Club Meeting, Featuring Martha Ptashnik and Brandon McCullough, Livonia City Council

Bill Friske
Jun 11
3 min read

Updated: Jun 16

President Dave Stechholz opened the meeting with the “Pledge of Allegiance,” followed by an Invocation by Victoria Haltom. Reverend Dave then read thank-you letters sent by MI Works Matters Group for the grant they received from the club. Schoolcraft College sent a letter of appreciation for the funds donated towards the Janice Newsome Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Passport to Safety: Special thanks was extended to Susan Paluchniak for leading the effort to organize volunteers from our Rotary Club for this event that was held on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Our club fitted bike helmets on children donated by Trinity Health and Allstate Insurance.

Erin Dobbins thanked the club for being one of the sponsors for the Taylor Conservancy Music and Art in the Gardens, scheduled for later in the day. Several Rotary Clubs are supporting the event and will have a tent to feature their clubs.

President Dave Stechholz reminded club members that Emily Davis and Allison Pritula from the Churchill HS Interact Club will be the featured speakers at the club's weekly meeting on June 18, 2025. Several members cheered hearing the Interact students will speak.

Pat Zucal announced that the Annual Carnival ended this week, and the extended hours the carnival held were successful. He will give a full financial report at the Installation Dinner on Saturday, June 14, 2025.

The Lions Club is opening a new park off Stone Hedge Street at 10:00 AM on Saturday morning, June 14, 2025. Livonia Lion Matt Collins, extended an invitation, and President Dave will be attending and representing our club. All are welcome. Livonia Lions, working with Livonia Scouting, blazed 150 feet of new trails through dense woods and placed new park benches.

A reminder was given that the Installation Picnic was being held at Tammy Bonifield's Cottage in the Irish Hills. Tammy is emailing directions. As in past years, everyone please bring a dish to pass, a beverage, and chairs. Tammy is providing pulled pork, hamburgers, and hot dogs. A scenic tour around the lake will be offered after dinner on a pontoon boat.

Erin Dobbin, Wayne Kinney, Deanna Gaffney and Jackie Graham gave an update on the “Wine Tasting Event,” on June 27, 2025, during the Livonia Spree.

Bill Friske is finalizing the setup of a QR code that links to a Wine Tasting landing page for ticket sales. The club was reminded that the ticket sales will go directly to the Community Choice Bank account set up for the Rebuild Rotary Park Project.

Erin is following up with the paperwork needed for the liquor license. Wayne is making updates to the advertising. Nancy Darga is getting Kayleigh Reid to post the ad on the Spree website, LAMR and the Livonia Rotary noon club websites.

Special Guests: Martha Ptashnik, the City Council Finance Chair, and Brandon McCollough, the Chair of the City Council, were the keynote speakers.

Martha Ptashnik started her presentation about the finances of the City of Livonia by pointing out that the budget development for the City started in May and goes to September 1st. The general fund budget amounts to approximately $73,500,000. This amount does not include side accounts. Livonia has the lowest tax rate in Wayne County and has not been raised in decades. The city maintains 60 parks with approximately 1,400 acres.

Martha stated that not adjusting the tax rate over time did not allow for needed improvements to city buildings and structures. The City reorganized the City Finance Department. The Vision 21 Project was established to outline a five-phase approach to making much needed updates and replacement of city service buildings. Phase I is currently underway to upgrade and expand the Recreation Center, to include Senior Services within the structure. Phase II will concentrate on replacing City Hall, making it smaller and reducing maintenance costs. Phase III will replace the Police Station, which was a retrofitted structure that does not accommodate ADA access. By placing the new station near the courthouse, a significant savings will be realized in transporting prisoners. The new structure will also reduce maintenance costs.

Renovations to the Library will be part of Phase III. Phase IV will encompass development by private investors through a public “Request for Proposals.”

Brandon McCullough pointed out that he meets with Homeowner Associations on a regular basis to keep them informed on City matters. Brandon enthusiastically reported that many former closed sites are being redeveloped such as the Kmart site on Seven Mile Road to a mid-size Meijers. Livonia will soon see a “Lickity Split" Ice Cream Parlor and a Scooters Coffee Shop. Brandon feels that the culture of Livonia is “Unity.”