Livonia City Council — Study Meeting Report - 7/13/2026
LIVONIA — 7/18/2026
About study meetings: this is a discussion-only session — no formal roll-call votes are taken. Council reviews each item, questions staff and petitioners, and directs each item to either the Consent Agenda or the Regular Agenda for a final vote at the 2,045th Regular Meeting on Monday, July 27, 2026. "Recommendation" below reflects that routing decision, not a final vote.
1. Full Agenda Item Table
| Item | Department | Description | Recommended by | Routing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | External Request | Block Party — Stacy Robeniol: Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, 1–10 p.m., Shadyside Street between Gable and Aldane Streets; rain date Aug. 8, 2026. | Ptashnik | Petitioner described a food, bounce-house and yard-games gathering. | |
| 2 | External Request | Block Party — Christina Zeoli: Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, 11 a.m.–7 p.m., Summers Street between Riverside Drive and Ashurst Street. | McCullough | REGULAR | Petitioner was not present; moved to the Regular Agenda by default. |
| 3 | External Request | Block Party — Erin Dobbins & Jerome Pfeifer: Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, noon–10 p.m., in the SMB Estates neighborhood, at two locations: Ronnie Lane (Lyndon to Meadowbrook) and Barbara Street (Scone to Perth). | McCullough | Street names were corrected the morning of the meeting (see Section 2). Pfeifer is president of the neighborhood's civic association; McCullough praised the association at length. | |
| 4 | External Request | Block Party — Tracy Nolte: Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, 5–9 p.m., Marie Street and Court, between Knolson Street and Minton Avenue. | Persiconi | Described as a neighborhood grill-and-hang-out gathering. | |
| 5 | External Request | Block Party — Michael Camilleri: Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, 1–7 p.m., between 18528 and 18745 Parklane Street; rain date Sept. 26, 2026. | Brockway | Recurring event; petitioner said this is about the fourth or fifth year running it. | |
| 6 | Fire & Rescue | Purchase of Whalen Emergency Warning Packages from Priority One Emergency for four incoming department vehicles, $45,999.16 total, from budgeted funds. Presented by Fire Chief Robert Jennison. | Ptashnik | Lowest of four qualifying bids received. Chief Jennison also announced a free child car-seat check event, Thursday, 1–4 p.m., at Fire Station 3 on Seven Mile Road. | |
| 7 | Civil Service | Sole-source expenditure approval for NeoGov (talent acquisition / civil-service hiring software), roughly $21,000, from budgeted funds. Presented by Human Resources Director Jeannine Laible. | Ptashnik → moved to Regular by McDonnell | REGULAR | McDonnell asked whether a discount was available through "Sourcewell"; Laible confirmed no NeoGov discount exists, only a conference-registration discount. A resident (Jim Biga) questioned whether the software actually speeds up hiring. |
| 8 | Parks & Recreation | Award of bid for locker-room re-grouting at the Jack E. Kirksey Recreation Center, from budgeted funds. Presented by Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Michelle Koppin. | Budzinski → moved to Regular by Ptashnik | REGULAR | Only one bid was received. Council asked whether the family locker room was included; staff confirmed the bid covers men's and women's locker rooms only, and the item was held to Regular so this could be double-checked in writing. |
| 9 | City Clerk | Ordinance amendment, Chapter 8.16 (Restaurants): changes restaurant business-license renewal from a fixed Nov. 30 expiration for all licensees to a rolling one-year term from each license's issuance date. Presented by City Clerk Lori Miller. | Persiconi | Intended to eliminate a year-end processing bottleneck across the Clerk's, Inspection, and Fire Departments. | |
| 10 | Planning | Waiver Petition 2026-05-02-13 — Luxe Events LLC: requests waiver-use approval for a banquet/event facility (up to 150 people, ~2,800 sq. ft.) at 27600 Schoolcraft Road, Buckingham Village Shopping Center, on the site of a former distillery. Requires a waiver of the standard 300-ft. residential-separation requirement. Presented by Planning & Economic Development Director Mark Taormina; petitioner Tiffany Munson (owner). | Budzinski | REGULAR | Planning Commission recommended approval with conditions (midnight closing, alley improvements, non-transferable to a new owner). Council pressed on closing-time consistency with prior approvals, neighbor outreach, security, noise, and restroom capacity (see Section 2). |
| 11 | Planning | Waiver Petition 2026-05-02-14 — Oval Auto: requests waiver-use approval to operate an automobile repair facility at 28755 Plymouth Road (former Dobby's Tuxedo building), expanding the existing building to about 7,500 sq. ft. and seven repair bays. Presented by Mark Taormina; petitioners Jeff and Vanessa Schembri. | Budzinski | The Schembris already operate Oval Auto Repair next door; this would relocate/expand that business. Staff recommended the same non-transferability condition placed on the adjacent property in 2002 (Council Resolution 20702). | |
