Livonia News This Week

Livonia City Council votes Monday, Oct. 12, on eight items, among them three unmarked police vehicles, $170,332 in new City Hall entrance doors and a two-year park mowing contract. Police arrested a caregiver accused of taking money from an 86-year-old woman, and a Detroit Fire battalion chief is due in court Thursday, Oct. 8, in a Livonia road-rage case. Comments are open below.

The Weather: Rain Tuesday and Friday; Highs Fall to 51 by Saturday

Drizzle opens the week Sunday, Oct. 11, with a high of 65° and the week's highest chance of rain, 43%. Monday, Oct. 12, is the warmest day at 66°. Tuesday, Oct. 13, brings the most rain, about three-quarters of an inch, and a high of 52°; Wednesday, Oct. 14, stays cool at 55° with a low of 42°. Highs rebound to 65° Thursday, Oct. 15, before showers Friday, Oct. 16, and a high of 51° Saturday, Oct. 17.

The News

Council votes Oct. 12 on police cars, City Hall doors and a mowing contract

The Livonia City Council sent all eight items on its Sept. 28 study meeting agenda to its 2,050th regular meeting, Monday, Oct. 12, for formal votes, Livonia Thrive's own coverage reported. Study meetings take no binding votes; each item instead goes to the Consent agenda, approved in a single motion, or the Regular agenda, debated and voted individually.

On the Regular agenda: three unmarked police vehicles bought through the state's MiDEAL cooperative pricing for $132,718, partly offset by $45,870 in insurance proceeds for a totaled car; a two-year, $188,230 park mowing contract with Livonia-based Teddy's Lawn & Landscape, which Councilmember Martha Ptashnik questioned because Russell Landscaping bid $84,518 for 2027 alone; and developer Angelo Mauti's second request to waive sidewalks at four new homes on Fairlane Avenue south of Five Mile Road, which the Engineering Division again recommends denying. The city's official draft minutes list the Fairlane waiver on the Consent agenda; the meeting video shows Ptashnik asking that it go to the Regular agenda and President Kayleigh Reid announcing that it would.

On Consent: $170,332 for new City Hall entrance doors from Dynamic Glazing Systems, the second-lowest bidder, after the Department of Public Works passed over low bidder Keystone Strategic Partners ($160,884.28), which would have used a subcontractor; a $15,000 election grant; up to $35,000 for Empco police and fire promotional testing; extending Reserve and National Guard leave to all regular city employees; and Livonia's $137,601 share of the Inkster Road resurfacing between West Chicago and Schoolcraft. The engineering memo and Wayne County's cover letter put Livonia's working-capital advance for that project at $68,800; Article 7.1 of the agreement itself gives $121,713.

City Clerk Lori Miller reported that her office had delivered more than 27,000 absentee ballots to the post office for the Nov. 3 election and that completed ballots are already coming back.

Source: Livonia Thrive, October 2, 2026

Council extends engineering contracts; Trinity Park seniors decry rent hikes

At its Sept. 28 regular meeting the council voted 6-0 to extend its on-call engineering contracts with four firms through Nov. 30, 2031, and to award Dynamic Underground Group an $84,689.40 contract for 380 feet of storm pipe on Westbrook Drive south of Whitcomb, Livonia Thrive reported. Councilmember Eileen McDonnell was absent. An eight-item consent agenda also passed 6-0, including a packaged beer-and-wine license for Fogo de Chão at Six Mile Road and Fox Drive; the agenda lists the restaurant at 38888 Six Mile Road, while the Planning Commission confirmed on the record that 39000 Six Mile Road is correct. The consent agenda also lowered the card fee residents pay on city bills from 2.8% to 2.65%. On Reid's motion, council sent the City Hall accessibility ramp to the Committee of the Whole because its landing is not ADA-compliant.

Three residents of Trinity Park, a senior apartment community on Middlebelt Road, said their building is ending income-based rents for about 40 seniors. One resident said her rent will rise $163 a month in January 2027, with another $50 increase in 2028. Councilmember Carrie Budzinski said the complex is not city, Livonia Housing Commission or HUD housing, and that State Rep. Stephanie Young is leading efforts to help residents. Budzinski also announced the Kiwanis “Fill the Box” returnables drive, Monday, Nov. 2, through Friday, Nov. 6, at the Bennett Civic Center Library.

