Superintendent Recommends Hayes Lemmerz's Purchase be Withdrawn

It doesn't appear as if will be part of the Ferndale School District's future.

District Superintendent Gary Meier recommended Monday night to the Board of Education's Policy Committee that it not move forward with the purchase of the Hayes Lemmerz site, a nearly 34-acre plot of land at 1600 Eight Mile Rd.

"It is my recommendation to move forward to the full board a recommendation to withdraw the offer to purchase the Hayes Lemmerz property," Meier said during the meeting.

Shortly after the policy committee meeting began, it went into closed session to discuss the Hayes Lemmerz property. Less than 60 minutes later, the committee reconvened, and Meier made his recommendation.

Due to the stipulations of the purchase agreement, deliberations on the property before it was officially purchased could not be made public.

The Policy Committee unanimously adopted Meier's recommendation. It will now go in front of the Board of Education as a recommendation on the Aug. 15 regularly scheduled meeting.

The Board of Education entered into a purchase agreement May 24 for the Hayes Lemmerz site at a $950,000 price tag. Due to the property's past — as an auto supplier company and as a research facility for Ethyl Corp., at one time the country's biggest supplier of lead additives — the purchase agreement called for a 90-day due diligence plan that included an environmental study of the property.

The study, if fully completed, could have cost the district up to $125,000. The 90-day period expires this month.

However, details regarding the study and why Meier recommended withdrawing from the purchase agreement will not be disclosed due to the purchase agreement's confidentiality component.

"It was noted during the closed session that due to the (purchase agreement), we will not make any more specific comments to the details of the recommendation," said Karen Twomey, chair of the Policy Committee and a member of the Board of Education.

The district was looking to purchase the Hayes Lemmerz site to consolidate its alternative education program under one roof, as well as to bring over the Ferndale Career Center, thus saving the district more than $500,000 annually in leases, Meier said.

The purchase of Hayes Lemmerz was the continuation of a strategy implemented in 2006 to purchase property to consolidate the alternative education programs. The district has pursued three properties for purchase, including St. Mel's Parish School in Dearborn Heights, the former Notre Dame High School in Detroit and Hayes Lemmerz.

Meier said the district will continue to pursue this strategy. "The need for this to continue will not go away," he said.

Stay tuned to Ferndale Patch for more details on this topic.