Boiler Bid Tabled, 12-Bed Care Home Denied, Culver’s Approved as Livonia Council Sits Three Hours
LIVONIA — 8/22/2026
Procurement irregularities dominated a marathon August 17 voting meeting, while the council president moved to strip agenda-setting duties from her own office and residents pressed the city over master plan notice, Flock cameras and brown tap water.
The Livonia City Council took 16 recorded votes over just over three hours Monday night, approving a Culver’s drive-through on Seven Mile Road, denying a 12-bed adult foster care conversion on Eight Mile, and tabling a $152,596 library boiler contract after two council members said the winning bidder never attended a mandatory pre-bid meeting and submitted an unsigned bid bond.
All seven members were present: President Kayleigh Reid, Vice President Patrick Brockway, and Councilmembers Carrie Budzinski, Brandon McCullough, Eileen McDonnell, Robin Persiconi and Martha Ptashnik. Councilmember Budzinski led the Pledge of Allegiance. Minutes of the July 27, 2026 regular meeting were approved 7–0.
The evening’s longest fight was not over a zoning case. It was over how the city buys things — and, earlier in the night, over who prepares the council’s own agenda.
Significant Events
1. The Bennett Library boiler bid unravels
Item 14 — a Department of Public Works request to award the boiler replacement at the Robert and Janet Bennett Civic Center Library to Guardian Environmental Services of Livonia for $152,596 — consumed roughly 47 minutes and ended with the item tabled to August 31.
Councilmember McCullough, who works in the HVAC field, said the bid schedule itself was the problem. The pre-bid meeting was held Wednesday, July 1; bids were originally due Tuesday, July 7 — a window that straddled the Fourth of July holiday and, he said, effectively excluded serious commercial bidders. He then raised the core objection: the pre-bid was mandatory under city ordinance, and Guardian did not attend it.
We have an ordinance. We are elected officials. We need to follow it.Councilmember Brandon McCullough
Councilmember McDonnell went further, saying the bid should never have been read publicly at all. She said the bid bond was not properly executed — signed by the insurance carrier but not countersigned by the contractor — and that the signature page had been printed rather than signed. She also flagged that the vendor’s quote carried a seven-day pricing expiration dated July 13.
The DPW representative defended the recommendation, calling the missing contractor signature a clerical error and noting that Guardian had gone through the full competitive process for the earlier Carl Sandburg Library boiler project in February, furnished a pre-bid bond, and provided verified references. He also noted the bid had been posted on MITN for a 21-day minimum window and that the deadline was extended by addendum to July 12.
Councilmember Budzinski, who made the original approving motion, pressed on price exposure — the next-lowest bid was $199,941.79, followed by $206,400, $266,131 and $342,000 — before withdrawing her motion, saying Councilmember Ptashnik had been right in April when she asked for a two-week pause on the Sandburg award.
Councilmember Persiconi urged colleagues to weigh the cost of delay, noting the council has statutory authority to waive bidding where there is no advantage to the city and warning that rebidding could cost taxpayers roughly $70,000 more. City Attorney Eric Goldstein, asked directly whether the bid could legally be accepted, declined to opine without documents, saying he would not make a legal determination based on oral statements — but committed to an answer by the end of the following week.
Vice President Brockway then moved to table until August 31. It passed 7–0.
2. The council president moves to give agenda duties back to the clerk
President Reid handed the gavel to Vice President Brockway and offered a resolution to refer two ordinance sections — 2.04.050 (council office administrator) and 2.04.080 (city clerk duties) — to the Department of Law, to move preparation of the regular and study agendas back to the City Clerk’s office, where she said it had sat for 58 years before a change made the previous September.
Reid gave two reasons: agenda preparation should sit with a neutral, elected office rather than with a staffer who reports directly to the council president; and the council office has one administrator with no backup, which she said had caused new data to arrive as late as midday Monday. She said external petitioners — people trying to open businesses in Livonia — had been ignored and left off agendas.
Councilmember McCullough, council president when the change was made, objected sharply, calling the proposal “absurd” and framing it as an erosion of the separation between the legislative and executive branches in a strong-mayor city. He said the earlier change had been unanimous and was made to fix repeated filing problems, and that under it the elected council president still approved every agenda before it went to the clerk for posting.
Six residents spoke against the change. Several criticized the tone rather than the substance: one resident objected to the words “nefarious” and “not kosher” being applied in public to a former employee who could not respond. After Vice President Brockway asked whether the maker would redirect the motion, Reid rescinded and remade it as a referral to Committee of the Whole, which carried 6–1, with McCullough opposed.
3. A 12-bed care home on Eight Mile is denied
The Planning Commission had recommended approval of Petition 2026-06-02-16, but the council voted 5–2 to deny. Councilmember Persiconi, who made the denial motion, said everything presented met only state minimums. Councilmember Ptashnik said she was told caregivers need not be CNAs and would be trained with videos and shadow shifts. Councilmember McCullough, who described navigating facilities for his mother-in-law, reacted strongly to the petitioner’s estimate that only about 10 percent of residents would use in-room bathrooms.
The operator, a nurse practitioner who runs an existing six-bed adult foster care home, told council her residents are largely wheelchair-dependent or bed-bound and that she would comply with whatever structural changes the city required — but needed to know first whether the use would be permitted at all. Councilmember Budzinski, one of two no votes on denial, said she saw a workable path but that trash handling for a 12-bed facility had not been resolved.
