City Council hears reasons for its extended summer road show; meetings should be back in City Hall in two weeks

QUINCY — It’s hasn’t been a Summer of Love for the Quincy City Council.

After bouncing around various municipal locations around Quincy, the Quincy City Council meetings have primarily been held at the Quincy Public Library while renovation work continues at City Hall.

After initially believing the renovations, which included asbestos removal and new carpet in the City Council Chambers, would be completed in June, the Council heard on Monday that work on the chambers would be done Wednesday and meetings could be back in their regular location in two weeks.

“We’ve already talked to our IT department, so they can start working on the microphone wiring,” said Mayor Mike Troup. “I’m not sure yet if we’re going to be able to be back in the council chambers a week from today, but I would be surprised if we aren’t there in two weeks.”

Jerry Maas of Maas Construction said the timing of the bid process affected the schedule.

“If you want an asbestos job done in the summer, you’ve got to have that bid in the wintertime,” Maas said at Monday’s Council meeting. “These people are booked out through the summer — and that was the first thing we needed done … because we couldn’t do anything else until they went in.”

Asbestos specialists aren’t as common as traditional contractors. They had to rip out contaminated tiles in in the chamber before Maas could proceed with the carpet installation.

Aldermen had earlier asked why a hard deadline wasn’t given to complete the project. Director of Public Works Jeffrey Conte said offering open-ended completion options helps them get more attractive bids as contractors juggle other projects.

And, of course, when dealing with a municipal project, there is always additional red tape and paperwork.

“One some of these, like the carpet, there’s a 140-page submittal sheet that goes in and that’s why it takes a while to get this done,” Maas said. “This is kind of a complicated project.”

In other action, Aldermen approved a 4.5 percent raise for non-union employees, retroactive to May 1, 2024.

The increase, which includes several department heads, comes on the heels of a new contract with members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 822, who are primarily office staff, which gave them raises in the 8 to 10 percent range. Alderman Eric Entrup (R-1st Ward), said the higher raises given to the members of Local 822 were necessary because those salaries had lagged and fallen behind other comparable cities.

Alderman Dave Bauer (D-2nd Ward) said he had concerns about the inconsistencies. Contract negotiations are currently underway with Quincy Firefighters Local 63.

“I think we should treat everybody the same or they’ll all end up in unions,” Bauer said.

The vote was 11-2 in favor, with Bauer and Greg Fletcher (R-1st Ward) dissenting. Alderman Mike Farha (R-4th Ward) was absent.

The council also:

• Approved issuing $21 million in bonds to fund infrastructure construction with repayment from the water and sewer funds.
• Approved a $2 million bid from Rees Construction for resurfacing N. 30th St. from north of Maine to Chestnut, including replacing the water main, curbs and sidewalks from Hampshire to Broadway.
• Approved a new seat belt ordinance with a $75 fine in place of state regulations charging a $164 fine. The new ordinance is also a Notice of Violation that doesn’t go on the driver’s permanent record.
• Approved demolition of 615 Maple, 919 N. Fifth, and 123-125 N. 14th for a bid of $49,600 from R. D. Shaffer Trucking under the city’s fix-or-flatten program.
• Accepted an offer of $20,000 from Company Two Fire of Varnill, S.C., to purchase a 2004 fire truck from Quincy Regional Airport.