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Livonia study session advances business site plans, public-safety grants, budget manager proposal and emergency sewer payment
Summary
At a Livonia City Council study session, members approved multiple consent items — including site-plan waivers for local businesses and two fire-safety grants — advanced a proposed budget manager classification to the regular agenda, and authorized payment for an emergency sewer repair while pursuing reimbursement.
The Livonia City Council on its study agenda advanced a broad package of community permits, business site plans, public-safety grants and infrastructure actions and sent a proposed new finance classification for final vote at the next regular meeting.
Council members placed neighborhood block-party permits and a Clarenceville High School homecoming parade route on the consent calendar, and approved two commercial site-plan petitions: a 2,456-square-foot addition at Wine Palace on Middlebelt Road and a full remodel and reconfigured drive-through at a Wendy’s on Plymouth Road. Planning staff said both petitions met setback and parking standards and that the planning commission recommended approval.
“We’re here to help,” the council president said after the Wine Palace presentation, expressing support for the family-owned business. Applicant representatives confirmed the exterior materials will match the existing building and that discussions with MDOT are underway about a frontage landscape island at the Wendy’s site.
The council also accepted two public-safety grants for Livonia Fire & Rescue. A federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) microgrant of $71,004.28 plus a city match of roughly $3,711 will buy 20 thermal imaging cameras that the department said will allow every on-duty crew to carry a modern camera into structure fires. Separately, a Michigan state appropriation will cover up to $3,500 per full-time firefighter for additional turnout gear; Livonia’s award covered 85 personnel and requires a city contribution of about $5,006. The council praised the department’s grant-writing and approved both items on consent.
On policing and social services, the council approved an amendment to a previous resolution so the Higuera Health contract line item draws from the city’s opioid settlement fund and is treated as an annual spending authorization. Police staff said the change does not alter the previously approved contract amount of $190,000 and will simplify accounting for the embedded social-worker program that responds with officers to mental-health crisis calls.
Finance director Miss Lichtenberg outlined a proposed new classification, “budget and fiscal services manager,” with a pay range the presentation put roughly between $79,000 and $92,000. She said the position would be half-funded from the general fund and half from the water and sewer fund, and would provide forecasting, grant and capital-project support, and improved public-facing budget transparency. Council members asked detailed questions about return on investment, staffing levels, and whether the city could meet the work with existing personnel; after extended discussion the council put the position on the regular meeting agenda for a final vote.
Planning staff said Livonia received a $50,000 housing-readiness incentive grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority to update the Livonia Vision 21 master plan. The consultant team (McKenna) will lead community engagement and a yearlong review of zoning and master-plan language that could inform future middle-housing policies; the council approved acceptance of the grant on consent.
Public Works presented several equipment approvals funded through donations or cooperative purchasing, including a sewer-inspection camera with tractor and two telescopic-pole inspection cameras. The department also requested and the council approved an immediate appropriation of $175,867.84 from the water and sewer unexpected fund balance to pay emergency contractor costs after a private contractor bored through a 30-inch main; DPW said the city will pursue reimbursement from the responsible party.
Most items discussed at the study session were approved on consent or moved to the regular agenda for formal action on the council’s next voting meeting.
What’s next: Several items that require a full council vote, including the budget manager classification and any items the council placed on the regular agenda, will be considered at the council’s upcoming regular meeting for final action.