4. Book Five master plan notice draws repeated criticism
Four residents in the opening comment period said the Book Five update to the Vision 21 master plan had gone to a final Planning Commission reading with only statutory notice — posted on the planning department page rather than the city’s home page or social media — catching residents and commissioners alike off guard. President Reid asked Planning and Economic Development Director Mark Taormina about it directly. He said the city would return to the Planning Commission with a significant allowance for public review and comment, and would work with the communications department on additional distribution.
5. Flock camera contract heads to Public Safety Committee
Councilmember Budzinski referred the subject of Flock cameras to the Public Safety Committee, 7–0. She noted the council approved the system last fall without a public community discussion, and that the conversation is now happening online instead. Earlier in the meeting a resident read from the contract’s license grant, arguing the city had agreed to broad reuse of Livonia-generated data.
6. Other flashpoints
- Brown water with no notice. A resident described a water main break with discolored, sediment-filled water lasting into the next morning, no boil-water guidance, no posting on any city channel, and a DPW phone response she characterized as dismissive.
- Sheetz appeal. Greg Ralko of Golf Ridge Villas again asked the council to direct the Law Department to stop defending the Zoning Board of Appeals decision and instead stipulate to the relief residents sought in their claim of appeal.
- Steve King ban. Frank McDermott asked council for a third time to rescind the Recreation Commission’s lifetime ban of resident Steve King from the Senior Wellness Center and Recreation Center, alleging selective enforcement and naming Councilmember McCullough. McCullough responded later that construction-site access requires sign-in and PPE, that he has always followed that protocol, and that he had petitioned the Law Department for access to the Alfred Noble Library and was still waiting.
- Scam emails. A block party applicant told council she received a phishing email after her name appeared on a public agenda, and that it had happened the previous year as well. President Reid warned residents that scammers claim payment is required to attend meetings.
Complete Record of Council Actions
The table below covers every item on the August 17 agenda — consent agenda, committee reports, unfinished business and new business — with the substance of each item and the disposition.
| # | Category | Item | Detailed Description | Action | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Minutes | Regular Meeting Minutes of July 27, 2026 | Approval of the minutes of the 2045th Regular Meeting. Moved by Ptashnik, supported by Persiconi. No council or audience comment. | APPROVED | 7–0 |
| — | Report | Department of Finance communication | Communication dated July 23, 2026 forwarding various financial statements of the City of Livonia for the months of December 2025 through May 2026. | RECEIVED & FILED | No vote |
| 1 | Consent | Block party — Karen Werden | Request to close Flamingo Boulevard between St. Martins and Bretton Streets, Saturday, August 29, 2026, 3:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m., rain date Sunday, August 30, 2026. Approving resolution, subject to Police Department approval. | APPROVED | 7–0 (consent block) |
| 2 | Consent | Sidewalk waiver — 37633 Scone Court | Request by Gaspare Compo of TCM Development LLC to waive the sidewalk construction requirement for the property at 37633 Scone Court. Approving resolution. | APPROVED | 7–0 (consent block) |
| 3 | Consent | Sidewalk waiver — 27416 Sunnydale | Request by Bilal Saad to waive the sidewalk construction requirement for the property at 27416 Sunnydale. Approving resolution. | APPROVED | 7–0 (consent block) |
| 4 | Consent | Sidewalk waiver — 18252 Lathers | Request by Joe Eadeh of American Building Co. to waive the sidewalk construction requirement for the property at 18252 Lathers. Approving resolution. | APPROVED | 7–0 (consent block) |
| 5 | Consent | Storm water agreement — Emerson Oaks | Acceptance of a Storm Water Facilities Maintenance Agreement from Emerson Oaks – Livonia, LLC, tied to construction of a storm drain system providing drainage for the Emerson Oaks Condominium, Northwest ¼ of Section 36. | APPROVED | 7–0 (consent block) |
| 6 | Consent | Storm water agreement — Bill Brown Ford | Acceptance of a Storm Water Facilities Maintenance Agreement from UAG Realty LLC for the storm drain system serving Bill Brown Ford (Penske Automotive Group) at 32400 Plymouth Road, Southwest ¼ of Section 27. | APPROVED | 7–0 (consent block) |
| 7 | Consent | Storm water agreement — 27777 Schoolcraft | Acceptance of a Storm Water Facilities Maintenance Agreement from The Cornelia Group LLC for the storm drain system serving the Penske Automotive Group property at 27777 Schoolcraft Road, Northeast ¼ of Section 25. | APPROVED | 7–0 (consent block) |
| 8 | Unfinished — Committee | Committee of the Whole, July 20, 2026 — virtual meetings (CR 47-26) | Report on conducting council and other Open Meetings Act meetings in person with a virtual option. Attendees included all seven members, City Attorney Eric Goldstein, IS Director Casey O’Neil, Government Relations Director Aarica Smith, Communications Director Kristin Houchins, Chief of Staff Dave Varga and City Clerk Lori Miller. Recommendation: follow the Ann Arbor model — audience communication at regular and study meetings, day-of sign-up, and a password-protected link. Equipment cost cited at roughly $40,000 for a TriCaster to run virtual participation alongside the live broadcast. | REFERRED TO LAW Draft an ordinance permitting virtual attendance at regular and study meetings on the Ann Arbor model, with discussed safeguards. Moved by Persiconi, supported by Ptashnik. |
