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Group protests to save Roosevelt Elementary building.
The group The Concerned Citizens To Save Roosevelt donned hazmat suits to draw attention to saving the historic school building.
KEEGO HARBOR, MI - On Monday, March 4, the West Bloomfield School District Administration recommended a company to do the abatement that has 3 recent MIOSHA violations.
Oakland County Commissioner Bob Hoffman increased his offer to purchase the historic building to $642,000 - a total that would be the profit the projected profit after demolition.
"We do want to preserve this building. But to know that you’re going with the lowest bidder, you’re going to put my family, my community at risk. That’s why we’re out here in the hazmat suits" said Kirsten Douglass from The Concerned Citizens To Save Roosevelt.
She added "On Monday March 4, the West Bloomfield Board of Education made the proposal or opened the abatement bid and the company they’re slated to use has 3 MIOSHA violations."
The group says they've been fighting this battle since 2017, when they say the board of ed wanted to build a new middle school.
However, that never happened.
"They’ve had many cash offers that are equivalent to how much the demolition costs are. So there’s no cost to them to keep their building" said David Emerling from The Concerned Citizens To Save Roosevelt.
The group says they'd like to see the building transformed into a mixed-use building.
Douglass said "we have developers that have offered to purchase the building and re-purpose it, which would be a win-win for everyone. It would be very good for the community because it brings taxable income in but it’s also good for the school district because that taxable income goes to them as well."
Fox 2 reached out to the board requesting an interview and comment. We are waiting to hear back.