Board of Trustees approve demolition on South River Road

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — At their meeting on Jan. 26, Harrison Township trustees approved the demolition of a South River Road property in a 6-0 vote.

Harrison Township Treasurer Lawrence Tomenello was excused for the meeting.

According to items attached to the meeting’s agenda, the building located at 25974 South River Road has been vacant since 2010 and multiple tickets have been issued to the district court since 2017 with no resolutions.

“The property is in violation of multiple housing laws for unsafe structures,” the agenda item said.

The items state the township has accrued around $5,000 in legal fees.

Harrison Township Supervisor Kenneth Verkest told the board there are circuit court documents attached giving them permission to move forward with the demolition.

“Ultimately, the recommendation is to award (a) demolition contract,” Verkest said.

The lowest bidder was S.A. Torello Inc. at $17,800. Verkest said there is around $15,000 in an escrow account that will offset the cost.

“Any costs that aren’t recouped through the escrow account would be placed in (the) form of a lien against the property,” Verkest said.

Trustee Dean Olgiati asked if the $17,000 includes the $5,000 legal fee. Verkest said they already approved the legal fees, and it is just additional information.

“We believe that the most sound way to pursue condemnation and demolition is through circuit court,” Verkest said.

Verkest also said they are able to pursue a lien against the property to recoup the funds and that right now, they are only awarding the cost of demolition.

According to city records, the property is owned by Kinjal Patel and according to documents from Macomb County Circuit Court, Kinjal and Bharat Patel are the defendants in the case against Harrison Township. Taxes had not been paid on the property since 2024, according to the city’s online records, and the case was filed in the circuit court on Oct. 25, 2024.

Kinjal and Bharat’s attorney, Elias Muawad, could not be reached by press time.