Editorial: School board OKs sale of West Willow property to church

The Van Buren Public Schools Board of Education unanimously approved a proposal to sell the 8.58 acres of vacant property the district owns in Ypsilanti Township to Fire of God International Church. Signing for the church were Alexis Castro and Sarita Castro.
At Monday’s meeting of the school board, School Supt. Pete Kudlak said he was in the final negotiations to sell the property for $48,000, subject to legal review. He said the closing date has been set for May 23. The property at 2060 Mary Catherine St., Ypsilanti, in the past had been the site of West Willow School, and for many years was the center of activity in the close-knit community. Now the property is vacant.
The school board had voted 5-1 at its July 23, 2018 meeting to sell that property and two other parcels. Board Secretary Kevin English voted against the sale of the parcels saying the population in the north end of the district is the most-dense and if the district needed to build another elementary school north of I-94 that land would be gone. But the school population continues to fall.
Kudlak said there is a cost to mowing the West Willow property a couple of times a month. The proposed sale price for the property had been $60,000.
The sale is contingent on Fire of God being able to secure a variance from Ypsilanti Township to construct a church on the property.