start the process.
"This is extremely urgent. Not only is property irreplaceable under longstanding Michigan law, thus making demolition of property one of the few areas where injunctive relief during the pendency of a case is frequently warranted, but while this case has been pending (under extensive media scrutiny), Defendants have initiated demolition in a mad-dash to demolish the property before this Court can rule, despite explicitly advising community members and the media that demolition will not start until April 8, 2024," read the motion.
The board voted on Monday to demolish the historic building. The vote came after the school district received a $1.7 million cash offer from JSN Architecture in Berkeley last Friday to purchase the building and property.
The school closed in 2022, and since then, the district has been pushing to have it demolished.