| 12 | Housing Commission | 2027 SMART Agreement: authorizes the Livonia Housing Commission to receive $89,424 in Municipal and Community Credits to support the Live & Go transit program. Presented by Housing Commission Executive Director Madison Bjertness. | Budzinski | Ptashnik confirmed the credit is contingent on passage of the countywide SMART transit millage on the August 4 ballot; staff could not yet say whether a larger credit would follow if the millage passes. | |
| 13 | Housing Commission | 2026–2030 Consolidated Plan & 2026–2027 CDBG Annual Plan/Budget, plus hold-harmless contracts with First Step, Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit, Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Cruz Clinic, Stonebrook Counseling Associates PLCC, and CARES (Farmington Hills). Presented by Madison Bjertness. | Budzinski | $359,489 in HUD entitlement funds plus an estimated $650,000 in program income. Highlights: $150,000 for Hillcrest Park improvements and $450,000 for ADA-accessible bathrooms at the Robert and Janet Bennett Civic Center Library (bid already issued in parallel with this budget approval). | |
| 14 | Dept. of Law | Cable franchise agreement renewal between the City of Livonia and Comcast, for a 10-year term. Presented by Comcast representative Jada Weatherspoon, with a Law Department representative (Ms. Rogers) also on hand. | Persiconi | Standard renewal of the uniform video-service local franchise agreement, renewed on a 10-year cycle; sets franchise-fee and PEG (public/education/government channel) fee terms. |
2. Significant Events & Notable Discussion
Luxe Events banquet hall: the meeting's most detailed review
Item 10 drew the longest discussion of the night. Planning & Economic Development Director Mark Taormina explained that Luxe Events LLC, owned and managed by Tiffany Munson, is seeking waiver-use approval to convert a former distillery space in the Buckingham Village Shopping Center on Schoolcraft Road into a banquet/event facility for up to 150 guests, including weddings, bridal and baby showers, corporate events and repasts. Because the site sits closer than 300 feet to an adjacent residential neighborhood, council must waive that separation standard. Council questioned Munson on security staffing, parking (roughly 200 spaces available against a required 44), noise spilling into the neighborhood after midnight events, restroom capacity (two single-stall ADA restrooms for up to 125 guests, which staff confirmed meets code), and — at length — closing-time consistency with two previously approved event venues, which Council said closed at 11 p.m. on weekdays with a following hour to clear out. Munson agreed to match that schedule. Council also recommended she proactively contact the neighboring residential subdivision before opening, both as a courtesy and to defuse future complaints. The item was moved to the Regular Agenda so an hours-of-operation review across past approvals could be confirmed in writing.
Oval Auto's expansion, a bittersweet reunion for the block
Item 11 was more straightforward: Jeff and Vanessa Schembri, who have operated Oval Auto Repair on Plymouth Road for nearly 25 years, want to renovate the neighboring former Dobby's Tuxedo building into a second, larger repair facility with seven bays — allowing them to eventually hand the business to their son. Council members reminisced about the building's late former tenant and offered warm congratulations, recommending approval on consent with the same non-transfer restriction placed on the original 2002 waiver.
NeoGov and the locker-room bid sent to Regular for more detail
Two routine-seeming items were pulled to the Regular Agenda for additional written confirmation rather than any objection in principle: the Civil Service Department's roughly $21,000 sole-source NeoGov hiring-software contract (Council asked about discount options and hiring-speed benefits), and the Parks and Recreation Department's locker-room re-grouting bid at the Jack E. Kirksey Recreation Center (Council wants written confirmation that the bid excludes the family locker room, as members understood, before final approval).
The Steve King recreation-center ban resurfaces
During the second audience-communication period, a resident continuing a topic first raised at the regular meeting laid out a detailed timeline: 16th District Court Judge Jim Jolly dismissed a breaking-and-entering charge against resident Steve King and King pleaded no contest to a related trespassing charge tied to an incident at the Livonia Senior Wellness Center and the Jack E. Kirksey Recreation Center, resulting in a $50 fine. The city's Recreation Commission, under then-department head Ted Davis, separately imposed a lifetime ban from both facilities. The speaker argued the ban was disproportionate to the court's own penalty and suggested it was retaliation connected to King's opposition to the defeated $145 million "Vision 21" bond proposal, which lost by a roughly 2-to-1 margin. The speaker called on the council to end the ban and, at the close of his remarks, referenced Mayor Maureen Miller Brosnan directly. Council made no response or commitment on the record.
