UPDATE (9:10 a.m.): According to the Mayor’s Office, the judge has denied the “Friends of Ormond Park” motion for a stay.
We continue to follow the latest on the controversial project to create a new entrance to Lansing’s Groesbeck Golf Course.
On Friday, a judge lifted a temporary restraining order which allowed construction to move forward.
But that decision didn’t sit well with Groesbeck neighbors and a group of them have filed a motion hoping to stop that construction once again.
The city hasn’t wasted any time continuing the construction at Ormond Park and it’s that issue that has neighbors saying they’re not going down without a fight.
“It has been disappointing and feels like a set back but it is not a done deal as far as we’re concerned,” says Peter Wood, member of “Friends of Ormond Park.”
Wood and other members say they were chocked to learn construction would continue after a judge lifted the temporary restraining order after the group filed for it back in July.
“We were really taken aback. We were very surprised, and um disappointed in it. It was certainly not the way we saw things going in the courtroom,” says Wood.
This all started as the city prepared to pave a new drive to Groesbeck Golf Course thought Ormond Park.
“Friends of Ormond Park” say they didn’t want to lose green space for kids to play and the new entrance could raise environmental concerns.
However, on Sunday Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero argued the new entrance would save the golf course money.
“What this is really about, is setting up the golf course for success. So that it is economically sustainable so that it’s not sucking up all of the parks millage money,” says Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero.
As the end of the construction season and Bernero’s term draws near, Mayoral Candidate Andy Schor weighed in on the issue saying he doesn’t see a need for the new entrance.
“I have not yet seen any evidence that a new road will increase golfing, I think that people are going to come if the golf course is in good shape,” says State Rep. Andy Schor.
Schor’s opponent, City Council member, Judi Brown Clarke declined to comment because of ongoing litigation against the city.
However, Wood says, the group’s strategy is not to run out the clock, but take each day as it comes and fight for what they believe in.
“We are not done yet, we care about this city and we’re going to continue to show that,” says Wood.
Wood says, though Friday’s ruling was a setback, it’s not the end of the road.
The “Friends of Ormond Park” has filed a motion to stop the construction again.