Aldermen agree to pay for demolition of building at 649 State gutted in May fire

QUINCY — Aldermen agreed during Tuesday night’s Quincy City Council meeting that the “fix or flatten” program has been a success, but some aldermen hope measures can be taken to make property owners assume more responsibility for the cost.

Aldermen approved a resolution for the demolition of a property at 649 State — damaged by fire on May 18 — for $79,500 from Blick’s Construction. Greg Fletcher (R-1) was the dissenting vote. Aldermen Tony Sassen (R-4), Mike Farha (R-4) and Mike Rein (R-5) did not attend. 

After the reading of the resolution, Mayor Mike Troup said, “The dollars for this project (are) significantly higher than what we (typically) have come to the council for … pretty much wipes out the budget for this year.”

Andy Caley, who owns Caley Custom Construction of Quincy with his wife, Dana, bought the property at 649 State for $20,000 through their limited liability company, Microplex Properties, on May 26, 2021 from Abbott Development. The Caleys also are owners/partners in Calftown Corners, which is listed as the owner of the former Broughton Real Estate office at 735 State among other properties in the neighborhood.

Caley told Muddy River News on May 18 he planned to renovate the building, where three men died in a 2008 fire, to provide affordable housing upstairs with a commercial business downstairs. He had tried to get the building insured but learned it was not insurable, so he planned to fix it up so it could be insured.

Alderman John Mast (R-5) questioned the situation, stating the Caleys must have money because their LLC owns other properties in the area. 

Troup replied, “The property is not insured, and they do not have money for the demo.”

Alderman Jeff Bergman asked if the owners of the fix or flatten properties had other methods for to pay for the demolition.

“We need to look at the possibility of putting liens on personal property,” he said. “This is incredibly frustrating for the taxpayer.”

Corporate Counsel Lonnie Dunn said he and his judicial team are meeting with City Treasurer Linda Moore on Wednesday to discuss this issue of derelict properties.

“At the end of the day, we cannot keep reoccurring these costs and dumping it on the taxpayers’ back,” Bergman said. “We must hold people accountable and make sure they realize they will be held accountable. They just cannot walk away and dump property on (the city’s) laps.” 

In other business, aldermen approved a resolution for $499,483 to enter a contract with Klingner and Associates. Senior Project Engineer Steve Bange said the city is short on manpower in the engineering department, and Klingner’s already was involved in three projects.

Alderman also approved:

• Hiring Gem City Ford to complete engine repairs to bus 601 for $13,838.70. 
• Paying $9,986.33 to United Systems, Inc. for upgrading the current automatic fire alarm system at Central Station. 
• Buying 14 sets of gear for the total amount of $40,334 from AEC Fire Safety & Security, Inc.
• Submitting a grant application to ILEAS to be considered for an 836 Technologies CINT Commander II with the additional satellite aackage at no cost. 
• A three-year agreement with Kroll for the Kroll Responder services for 325 endpoints at a cost of $31,268.25 per annum.
• Subdividing 1122 Maas Road under the “small tracts” provision of the subdivision ordinance to establish two lots from one lot as requested. 
• Rezoning 1621 S. 24th from R1C (single-family residential) to R2 (two-family residential) to allow for construction of a two-family residential unit (duplex).
• Waiving the bond requirement for Quincy Notre Dame to conduct a raffle from August 1 through June 30, 2023, and for America Legion Post 37 to conduct a raffle from now until July 20.