7–0 |
| 8a | Unfinished — Committee | TriCaster purchase (arising from Item 8) | Separate resolution offered by President Reid authorizing purchase of a TriCaster through a leveraged government cooperative purchasing contract, not to exceed $40,000. Vice President Brockway noted he had already queued the request through finance and budget. | APPROVED | 7–0 |
| 9 | Unfinished — Committee | Finance and Budget Committee, August 10, 2026 — FY 2026–2027 pre-budget (CR 161-12) | Chair Ptashnik reported on a collaborative roundtable held to give council an early voice before the formal budget proposal. FY 2027 projected general fund revenue: $76.1 million, about $2 million above FY 2026. Property taxes $45.8M; state shared revenue $10.9M (down ~$900,000); other revenue $17.8M; interest income $1.25M. Personnel and benefits equal roughly 75 percent of general fund revenue across about 300 full- and part-time budgeted positions — roughly 100 fewer employees than in 2000. Identified infrastructure need exceeds $100 million. FY 2026 capital requests totaled $38 million against $4.5 million funded; FY 2027 requests to date total $46 million. Council priorities logged included the TriCaster, a three-year deer cull (~$30,000/year), firehouse breakdowns, compensation benchmarking, building maintenance schedules, inspection capacity, courthouse fee structure, the Fund 418 transfer and election worker pay. | REMAINS IN COMMITTEE Standing item; next discussion at the September 21, 2026 Finance and Budget Committee meeting, 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. |
No vote |
| 10 | Unfinished — External | Block party — Caren Shatter | Request to close Sussex Street between Sherwood and Fitzgerald Streets, Saturday, September 12, 2026, noon–10:00 p.m., rain date Sunday, September 13, 2026. The applicant told council this is the 28th year for the event, and that she never received an emailed or paper agenda — she learned of the hearing only by calling that morning. She also reported receiving a phishing email tied to her appearance on the agenda, as had happened the previous year. | APPROVED | 7–0 |
| 11 | Unfinished — Civil Service | New classification: Capital Planning & Budget Manager | Presented by Human Resources Director Jeannine Laible with Finance Director Benjamin Grier. Approved at a Special Civil Service Commission meeting July 21, 2026 (Chairperson Paul Bernier, Commissioner Charlotte Mahoney). The position supports development and execution of the city’s Capital Improvement Plan, tracks capital projects, identifies grant and bond funding, and reports directly to the Finance Director while coordinating with the Building Maintenance Manager. Proposed salary equivalent to Chief Accountant: $101,004.80–$117,936.00, exempt from overtime. Promotional examination open only to current Livonia Accounting, Water Accounting or Finance employees with Accountant II status or above, a relevant bachelor’s degree, five years of governmental accounting, two years developing city budgets and five years with the city’s enterprise resource system. Grier confirmed the classification merges two budgeted positions into one, with the current Budget and Fiscal Services Manager expected to step into the role and the second position not backfilled. After extended questioning from McCullough and McDonnell about whether the role covers all capital categories or only facilities, a DPW representative clarified that departments continue developing their own CIPs while this role bridges the long-term funding gap. | APPROVED Moved by Brockway, supported by Persiconi. |
7–0 |
| 12 | Unfinished — Planning | Waiver Petition 2026-06-02-16 — adult foster care, 38525 Eight Mile Road | Submitted by J.B. Donaldson Company under Sections 3.06 and 6.02 of the Zoning Ordinance, to operate a licensed adult foster care facility (Adult Medium Group Home, capacity 7–12) at 38525 Eight Mile Road, south side between Meadowview and Hickory Streets, Northwest ¼ of Section 6. The site is a former 5,075 sq ft medical office on RUF-zoned land, previously a law office (1988), veterinary office (1992) and medical office (2003), and is a designated historical building. Plans by A&M Consultants showed 12 resident bedrooms, living and dining rooms, offices and ten new bathrooms, with 24 parking spaces against a 16-space requirement. The Planning Commission recommended approval (#07-43-2026) with eight conditions. Council concerns: reliance on state minimum standards, uncertified caregiving staff, room and bathroom sizes, laundry, wheelchair circulation in the dining room, ramp access, and refuse handling — a dumpster enclosure had been discouraged on historic-preservation grounds, leaving up to seven curbside cans. Taormina noted homes of six or fewer residents are permitted by statute without special approval, and that Livonia already has more than 40 adult foster care facilities in single-family homes, most at six beds or fewer. | DENIED Motion to deny by Persiconi, supported by McCullough. |
5–2 No: Budzinski, McDonnell |
| 13 | Unfinished — Planning | Waiver Petition 2026-06-02-17 — Culver’s and retail, 29155 Seven Mile Road | Submitted by PEA Group of Auburn Hills under Sections 3.11 and 6.51, to construct a drive-through Culver’s restaurant and a 4,675 sq ft multi-tenant retail building at 29155 Seven Mile Road, south side between Middle Belt Road and Maplewood Street, Northwest ¼ of Section 12. Revised plans removed parking along the south property line abutting multifamily residential and replaced it with landscaping, added sidewalks from Seven Mile into the site, and adjusted the landscape plan to the new parking geometry. Planning Commission resolution #07-44-2026 carried 18 conditions, including Hardie Board siding with no more than 10 percent EIFS, a maximum 86 interior and 16 patio seats, screened rooftop equipment, 20-foot maximum light fixtures, a full dumpster enclosure, grease interceptors, sodding in lieu of hydro-seeding, and a required return to Planning Commission and council for detailed site plan review of the commercial building. Approval is valid one year unless a building permit is obtained. | APPROVED Moved by Budzinski, supported by Brockway. |