Source: Livonia Thrive, October 2, 2026

Caregiver arrested in theft from 86-year-old Livonia woman

Livonia police arrested a caregiver early Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 6, accused of taking money from Cynthia Dame, 86, through ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases, Local 4 reported. Capt. Eric Marcotte said charges could come as early as Wednesday and that the department investigates such crimes “to the fullest extent.” Local 4 says Dame reports the caregiver took nearly $24,000; the station did not name the caregiver pending charges.

Dame said the caregiver, who began working for her in July 2025, took her ATM card and made $500 withdrawals before and after work. Her daughter, Constance Wisniewski, said a sister found a line of daily $500 withdrawals in their mother's linked account, and that the caregiver admitted taking the money when the family confronted her.

Source: ClickOnDetroit / WDIV Local 4, October 6, 2026

Detroit Fire battalion chief due in court in Livonia road-rage case

Thomas Suchora, 57, a Detroit Fire Department battalion chief since 1995, faces a preliminary hearing Thursday, Oct. 8, in 16th District Court on misdemeanor charges of assault and battery and malicious destruction of property, Local 4 reported. Todd Richards, 64, of Livonia, says Suchora attacked him around 12:15 p.m. Aug. 25 after the two crossed a railroad track near Levan and Plymouth roads, throwing his glasses to the pavement and his phone across the street and tearing ligaments in his left hand. Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms said Suchora was placed on leave without pay pending the criminal case. Richards said he plans to file a civil suit.

Source: ClickOnDetroit / WDIV Local 4, September 30 and October 1, 2026

Alice Cooper to appear at Livonia's Rock City Music Co. Nov. 5

Alice Cooper will appear at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at Rock City Music Co. in Livonia to celebrate his memoir, “Devil on My Shoulder,” presented with Da Capo Publishing. Tickets include a pre-signed hardcover and a professional photo with Cooper; he will not sign other items. Deadline Detroit gives the ticket price as $50; The Detroit News gives $50.02. The Detroit News reports the appearance, sponsored by WRIF-FM, is Cooper's third event at the store.

Source: Deadline Detroit, The Detroit News, October 6, 2026

Blessing Baskets return for Livonia elementary families

Plymouth business owners Cheryl Pozek and Colleen Donakowski are assembling Blessing Baskets for a third year: a full Thanksgiving dinner of canned goods, sides, desserts, soup and bread, plus a gift card for a protein, packed in a reusable laundry basket, for families of Livonia elementary students facing food insecurity, Local 4 reported. The program started with 27 baskets, the number Livonia elementary schools asked for, and has doubled each year. “A lot of people don't want to go to a pantry,” Pozek said.

Source: ClickOnDetroit / WDIV Local 4, October 3, 2026

Bennett Civic Center Library to renovate lobby restrooms this fall

The Robert and Janet Bennett Civic Center Library is updating its lobby restrooms to be safer, more modern and ADA-accessible, the library said. The project is funded by Community Development Block Grant money the Livonia Housing Commission selected for the library. The library's notice gives no completion date or closure schedule.

Source: Livonia Public Library, September 30, 2026

Metro Detroit

Wayne County overrides veto of tax breaks for Van Buren data center

The Wayne County Commission voted 13-0 Thursday, Oct. 1, to override County Executive Warren Evans' Sept. 25 veto of tax breaks for a planned Google data center in Van Buren Township, FOX 2 Detroit reported. Two commissioners were absent. Commissioners said the vote was not an approval of the data center itself. “I myself personally, voted against it a couple weeks ago,” Commissioner Allen Wilson said. “But after more information, I dug into it deeper. Union folks will get opportunities to go to work.” Evans said in a statement that he felt the same way about the abatements after the override.

The project, called Project Cannoli, would occupy 230 acres north of I-94 between Haggerty Road and I-275 and would be the largest data center in Michigan, FOX 2 reported. It would use one gigawatt of electricity and two to three million gallons of water a day, according to FOX 2. Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara has said the project will lower water rates for township customers.

The same day, the Michigan Public Service Commission approved a 20-year supply contract and a clean energy agreement between DTE Electric and Google, on condition that no costs pass to DTE's other customers, The Detroit News reported. Google must pay for at least 80% of its contracted electricity even if it uses less, and at least 15 years of minimum charges if it cancels early. Google will also pay for DTE to build up to 1,600 megawatts of renewable energy and 480 megawatts of battery storage. DTE says the contracts will produce a $1.7 billion net benefit for its other customers over 20 years. The data center is expected to start running in December 2027 and reach full load a year later.

Source: FOX 2 Detroit, The Detroit News, October 1, 2026; ClickOnDetroit, October 2, 2026

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