Algonac Council welcomes big crowd for special meeting

Ideas for former elementary school shared 

By Barb Pert Templeton

That was the topic for a public meeting hosted in the city on March 5 following a regular city council meeting. The hour-long meeting included a brief presentation on the property from City Manager Denice Gerstenberg before a large crowd shared their ideas with the city council.

Mayor Rocky Gillis began the meeting by thanking the residents for coming out and said it was great to see a full house. He said after the presentation the floor would open up and offer everyone a chance to speak on the issue for five minutes.

“Every single one of us are in the driver’s seat,” Gillis said. “We have a room full of 70 people that are in the driver’s seat and are going to help us determine the future of that building.”

Gerstenberg began with some quick facts about the school stating it has 69,000 square feet, sits on 3.2 acres and is adjacent to the Smith’s Recreation Park which includes an additional five acres. She said taxes generated from the building are about $3,400 annually. The estimated demolition costs given a few years ago were $350,00 and $500,00. 

The school was built in 1963, an addition was added later and then the school administration building was built. In 2011, significant interior renovations were completed and 2015 was the last year it was used as a school. In Dec. 2017 it was donated to the National Christian Foundation and listed for sale at $748,900.

In 2021 the property was still for sale. At that time the city hired a firm to conduct a feasibility study to try and encourage private development. By Oct. 2023, as the school had been unoccupied and unsold for seven years the property was put up for auction. Private investors had said the cost to develop the property was just too high.

In Nov. 2023 the city council authorized the city manager to participate in the auction and the city successfully bid on the site and won the bidding war at a cost of $185,000. The city closed on the property in December.

In January the city sought input from the community on what to do with the property and were pleased to receive over 130 comments. 

The list of suggestions was lengthy and varied. Gerstenberg said some of the unlikely options included making it the location of the city pool, putting the police and fire department there, putting in a motel with an indoor waterpark, putting up a casino or a trade center like Gibraltar.

As the crowd laughed at many of the unlikely options Gerstenberg said the property isn’t large enough for things like a casino, motel or indoor waterpark.

There were also many suggestions for community use of the property. Some of those ideas included creating a community garden, a place for live bands to perform, installing batting cages, a Christmas tree lot, a double Ferris Wheel, a drive-in movie location, a go cart tracks and gun range were on the list. 

Audience shares ideas

More than a half dozen people stepped up to the microphone to share ideas and then the discussion continued with residents simply speaking from their seats around the city hall chambers. 

One gentleman characterized the issue as “a golden opportunity” stating the building could be used for so many things including a community center or something specifically for kids because currently Algonac doesn’t offer much for its youth. 

“I see a Campus Martius thing, that same idea, a pavilion, ice skating, bring in some restaurants anything to bring people in,” he said, noting that the building has a gym and a cafeteria that were redone and so the city needs to keep the building. 

“The core of that building was that gym and the cafeteria that was already done just before they sold it, so we’ve got to keep it,” he continued. “I love Algonac, I’m a longtime Algonac person here and we need to keep this… it’s part of history and part of our legacy… make it unique is what you need to do. Tearing it down is not the answer.”

Another resident then stepped to the microphone and said what happened with the school was a travesty because the taxpayers paid for the building and property. She now see’s a great opportunity for the building to be multi-functional but said it doesn’t have to be huge. She suggested selling off some of the property and letting someone build residential homes. Bringing that money into the city would be a chance for the taxpayers to get something back.

Several people also suggested the city consider establishing a trade school with apprentice programs for skilled trades that would help place students who aren’t college bound into the community with decent jobs.

The council weighs-in

The conversation then moved to the council table and Councilman Michael Bembas said the first thing people have to realize is that doing things cost money. He said the question then becomes are we willing to pay someone from the city to run a potential community center that would have activities for kids and the public at large.

The audience continued to share their ideas including one gentleman who suggested creating a spot for technical and trade school classes for the autobody, electrical and plumbing trades.

“That’s the cool thing about this is that we’re going to be able to hear new ideas that we hadn’t heard or read on Facebook,” Councilwoman Dawn Davey said.

She and Mayor Rocky Gillis then reminded the audience that they were not in a formal council meeting setting so a comfortable two-way discussion was welcome. 

“If we were to take a poll, does everybody seem like they want to look at restoring the building,” Gillis asked the crowd. Many people quickly responded yes.

An audience member said they need to have someone go in and evaluate what needs to be done. 

Mayor Pro Tem Ray Martin said a few members of the council walked through the building with county officials and several contractors and looked at the feasibility of doing some things under the county umbrella.

“After that they never came back and as far as I know they never responded after walking through there,” Martin said.

During the walk thru contractors thought the old shop area was not good and questioned the classrooms but the gym area looked quite sturdy, Martin recalled.

Gillis said the gymnasium floor was replaced in 2011 and is no longer wood but is vinyl. 

Bembas said when he walked through the structure, he recalls a lot of the ceilings had come down and he thought the pipes looked to be in terrible shape too.

“The building official believes the building is structurally sound and so does the architect and it can be renovated,” Gerstenberg said. 

Davey said she likes the idea of a mixed use because they could keep the gym and provide what is sorely needed for kids in the community. At the same time, she said they could bring some things to the outside property which would mean additional revenue for the city.

“We could not let this opportunity go,” Davey said to the crowd referring to the city’s purchase of the property in December. “Having you guys here means the world and this way, everybody gets to give us ideas.”

“The best part of this is that no matter what we do with it will be an improvement,” Bembas added. He also reminded the crowd that this was a project that will take time, nothing will happen overnight.

What’s the next step

As the meeting wound down an audience member asked how long it would take to get started on the project. Bembas said of course nothing happens over-night and asked the community to “please be patient with the process.”

Gillis said what he’s taking from the meeting is that the audience wants to keep the gym and the cafeteria and allow mixed use in order to fund it. Gerstenberg said the other main focus is to establish some things for kids in the community even if it’s outdoor space like ice skating or a skate park.

“A lot of it’s about having a place for kids to go to have something to do, right?” Gerstenberg asked the crowd. The response was yes.

Someone then asked if the council is going to keep the community informed on the steps being taken with the property. 

Gillis said yes, the updates will be shared at each city council meeting or whenever there is something new to share. 

Gerstenberg assured the crowd and the council that she will certainly keep everyone up to date on the progress of the project. 

The mayor thanked everyone for attending the meeting and said he appreciated the very positive dialogue on the subject and the fact that people were respectful of one another.