7–0 |
| 13a | Unfinished — Planning | Driveway spacing waiver (second resolution, Item 13) | Separate resolution waiving the Zoning Ordinance requirement for a minimum of two separate driveways spaced at least 30 feet apart, per condition 16 of the Planning Commission resolution. Moved by Ptashnik, supported by McCullough. | APPROVED | 7–0 |
| 14 | Unfinished — DPW | Award of bid — boiler replacement, Bennett Civic Center Library | DPW recommended award to low bidder Guardian Environmental Services, 34400 Glendale Ave., Livonia, at $152,596 ($146,518 labor/material/equipment + $4,768 Havel ACS removal and reinstall + $600 permits) from GL 401-000-976-000, to replace the Raypak boiler at 32777 Five Mile Road with two Lochinvar CHN1442-M13 Copper-Fin II boilers. Other bids opened July 13: Engineered Comfort Systems, $199,941.79; Long Mechanical, $206,400; Goyette Mechanical, $266,131; Harper Mechanical, $342,000. Objections raised: Guardian did not attend the mandatory July 1 pre-bid; the bid bond was not countersigned by the contractor; the signature page was printed rather than signed; the quote carried a seven-day price expiration; and the July 1–July 7 bid window straddled the holiday. Budzinski’s approving motion was withdrawn and Persiconi’s support rescinded. City Attorney Goldstein declined to rule without documents but committed to an answer by the end of the following week. | TABLED To the regular meeting of August 31, 2026. Moved by Brockway. |
7–0 (to table) |
| 15 | Unfinished — Engineering | Award of contract — Bennett Civic Center Library ADA restroom renovations | Presented by Assistant City Engineer David Lear. Award of a construction contract not to exceed $304,123.00 to C & S Construction Management, 1306 Emmons, Lincoln Park, for the family and women’s atrium restrooms; plus professional architecture services through the QBS process (CR 378-20) not to exceed $29,500.00 to DLZ Michigan, Inc., 607 Shelby Street, Suite 650, Detroit. Total appropriation $333,623.00 from Account 235-800-818-681 (Neighborhood Revitalization Fund), with the City Engineer authorized to approve minor adjustments. Four bids were opened June 9, 2026 and the lowest was recommended. Budzinski confirmed the adult changing table in the multi-use restroom will also accommodate infant changing, with a separate infant station in the women’s restroom. | APPROVED Moved by Budzinski, supported by McCullough. |
6–1 No: McDonnell |
| 16 | New Business — External | Block party — Ashley May | Request to close the area between 38532 and 38517 Tuscany Court, Saturday, August 22, 2026, 5:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. The applicant described it as the neighborhood’s second annual block party, organized for the children and to bring neighbors together. | APPROVED Moved by McCullough, supported by Persiconi. |
7–0 |
| 17 | New Business — External | Noise ordinance waiver — Wildwood Sourfest | Request by Nick Cornell, General Manager, Supernatural Spirits and Brewing LLC, to waive the city’s noise ordinance for the Wildwood Sourfest on Saturday, August 29, 2026, 3:00 p.m.–10:30 p.m., with live music at 36685 Plymouth Road. Cornell described the brewery’s largest event of the year: 16 sour beers on tap, outdoor service, live music and the front lawn fenced off. Budzinski clarified the event hours already fall within the ordinance and the request is a decibel waiver. | APPROVED Moved by Persiconi, supported by Budzinski. |
7–0 |
Full Vote Record
Sixteen roll call votes were taken. The clerk rotated the order of the roll through the evening; tallies below reflect the recorded result.
| Time | Question | Mover / Support | Result | Dissent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0:01:28 | Approve minutes of July 27, 2026 | Ptashnik / Persiconi | 7–0 | — |
| 0:58:17 | Refer ordinances 2.04.050 and 2.04.080 (agenda preparation) to Committee of the Whole | Reid / Ptashnik | 6–1 | McCullough |
| 1:00:09 | Refer the 3:00 p.m. new-data submission deadline to Committee of the Whole | Reid / Ptashnik | 7–0 | — |
| 1:01:58 | Refer the subject of Flock cameras to the Public Safety Committee | Budzinski / Ptashnik | 7–0 | — |
| 1:10:23 | Adopt consent agenda, Items 1–7 | McDonnell / Ptashnik | 7–0 | — |
| 1:13:15 | Item 8 — refer to Law to draft virtual attendance ordinance (Ann Arbor model) | Persiconi / Ptashnik | 7–0 | — |
| 1:14:54 | Item 8 — authorize TriCaster purchase via government co-op, NTE $40,000 | Reid / McDonnell | 7–0 | — |
| 1:20:31 | Item 10 — block party, Sussex Street | Persiconi / Budzinski | 7–0 | — |
| 1:37:52 | Item 11 — establish Capital Planning & Budget Manager classification | Brockway / Persiconi | 7–0 | — |
| 2:04:30 | Item 12 — deny Waiver Petition 2026-06-02-16 | Persiconi / McCullough | 5–2 (petition denied) | Budzinski, McDonnell |
| 2:07:22 | Item 13 — approve Waiver Petition 2026-06-02-17 (Culver’s) | Budzinski / Brockway | 7–0 | — |
| 2:07:58 | Item 13 — waive two-driveway / 30-foot spacing requirement | Ptashnik / McCullough | 7–0 | — |
| 2:55:51 | Item 14 — table boiler bid award to August 31, 2026 | Brockway / Ptashnik | 7–0 | — |
| 2:58:29 | Item 15 — award ADA restroom renovation contracts | Budzinski / McCullough | 6–1 | McDonnell |
| 2:59:34 | Item 16 — block party, Tuscany Court | McCullough / Persiconi | 7–0 | — |
| 3:01:14 | Item 17 — noise ordinance waiver, Wildwood Sourfest | Persiconi / Budzinski | 7–0 | — |
Withdrawn and superseded motions
- Item 14 approving motion — Budzinski moved approval, Persiconi supported; after roughly 30 minutes of debate Budzinski withdrew the motion and Persiconi rescinded her support. No vote was taken.
