Livonia City Council 2035th Regular Meeting - February 23, 2026

At its regular meeting on Monday, February 23, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall Auditorium, the Livonia City Council approved the remaining 20-item consent agenda, adopted a resolution opposing Michigan's housing preemption bills, heard public testimony on parks, development, and city finances, and removed two agenda items. Councilmembers Carrie Budzinski, Robin Persiconi, Martha Ptashnik, Patrick Brockway, Brandon McCullough, and Kayleigh Reid were present; Eileen McDonnell was absent. The meeting adjourned at 7:47 p.m.

Opening Recognition and Reports

• Council recognized Nicole, a Livonia athlete and 2026 Special Olympics gold medalist in the 100-meter and 250-meter cross-country skiing events; she encouraged volunteering or registering through Olympics.com.
• Councilmember Brockway announced January 2026 retirees: Senior Police Lieutenant Michael Mockeridge (26 years, 4 months), Public Service Worker Ward Cowan (18 years, 8 months), and DPW Director Don Roroff (15 years, 7 months).
• Councilmembers announced upcoming community events, including a city employee polar plunge fundraiser for Special Olympics, the Moving with Moose kickoff on Mar. 1, the Livonia PM Rotary Club's first annual Grub Crawl on Apr. 16, a charity hockey event on May 2, and the Webster Wildcat elementary chess team's K-3 state championship win.
• Upcoming committee meetings were announced: Economic Development, Strategic Planning and Technology on Feb. 25, and Capital Outlay and Infrastructure on Mar. 2 and Mar. 11, all at 7:00 p.m.
• The Mayor's Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 was received and placed on file.
• Library Director Lindsay Fricky reported that the public library now subscribes to the Detroit Legal News, available Monday through Friday.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes of the Feb. 9, 2026 regular meeting were approved 6-0; the resolution text in the minutes cites Feb. 26, 2026, conflicting with the agenda, which appears to be a typo.
• Site Plan Petition 2025-11-08-08 (Safiedine Merriman LLC) for a building addition to the gasoline service station at Merriman and Schoolcraft Roads was approved with conditions.
• Hourly rate increases were approved for High School Co-Op, College Co-Op, and Seasonal Clerk classifications, and for Parks and Recreation Level 1 Steps 1 and 1.5, due to new minimum wage rates; the latter is effective Jan. 1, 2026.
• Final budget adjustments for the fiscal year ending Nov. 30, 2025 were authorized.
• Parks bids approved: Rotary Park playground resurfacing to WeBuildFun, Inc. ($193,240); three Star Trac treadmills to Fitness Things ($24,401); three Freemotion treadmills to Direct Fitness Solutions ($25,485).
• Shelden Park Redevelopment purchases approved under sole-source/cooperative pricing: benches/picnic tables from Penchura, LLC ($38,903.20); outdoor fitness equipment from Penchura, LLC ($42,262.53); splash pad from Vortex Aquatic Structures International ($614,895.90); playground equipment from Midstates Recreation ($596,786.50). Item #12 on site furnishings was removed before the vote.
• Approved the Memorial Day road closure for May 23, 2026, 8:30-10:00 a.m., and the Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting for Dec. 6, 2026, 4:00-5:00 p.m.; Senior Police Officer Michael Arakelian was authorized to sign Wayne County permits, and the city assumed liability as to Wayne County.
• Public Works awards approved: ready-mix concrete to Messina Concrete (up to $55,000); hot and cold bituminous materials to Ajax Materials and Nagle Paving with alternates (up to $90,000); aggregates to Osburn, Farmer & Underwood, Edw Levy, and Simple Connect (up to $140,000); and two-year vegetation control to TruGreen ($29,025.08 total) and Premier Property Maintenance ($10,730.00 total).
• Engineering approvals: OHM Advisors contract amendment for 2026 Asphalt Road Program construction engineering (up to $444,593); OHM Advisors amendment for the 2026 Newburgh Road Reconstruction and five traffic signal replacements (up to $590,000, including a $40,000 appropriation and $109,710 Wayne County reimbursement); and the 2026 Sidewalk Repair Program covering approximately 506 locations.

Unfinished Business

• Agenda item #22, the purchase of acoustical panels for the west gym at the Jack E. Kirksey Recreation Center, was removed from the agenda; no action was taken.

Public Comments & Testimony

During the first audience communication period, residents raised:

• Karla Truxall shared that Livonia has a free Saturday Park Run at Bicentennial Park for walkers, joggers, and runners, and encouraged participation.
• Steve King urged the city to pilot the RID Plow hydraulic attachment to reduce snow windrows at driveway ends, and suggested using court community service workers and LED bulb replacements to help fund it.
• Bob Hauser expressed support for native-plant landscapes and said he will attend the March 16 Law and Education Committee meeting on the noxious weed ordinance amendment.
• Christopher Martin criticized the court community service work program and said an event called Soul of Livonia lacked agenda and substance.
• Ralph McNabb opposed the proposed Sheets gas station at Eight Mile and Newburgh, alleging procedural violations, safety risks from 80,000 gallons of fuel storage, and that only the site plan, not the use variance, has been approved.
• Greg Ralko urged the council to make a motion to rescind the prior site plan approval for the Sheets station, citing councilmembers' prior opposition.

During the consent agenda comment period:

• Frank Durmot asked the council to pull the splash pad from the consent agenda and refurbish a pool instead, saying children need a pool to learn to swim and a pool benefits everyone.
• Another resident, whose name was not stated, said poured-in-place rubber is a better playground surface than artificial turf and predicted seam and edge problems with turf at Rotary Park.

During the final audience communication period:

• Jerry Karasinski supported the housing preemption resolution and called for local control over zoning, plus attention to police and fire stations, Noble Library, city hall, master plan feedback, possible city charter changes, annexation, and library planning.
• Cindy Fleming questioned figures in the FY 2024-2025 Annual Report, including declining ad valorem totals, a treasurer figure of $754,136 in delinquent personal property taxes versus $21,370 reported by the law department, accounts payable checks falling from 13,304 to 415, and police serious-crime declines of 18% and 10% that she said appeared inconsistent with other reported increases.

Discussion Items

• Councilmember Budzinski requested, and the council passed 6-0, a resolution formally opposing the Michigan House housing preemption package as introduced, urging legislators to vote against it and to work collaboratively with local governments. The resolution directs the clerk to transmit it to the Governor, Livonia's state representatives and senators, the Michigan Municipal League, the Michigan Townships Association, the Michigan Association of Counties, and other interested parties.
• Councilmember Budzinski asked that long-term infrastructure investment and facilities maintenance planning be added to the Capital Outlay and Infrastructure Committee agenda, alongside the planned new police facility discussion.
• Councilmember McCullough criticized the lack of progress on repairs at Noble Library, including a roof hole and continued water damage, and said a budgeted capital improvement manager position remains unfilled; he urged action rather than further study.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes approved 6-0.
• Housing preemption opposition resolution #70-26 adopted by a 6-0 roll-call vote, with all present members voting yes.
• The remaining 20 consent agenda items passed 6-0; items #12 and #22 were removed from the agenda, and new data was announced for items #10, #12, and #22.
• The Mayor's Annual Report for FY 2024-2025 was received and placed on file.
• The meeting adjourned unanimously at 7:47 p.m.