Romulus council approves DDA appointment, lease with Wayne Metro, paving contract, and conditional rezoning

At its May 11 meeting the Romulus City Council approved several administrative and land-use items, including a board appointment, a social-service lease, a public-works contract and a large conditional rezoning.

Appointment: The council concurred with the mayor's request to appoint Brian Merkel to the Downtown Development Authority with a term to expire Feb. 27, 2027. The motion to appoint was moved and seconded and carried by unanimous vote.

Lease authorization: Council authorized the mayor and clerk to execute a lease agreement with Wayne Metropolitan Action Agency for approximately 10,000 square feet at 11131 South Wayne Road (the western portion of the former 34th District Court building). The motion recorded the payment amount as stated in the motion and was approved by the council.

Contract award: The council awarded ITB25/26-21 for the Wayne and Superior hot-mix asphalt paving project to Cadillac Asphalt LLC as the lowest responsive bidder for $1,314,185.30, with an additional 10% contingency for a total of $1,445,603.83. A council member asked why Cadillac—reported as the fourth-lowest bidder—was chosen; staff said several bidders had lost certifications or had prior performance issues and that Cadillac was deemed the most reliable for this project.

Rezoning adoption: The council voted to concur with the planning commission and approve second reading and final adoption of RZ-2025-001 (Romulus Trade Center North). The rezoning conditionally reclassifies about 108.48 acres (listed by parcel numbers in the clerk's read-in) from R-1 single-family residential and C-2 general business to M-1 light industrial, subject to planning-commission conditions and execution of a conditional-rezoning and development agreement.

Warrant approval: The council approved warrant 26-09, covering multiple funds with a combined total of $1,279,351.82 (including general fund, water and sewer, CIP bonds, police, library, and other funds) by unanimous vote.

Next steps: Several of the items (rezoning and site plans) remain subject to final administrative steps such as the execution of agreements by the city attorney and ongoing planning-commission conditions; the pavement contract and lease are authorized to move forward per the council vote.