- Agenda ordinance referral — Reid’s original motion to refer to the Department of Law was rescinded with her supporter’s consent and remade as a referral to Committee of the Whole. Audience communication was reopened on the amended motion before the vote.
Public Comment Timeline
Council set aside 30 minutes for opening audience communication on items not on the agenda, then took comment on individual items throughout the night. Twenty-five speaking turns were recorded across five comment periods.
Opening audience communication
| Time | Speaker | Subject | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:02:04 | Beth (Dora Street) | Trash receptacle placement | Thanked Councilmember McDonnell for referring the issue to committee at the last meeting. Said she is the resident who raised it. Described a neighbor placing receptacles along the property line about 40 inches from her house and windows; one blew over and struck her air conditioner, another landed near newly replaced windows. Said the ordinance department gave conflicting information and would only inspect from the road. Asked council to set clear standards for placement and securing of receptacles near property lines. |
| 0:04:59 | Speaker not identified in the recording | August 4 millage and public safety costs | Called the millage’s passage a missed opportunity for fiscal restraint, saying public safety consumes roughly 70 percent of the operating budget. Criticized the 2021 reinstatement of defined benefit pensions for public safety hires, noting the city is still about 30 officers short. Drew a comparison to Detroit’s legacy costs. Said he was personally attacked on social media by people associated with the departments the millage funds, and argued that questioning spending is not anti-police. |
| 0:07:34 | Jackie Graham Carnes (Oakview Street) | Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan | Speaking as an events committee member and as a caregiver to her mother. Cited that 1 in 26 people will be diagnosed with epilepsy and 1 in 10 will have a seizure in their lifetime, and that the foundation has served Michigan for more than 75 years. Invited council to the 18th annual Toasting Hope tasting event, Friday, September 18, 6:30–10:30 p.m. at the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, with chef-curated bites, beverage tastings, live music from the Killer Flamingos and WXYZ Channel 7’s Alicia Smith as emcee. |
| 0:10:37 | Debbie McDermott | Water main break and public notice | Reported low pressure, then brown water with visible sediment and odor, lasting into the next morning. Found nothing on city channels except a resident post. The police non-emergency desk confirmed DPW was aware; no boil-water alert was issued. Said the DPW phone response the next morning was that it was “just dirt and sediment.” Said she understood breaks happen but wanted information, and called the response inappropriate. |
| 0:13:24 | Genevieve Lenoir (Beatrice Street) | Book Five, Flock contract, Alfred Noble Library | Said the Book Five public hearing before the Planning Commission caught residents off guard because the city met only statutory notice requirements. Endorsed Commissioner Ventura’s call for a more robust process closer to the original Vision 21 charrettes, and offered to help reach residents through non-mainstream local outlets. Thanked the council president for releasing the Flock contract, then read the license grant clause, arguing the city has agreed to broad reuse of Livonia-generated data for an undefined service range offered well beyond law enforcement. Urged council to press the administration on water incursion at the Alfred Noble Library, which she called the only free-use community structure south of I-96, serving roughly 20 percent of the population. |
| 0:16:26 | Frank McDermott (Rayburn Street) | Steve King recreation ban | Said the 16th District Court fined King $50 for trespassing while the Recreation Commission banned him for life from the Senior Wellness Center and Recreation Center. Said there was no sign, fence or gate, no violence and no property damage, and that others who walked in were not charged — naming Councilmember McCullough. Asked council for the third time to rescind the ban. |
| 0:19:15 | Jim Vega | Book Five process | Said council released Book Five expecting another public comment session and public meeting, and that residents learned only at the Planning Commission’s Tuesday meeting that it was the final reading — a surprise to commissioners as well. Said the release was posted only on the planning department page, never the city home page or social media. Said he has since shared the document on Facebook and fielded questions about why it reads as statistics and demographics rather than solutions. Noted confusion over when the 42-day comment window began. |
| 0:22:19 | Greg Ralko (Golf Ridge Villas) | Sheetz appeal | Followed up on his earlier request to learn who directed the Law Department to defend the residents’ claim of appeal against the Zoning Board of Appeals. Quoted City Attorney Goldstein’s response that the department defends city decisions without direction, and disputed it — arguing the city had a choice, not a mandate. Noted council had voted 5–2 to deny the rezoning. Asked council to send a formal letter directing the city attorneys to stipulate to the relief residents seek and let the petitioner start over. |
| 0:25:25 | John Schaefer (Brookfield Street) | Transparency | Thanked other residents for raising Book Five. Said he has come to the podium repeatedly about transparency and about residents feeling the administration pushes things through. Said Book Five was supposed to be more open and was not. |