A new voice on license-plate camera surveillance
A first-time speaker, identifying herself as a Livonia resident, computer/electrical engineer, and member of the Metro Detroit chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), raised concerns about "Flock" and similar AI-powered license-plate-reader camera systems, calling them "dangerous and unsecure" and noting the city's existing Flock contract was approved on a consent agenda without, in her view, sufficient scrutiny. She offered to share research with council and make herself available for follow-up. Immediately after, resident Lynn Mills defended the speaker from what she described as online mockery and "retribution" directed at citizens who speak at the podium, calling it "despicable" regardless of political disagreement.
Trinity Health grant funds a new social worker for senior housing
Councilmember Budzinski announced that a Trinity Health "Healthy Livonia" grant has been awarded to the Livonia Housing Commission to fund a social worker serving residents of Marquette Towers, Silver Village, and Newburgh Village — three senior housing communities — to help reduce avoidable hospital readmissions among seniors who lack support after discharge.
3. Public Comment Timeline
The study meeting held two audience-communication windows — a 30-minute period at the start of the meeting for topics not on the study agenda, and a second period at the end for anyone who had not yet spoken. Additional public comments occurred during discussion of specific agenda items and are listed with their item number.
| Time | Speaker | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 1:15 | Gerald Kaczynski (1948 Bainbridge) | Referenced the $20.3 million fund balance figure discussed at the prior audit review and asked council to confirm that unspent public-safety millage dollars remain restricted to public-safety use even if spent in a future year. |
| 1:58 | "Laura" (Munger Street) | Criticized a 2025 presentation on license-plate ("Flock") cameras as one-sided with little critical follow-up, and said the item should not have been placed on a consent agenda. |
| Item | Speaker | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Gerald Kaczynski | Questioned the timing of the locker-room re-grouting bid, given the recreation center's recent extended closure for other renovations; asked why this project wasn't bundled in. |
| 8 | Denise Mica | Said the posted bid/statement of work does not include family locker rooms and urged the city to be more precise about contract scope; separately criticized the city for still not having removed tree stumps at the Golden Oaks development site. |
| 10 | Denise Mica | Asked what happens with alcohol and insurance liability if a Luxe Events client rents the venue without using the venue's own vetted vendors/mixologists; staff confirmed vendor insurance is required regardless. |
| Time | Speaker | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 56:53 | Denise Mica | Criticized the Clerk's Office and Law Department for apparently lacking a task-tracking system, and criticized council for not letting audience members' questions get answered by other speakers or staff during the meeting. |
| 59:29 | "Alisha" | First-time speaker; Livonia resident and Metro Detroit DSA chapter member; raised concerns about Flock and similar AI license-plate-reader surveillance systems and offered to share research with council (see Section 2). |
| 1:00:56 | Lynn Mills (Plymouth Road) | Raised continued concerns about tree removal and a newly posted environmental site-testing notice at the Golden Oaks development; also condemned online mockery of a fellow resident who had just spoken (see Section 2). |
| 1:03:28 | Unnamed speaker (context indicates a continuation of Frank McDermott's remarks from the July 13 regular meeting) | Detailed recap of the Steve King trespassing case and lifetime recreation-center ban; called on council to end the ban (see Section 2). |
4. Council Comments & Announcements Timeline
| Time | Council Member | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 0:18 | President Kayleigh Reid | Opened the meeting; noted this study session sets the agenda for the July 27, 2026 Regular (voting) Meeting; confirmed all seven members were present. |
| 0:26 | Eileen McDonnell | Led the Pledge of Allegiance. |
| 2:44 | Carrie Budzinski | Announced the Trinity Health "Healthy Livonia" grant funding a new social worker for Marquette Towers, Silver Village, and Newburgh Village senior housing residents (see Section 2). |
| 3:34 | President Reid | Noted that Item 3 (the Dobbins/Pfeifer block party) contained corrected street data received that morning. |
No other council members offered additional announcements at this meeting.
5. Recommendation Summary
| Routing | Items |
|---|---|
| Items 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 (10 of 14 items) | |
| REGULAR | Items 2, 7, 8, 10 (4 of 14 items) |
This meeting adjourned after the second audience-communication period with no further closing remarks from council.