Alan Kideckel is a Metro Detroit writer and author of the book "Surviving With a Positive Attitude."
By Alan H. Kideckel
Kulick Community Center
Some passionate Ferndale residents are enthused about the possibility of reopening the beloved Kulick Community Center on Livernois, which has been closed since 2020 at the start of the pandemic. The century-old building — formerly Washington Elementary School — is in need of serious structural upgrades.
The school district had been leasing the facility to the City since 2000 for $1 a year, with the City responsible for maintenance. In 2022, however, the City formally divested from the building at the recommendation of the resident-led Facilities Task Force, which concluded the city should not invest in maintaining or improving a property the City did not own. In 2023, the school district declared the building structurally unsound and announced plans to raze it and create a green space.
Last week, supporters of the center got good news from the district, which now intends to transfer ownership to the City — a major step toward reopening the center. The Ferndale City Council will ultimately decide on its future.
“Our school district recognizes the historical and cultural importance of the community center,” Ferndale Schools Superintendent Camille Hibbler wrote in an open letter dated Sept. 5. “For generations this building has been more than just a structure. It’s been a gathering place, a home for celebrations, a hub for programs, and a cornerstone of our community story. While it hasn’t been in use for the past several years due to infrastructure needs, we are committed to ensuring that it is preserved as a valuable resource in the years to come.”
Hibbler added: “To achieve this, we are working closely with the City of Ferndale to transfer ownership of the property to the City. We believe this will help preserve the center’s role in the community while opening new opportunities for growth and use. A final agreement has not yet been reached, however, we are encouraged by the progress being made and remain dedicated to seeing this process through.”
A History of Hard Choices
That’s all great news for Ferndale Mayor Pro-tem Laura Mikulski, whose concerns about the center first surfaced in 2018, before she joined City Council, when the City was debating whether to keep the facility open.
That year, then-Mayor Dave Coulter formed a “Blue Ribbon Committee” to study the building. The group was presented with a $5.6 million plan to renovate and expand Kulick but instead recommended pursuing a new recreation facility at Martin Road Park, projected at more than double the cost. Two members voted in favor of keeping and investing in Kulick, and even those who supported Martin Road Park acknowledged that if the project stalled, the City should focus its efforts on Kulick.
Mikulski recalled that the committee process was closed to the public and participants were instructed not to speak to residents. “I had little faith in the process,” she explained. “So I ran for City Council in 2019 to have a greater voice in the matter.”
Task Force Unaware Of Negotiations
When the Resident-Led Facilities Task Force was convened in 2022, its members reviewed facility condition reports and unanimously recommended divesting from Kulick. But their scope was constrained from the start: Task Force members were told the City did not own the building, had no path to ownership, and therefore should not consider Kulick as a viable long-term option. Under those assumptions, they focused exclusively on planning for a new build at Martin Road Park rather than weighing any renovation or reinvestment scenarios for Kulick
What Task Force members didn’t know was that, at the same time, city and school leaders were already engaged in quiet negotiations on an equitable land swap.
The Facilities Task Force recommendation and the Council’s subsequent divestment vote were framed as a permanent exit strategy. To fill the gap, a separate Finance Committee was later convened to budget for a new concession facility and small-scale recreation center at Martin Road Park, with a projected cost of roughly $9 million. Unlike Kulick, the proposed facility would not have served as a true community hub; rather, it would have provided basic recreation space and offices for Parks & Recreation staff on city-owned property. The millage that would have allowed that construction failed in the November 2024 election.
The Case for Reinvestment
Supporters argue reopening Kulick is both financially and culturally prudent. A 2021 facilities assessment estimated that the building needed roughly $1.8 million in immediate and short-term investments — a fraction of the $18–20 million cost of building something new.
Potential funding avenues include county-level Community Development Block Grants, state and federal grants, and partnerships with nonprofits such as SEEDS, which specializes in sustainability-focused community projects.
By piecing together these resources, advocates believe Ferndale could move forward without saddling residents with a new tax burden. Mikulski was quoted as saying “The fiscally prudent thing to do, and the thing that will bring our residents quicker relief, is to invest in what we have. I don’t believe that our residents are interested in voting on a large bond for a facility at this time, but that doesn’t change their desire to have a community center. If we spend wisely and leverage every resource, we can get this facility back in use - giving our seniors a place to meet, our kids a resource for activities, our adult Parks & Recreation programming a chance to expand, and importantly again have a warming & cooling center resource for our residents who are adversely impacted by power outages and wild temperatures. From there, incremental improvements can be planned so that we have a more purpose-focused building.”
A Grassroots Push
Momentum for saving the building reignited this past spring when resident Eddie Sabatini knocked on doors with a petition to preserve Kulick. Within weeks, he and his wife Sarah gathered more than 200 signatures; today, that number stands at 350. Despite dismissive comments from some officials — “This will happen over my dead body,” one reportedly said — Sabatini’s campaign brought new energy to the cause.
Mayor Pro-tem Mikulski sees the petition as proof that residents want more than just green space in Kulick’s neighborhood:
“This makes all the difference. If the City owns it, we can leverage grant dollars and control the future of the space. Before, we were essentially tenants — expected to pay for improvements on a building we didn’t own. That wasn’t sustainable.”
What Comes Next
If ownership formally transfers, Ferndale City Council will need to decide whether to prioritize repairs, launch a phased capital plan, or pursue more ambitious renovations. At minimum, officials will have to weigh Kulick’s immediate needs — estimated at under $2 million — against other pressing facility priorities, including police and fire buildings that also face structural and equity issues.
For now, the prospect of bringing life back to Kulick is enough to galvanize residents who remember what it once meant to the community. For decades, it was home to senior gatherings, youth programs, community celebrations, and daily recreation. Whether it can be that again is now in the City’s hands.