| 0:26:29 | Denise Mica | Notification and separation of powers | Called the Book Five meeting upsetting and said 42 days are running with nothing done. Argued the lines between the legislative and executive branches have blurred and asked council to decide which branch it works for. Said notifications about Book Five, water and the Canadian wildfire smoke could have been posted to the city website with minimal effort. Said calls to the council office are routed elsewhere and that the system is broken. |
Comment on the agenda-preparation ordinance
| Time | Speaker | Position | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0:44:23 | Denise Mica | Opposed | Called the motion a striking follow-on to her earlier remarks on the legislative branch. Asked why, if the matter is urgent, the council office job has not been posted after two months. Said the process lacks accountability and transparency, and said she was skeptical the item would truly go to committee. |
| 0:46:26 | Laura Shoemaker (Golf Ridge Villas) | Opposed | Said if something is broken, fix it — do not change the whole system over an incident with one person. Argued for putting the right person in place rather than reinventing the wheel, and said there should be separation between branches. |
| 0:47:37 | Jerry Krasinski (Bainbridge Avenue) | Opposed | Raised contingency planning — that a single position with no backup is a failure in any business or government. Warned that crossing separation-of-powers “swim lanes” creates problems, and asked council to focus on minimizing repercussions and maintaining residents’ confidence in the body. |
| 0:49:33 | Laura (Munger Street) | Opposed — tone | Said not everyone on council agreed with the decision about the former employee, and objected to public use of words like “nefarious” and “not kosher” about someone who is being impugned in public while no one present has the facts. Called the discussion disgraceful. |
| 0:50:24 | Steve King (Coventry Gardens) | Opposed | Said the position is civil service and the person who held it had legal protections against removal without just cause, and that he takes issue with an employee being removed after doing exemplary work in the view of most of the people she worked for. |
| 0:51:03 | Greg Ralko (Golf Ridge Villas) | Opposed | Called separation of powers critical even in local government. Said the situation sounds like a personnel problem, and that a personnel problem is the manager’s accountability. Warned that chipping away at distinct branches in stages ends in one branch controlling the city. |
Comment on the consent agenda
| Time | Speaker | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1:09:36 | Steve King (Coventry Gardens) | On the sidewalk waivers: said he has seen at least 20 such requests come before council, and that searching the addresses shows sidewalks already exist nearby — one is a brand new home under construction. Argued the city must decide whether it wants to be walkable and bikeable, and if so, install sidewalks consistently. |
Comment on Item 12 — adult foster care facility
| Time | Speaker | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1:43:09 | Kim Vega | Said room sizes leave no space for closets, night tables or extra chairs, and that a 25-square-foot bathroom is too tight for an older resident using a walker or grab bars. Said she reviewed the plans and saw two sets of stairs but no ramp. Questioned whether the dining room can seat two wheelchairs, where meals come from, whether the two so-called public bathrooms would serve visiting families, and where residents would store toiletries with no counter space. |
| 1:45:13 | Jerry Krasinski (Bainbridge Avenue) | Focused on refuse. Noted the dumpster request was turned down on historic grounds, and described a raccoon in his own neighborhood that has learned to open a neighbor’s garbage. Said he does not think nearby residents want that problem. |
| 1:45:45 | John Schaefer (Brookfield Street) | Broader point on city operations: the agenda is full of waivers. Asked what the original intention of the property was, and urged council to scrutinize waiver requests rather than routinely granting departures from a property’s intended use. |
| 1:46:39 | Denise Mica | Appreciated the petitioner’s revisions but said they are not enough. Cited a 35-square-foot ADA minimum against 25-square-foot in-room half baths, and argued that a facility for elderly residents should be designed to accessible standards throughout during an interior renovation. Noted a single closet on the floor plan and said the layout reads institutional. Raised trash again, citing Planning Commission testimony that groundhogs and raccoons increased after three homes were built across the street, and questioned who would manage seven cans under the after-6:00 p.m. set-out ordinance. |
Petitioner response, Item 12
Contractor Joe Hammond of Fowlerville appeared with the owner. The petitioner told council the state does not require CNAs or nurses at assisted living facilities anywhere in Michigan, that the state requires 80 square feet per room and three handicap-accessible showers for 12 residents, that laundry is in the basement, and that a dumpster enclosure would be submitted for historic review or replaced with a blocked-and-covered container solution. He said staffing is four caregivers per day and two overnight, and that traffic would be lower than the prior medical office use. He said the in-room half baths are used mainly by visiting families — a remark Councilmember McCullough said he found disheartening.
The operator, a registered nurse of 23 years and a nurse practitioner since 2017 who has run a six-bed adult foster care home for four and a half years, told council her residents are largely wheelchair-dependent and that families choose small homes for the staffing ratio. She said she does the training herself using state-level direct care curriculum with third-party reinforcement and testing, and that she would comply with any structural changes the city required — but needed to know first whether the use was permitted.
