Council approves multiple easements and consent items; residents press for sidewalks, and commenter alleges procurement problems

The Livonia City Council unanimously approved the consent agenda and several easement and license items during its regular meeting, while residents urged the council to require sidewalk connections for new commercial developments and a public commenter alleged possible procurement irregularities on a separate city contract.

The council approved items 1–10 on the consent agenda by a 5-0 vote after public comment. Residents asked the council to remove several proposed waivers from the consent agenda for further review, arguing new drive-through businesses near Millennium Park should include sidewalks connecting businesses, bus stops and Middlebelt Road to improve safety and accessibility. "Right now, there is no way to safely walk from Middlebelt to Meijer without essentially walking in the road," Justin Gooch told the council.

Several residents asked that the council require petitioners to include a sidewalk plan as a condition of approval or pull items from consent for fuller study. Cindy Fleming noted a prior council referral to a moratorium on car washes and urged caution before adding another wash in a controversial location.

Unfinished-business items 11–13 involved acceptance of storm sewer and water-main easements tied to the Meyer development; council members described these as routine legal housekeeping related to new development and approved each item 5-0. Item 14, a temporary license agreement with Consumers Energy to use part of city property for staging through July 1, 2026, was described by staff as standard and likewise passed 5-0.

During audience communication, Steve King alleged the council had violated the Open Meetings Act and criticized an HVAC contract award. King said three vendors submitted bids, two were later disqualified leaving a single bidder whose price was over $1,000,000 higher across the contract’s life than a disqualified proposal; he asked why the city did not rebid and asked for clearer contract scope and equipment lists. "This is not about picking a higher bid, this is about eliminating competition and then moving forward anyway without rebidding," King said. The transcript records no staff response to these allegations during the meeting.

Council actions and follow-up: Vice President Brockway moved to refer an ordinance about residential-fence mesh (ordinance 15.44.0.09 as stated in the record) to the Law & Education Committee for further review, and the motion carried. Council also asked staff to reach out to multiple property owners in Millennium Park to explore sidewalk and bus-stop improvements; staff said that process could take several months and report back.

Why it matters: The consent approvals move several development and utility items forward, but residents’ calls for walkability improvements and the procurement allegation raised governance and transparency questions that the council did not resolve at the meeting.

Next steps: Staff will contact Millennium Park property owners about sidewalk options and report back; the fence-mesh ordinance will be considered by the Law & Education Committee. The procurement allegation was raised in public comment and would require staff follow-up or formal inquiry to resolve.