Comment on Item 14 — library boiler bid
| Time | Speaker | Position | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2:46:49 | Barbara Glover | Approve now | As a library patron who especially uses the libraries in winter, said the need is urgent given a four-month lead time on the equipment. Acknowledged mistakes were made but said the imperative is a working boiler at the main library, and that rebidding risks closure and higher prices. |
| 2:47:53 | John Schaefer (Brookfield Street) | Rebid | Said what he heard was disturbing — that the administration wanted the project rushed through on a five-day bid over a holiday weekend, which effectively cuts off competitive bids. |
| 2:48:42 | Jerry Krasinski (Bainbridge Avenue) | Rebid | Said the city did not follow its own purchasing law and selected an invalid bid that needs to be thrown out. Argued against manufacturing an emergency, and urged council to force purchasing and DPW to rebid, identify qualified bidders and define the scope. |
| 2:49:46 | Denise Mica | Rebid | Drawing on procurement experience, said the first test is whether the vendor met the minimum — and by missing the mandatory meeting, the bid should have been set aside unopened. Warned that unsuccessful offerors have standing to protest and may be watching. Also said the statements of work were too vague, noting Sandburg at about 8,600 square feet against Bennett at about 64,000, and that the documents supporting approval were unsigned. |
| 2:51:55 | Laura Shoemaker (Golf Ridge Villas) | Rebid | Said mandatory walkthroughs are part of the specifications and she has personally lost jobs for missing them. Speculated that Guardian bid low because it was already positioned, while others who lacked time threw out protective numbers — explaining the spread between $152,596 and the roughly $200,000–$342,000 range. Said council has a fiduciary responsibility and is in a difficult position, and that other contractors can challenge the award. |
After the last speaker, the DPW representative offered closing remarks defending staff’s due diligence, noting the July 1 pre-bid and July 7 due date were not the publication date, that the solicitation carried a 21-day minimum posting window on MITN, and that an addendum extended the deadline to July 12. He said the department would abide by whatever council decided.
Closing audience communication
No speakers came forward during the closing audience communication period. Council adjourned on a motion by Persiconi at approximately 3:01 into the recording.
Council Member Updates Timeline
| Time | Member / Official | Update |
|---|---|---|
| 0:29:04 | President Kayleigh Reid | New data and public hearing notice. Announced new data for Items 12 and 13, then read notice of a public hearing Monday, August 31, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall auditorium on two matters: (1) an appeal of the Planning Commission’s denial of Petition 2026-06-02-15, a request for waiver use approval under Sections 3.10 and 6.37 to operate a massage establishment at 33600 Seven Mile Road, north side between Farmington Road and Norwich Street, Southeast ¼ of Section 4; and (2) an Industrial Facilities Exemption Certificate application from Katrina Dumas of Beaver Aerospace & Defense, Inc. to expand operations supporting the aerospace and defense industry and create more than 20 qualified jobs at 36555 Amrhein Road, in Industrial Development District No. 110. |
| 0:30:36 | President Reid | Agenda preparation ordinances. Handed the gavel to Vice President Brockway and offered a resolution to amend ordinances 2.04.050 and 2.04.080 to return preparation of regular and study agendas to the City Clerk. Cited neutrality — the administrator reports to the council president — and single-point staffing with no backup. Said external petitioners had been left off agendas and that she had to let someone go two months earlier, praising the staff who covered since. |
| 0:32:32 | Councilmember Brandon McCullough | Opposed. Said the council office is currently out of ordinance with mayor’s office staff handling legislative branch correspondence, which fits a weak-mayor system rather than Livonia’s. Said the original change was unanimous and made to fix repeated filing problems; that as council president he had sought additional staffing through civil service and human resources; and that the council president, not a program supervisor, approves the agenda before it goes to the clerk for posting. |
| 0:35:36 | Councilmember Eileen McDonnell | Asked to see the administrative office’s policies, procedures and job description before supporting anything, and said she lacked information to vote for a change that night. |
| 0:36:31 | Councilmember Carrie Budzinski | Noted council spent roughly two years on the reclassification and shuffle, and that long-term viability and consistency were central to that conversation. Said she was comfortable asking Law for a recommendation but wanted more time before final action. |
| 0:37:43 | Councilmember Martha Ptashnik | Supported for the sake of discussion, sought clarification that only the regular and study agendas were at issue, and noted the council president retains final approval — so the clerk would be performing clerical work rather than setting the agenda. |
| 0:43:04 | Councilmember Robin Persiconi | Asked whether the maker would place the matter in committee before referring it to Law — the question that ultimately reshaped the motion. |
| 0:56:56 | Vice President Patrick Brockway | Asked whether the matter could move rapidly through Committee of the Whole. Reid agreed to rescind and remake the motion; Brockway noted all seven members sit on that committee. |
| 0:58:49 | President Reid | New data deadline. Proposed moving the ordinance deadline for new data from 3:00 p.m. the business day before a meeting to noon or 10:00 a.m., citing insufficient review time — particularly for Wednesday meetings without a weekend buffer. Referred to Committee of the Whole with the other ordinance items. |
| 1:00:40 | Councilmember Budzinski | Flock cameras. Moved to refer the subject to the Public Safety Committee. Said the system was approved last fall without community discussion, that the discussion is now happening online locally and nationally, and that she wants an administration update on the contract, implementation and effectiveness so residents are informed. |
| 1:02:19 | Councilmember McCullough | Response to public comment. Said there is a protocol for entering construction sites — sign-in, PPE, high-visibility vest — and that he has always followed it. Said he petitioned the Law Department for access to the Alfred Noble Library and is still waiting on a waiver begun under the former city attorney; he has not entered the facility. |
| 1:03:26 | Councilmember McDonnell | Six Mile and Haggerty car wash. Asked for an update on the second driveway and traffic signal. Staff reported the petitioner has attempted repeatedly and unsuccessfully to secure access from the adjacent property owner; the signal application is under Wayne County review, likely a few more weeks, then bidding and material lead time — with no real action on the signal expected until sometime next year. McDonnell asked about the impact on the certificate of occupancy, a condition council attached; staff said timing would have to play out. |
| 1:05:05 | President Reid | Noted receipt of the Department of Finance communication dated July 23, 2026 forwarding financial statements for December 2025 through May 2026; received and filed. |
| 1:05:22 | Aarica Smith, Director of Government Relations | Mental health fair. Reported the Human Relations Commission hosted its first mental health and wellness fair, “The Conversation,” that Saturday at the Bennett Library, with panel topics including trauma, depression, children and back-to-school stress, and substance abuse. Thanked partners including the Livonia Police Department, Hegira Health, Recovery Action Network and Starfish Family Services. |
| 1:06:35 | Aarica Smith | Grant correction. Corrected statements made by a resident at the previous meeting about the Livonia Police Department’s Community Policing Competitive Grant. Said the MCOLES grant application expressly covers food and promotional items for community outreach events, that every purchase is reviewed and approved by the MCOLES board, and that the funds were federal money passed to the states and distributed competitively — not money Livonia carved out of its own ARPA allocation, which she said was spent long ago. |
| 1:08:22 | President Reid / Mark Taormina | Book Five publicity. Reid asked how the previous week’s public hearing was publicized. Taormina said the announcement came from the Planning Commission and that staff would review how the plan was made available on the website, correct it, return to the Planning Commission for a significant allowance for public review and comment, and work with the communications department on distributing the plan through social media. |
| 1:10:35 | President Reid | Committee of the Whole report. Summarized the July 20 meeting on virtual attendance: full attendance, input from City Attorney Goldstein, the communications director and AV staff, and a recommendation to follow the Ann Arbor model with day-of sign-up and password-protected links. Noted the roughly $40,000 TriCaster cost and said she had already flagged it as a top budget priority. |
| 1:15:14 | Councilmember Ptashnik | Finance and Budget Committee report. Delivered the August 10 pre-budget summary, listing revenue and expenditure projections, staffing and cost drivers, the infrastructure funding gap, and each member’s priorities. Closed by noting not all requests will be fulfilled and that some fall outside the budget process but remain council priorities. Next meeting September 21, 2026. |
| 1:29:56 | Councilmember Ptashnik | On Item 11, said her near-term goal is an updated, comprehensive list of all city buildings with maintenance needs, schedules and projected dollar amounts, to inform the current and FY 2027 budgets. |
| 2:23:01 | Councilmember Ptashnik | On the boiler process. Said the Sandburg and Bennett boiler projects have been a problem from the start, recalling that she asked for a two-week tabling in late April to look at a full library maintenance projection and was told the administration needed the decision immediately. Said the two projects might have been bid together. Noted council has charter authority to bypass bidding in defined circumstances but said she was not recommending it. |
| 2:38:04 | Councilmember Budzinski | Said Ptashnik had been right about pausing on the library and that she did not want to repeat the mistake; withdrew her approving motion on Item 14. |
| 2:38:39 | Councilmember Persiconi | Asked colleagues to weigh the cost of a pause, noting the difference between the current bid and the next-lowest is roughly $50,000 and that rebidding could cost taxpayers an additional $70,000. Said the council has waived bidding numerous times where there is no advantage to the city. |
| 2:41:03 | Eric Goldstein, City Attorney | Asked what happens if an award is later found improper, said his analysis would synchronize the bidding requirement, the authority to waive a bid, and the fact that the city must take the lowest qualified bid — and that those three together may provide a basis to proceed, while cautioning he was speaking without research. |
| 2:43:30 | Councilmember McCullough | Suggested an alternative path: void the bid, use one of the city’s rotating architects or engineers under contract to develop a scope, and bring an apples-to-apples emergency expenditure back to council given winter timing and boiler lead times. Also asked why the city does not procure the specified boiler directly and bid only the installation; staff said doing so creates a gray area because the city purchases without sales tax. |
| 2:45:34 | Councilmember McDonnell | Asked who performed the chiller repairs referenced in library board minutes and what they cost. Staff did not have the information and agreed to follow up. |
| 2:58:07 | Councilmember McDonnell | On Item 15, said she believes the ADA restroom work is needed but was sticking to her position on process, and voted no. |
What Happens Next
- Monday, August 31, 2026, 6:00 p.m. — Public hearing in the City Hall auditorium on the appeal of Petition 2026-06-02-15 (massage establishment, 33600 Seven Mile Road) and on the Beaver Aerospace & Defense Industrial Facilities Exemption Certificate at 36555 Amrhein Road.
- Monday, August 31, 2026 — Regular meeting. Item 14, the Bennett Library boiler award, returns from the table with a legal opinion from the Law Department expected.
- Committee of the Whole — Agenda preparation ordinances 2.04.050 and 2.04.080, and the new-data submission deadline.
- Public Safety Committee — Flock camera contract review.
- Department of Law — Drafting an ordinance permitting virtual attendance at regular and study meetings on the Ann Arbor model.
- Monday, September 21, 2026, 7:00 p.m. — Finance and Budget Committee, City Hall, continuing FY 2026–2027 budget discussion.
- Planning Commission — Book Five master plan update returns with an expanded public review and comment period.