City Council

uh good evening everyone I call this Monday February 24th 2025 city council meeting to order Mr clerk please call the role Council Ash Council Campbell Council Divine Council dbo pres Council Harris Council leang Pres Council McCarthy council mitton president Kane present thank you Mr clerk uh please stand with me if you're able to observe a moment of silence please use this moment as you will please turn to the flag for the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Mr clerk please read the open meeting law sure uh pursuant to the open meeting law any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium attendees of therefore for advised that such recordings or Transmissions are being made whether perceived or unperceived received by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible thank you Mr Clark um first item on the agenda please first item on the agenda is the uh Public Safety headquarters update okay joining us tonight who usually joins us back here but he's joining us up front is Mr Walker from the mayor's office the chief of staff who is going to provide us with an update on the public safety headquarters construction Mr Walker through you Mr president thank you very much and thank you to the council for the opportunity to update the body on this transformative and generational project creating a new Public Safety headquarters here in the city of quinsey we have multiple members of the project mayor's project team with us tonight they'll walk through different aspects of the project and then we'll open it up to questions at the end leading off tonight will be public buildings commissioner Paul Hines who will detail the broad scope of this project it's not just a building the this really has multiple projects baked into one as this body well knows uh Joe Shay from Grand City Partners it's our owner's project manager he will walk through the progress to date really the nuts and bolts of the building itself the budget and the completion timeline police chief Mark Kennedy will talk a little bit about some of the public facing components of the project this is not just a new building it will in the end help us improve Public Safety and the services our police and fire departments provide our residents and I will wrap up and review from the May's perspective the rationale and process around the very special public art that's being installed on the building with that commissioner Hines good evening Council thank you for once again having me here before you um as Mr Walker said we're here to give you an update on the building but it really is a larger project um together we the city council the mayor the planning department the state delegation and the federal delegation have all done so much to make quinsey a beautiful and thriving and desired area I think we all know people that in years past sold their homes and moved South uh and now regretting that decision with the resurrection and the surg Resurgence of uh downtown quinsey and the quiny at large um yet every week thousands of people heading to and from much of the Salt Shore Drive around the intersection of Sea Street and Southern Artery uh and what do they see they do not see the Hancock Adams common they do not see the relocated Town Brook they do not see the general Bridge or the area around it um they've not seen all the work done in the buildings in our Parks um they don't see quinsey high school or maybe even don't even notice Mount wallison Cemetery no what they see is that monstrosity of a building at the corner that is shameful uh from the day it was built uh and certainly the way it has lasted it does not serve the women and men that work within the building and it certainly does not serve quiny uh not the quiny we all envisioned and have worked hard for um so again the the the improvements here don't uh stop with the Threshold at the building um to support the construction of this facility uh and the parking structure behind it we raised up the elevation of Broad Street significantly to bring it up out of the flood plane and to help us Harden against Coastal storms and other uh events uh one to help to always have access to the building but two it also uh helped the new father Bill's Place and the businesses on Broad Street in the area of sunn ay in general this of course helps us to uh reach our sustainability and our vulnerability goals part of the project included the construction of a storm water pump station at the end of Broad Street uh this will prevent uh storm flowing and and uh title Sur and storm water from rain and and other precipitation events from flooding the area the whole area all the way up to quinsey high school um as part of the project we decommissioned the previous DPW fueling station that's used by the city fleet throughout whether it be the tpw fire police and and all other City vehicles uh that had reached its design age and was to the point that uh regulatorily needed to be retired and certainly is being a risk to the city it was time to be retired so part of the Acquisitions was the former stop and chop gas station which had Fairly recently been reconstructed so they're able to use all of those facilities in a reconfigured manner uh to serve the city of quinsey uh in addition to the raising of Broad Street We buried all of the utilities located along that Corridor again not only does that improve the appearance of the area but it helped to harden the site Against The Storm in other events in in other vulnerabilities uh and it helped to provide more secure very secure utility connections to the public safety headquarters uh that is our base of operations and we certainly don't want to have a power outage because an over overhead line dropped uh coming from the Field Street substation uh we constructed an activated Field Street from Broad Street uh Field Street was an L shape from Southern Artery to Southern Artery uh but on paper it ran through to Broad Street there was a significant grade change so it was never built that way uh with the acquisition of land as part of this project that stretch of Field Street was constructed and activated uh and that allows the direct connection from behind the police station in the W DPW area out to the intersection of Broad Street excuse me um bracket Street in southern ottery Down by the River Bay Club area this is according to the police department has helped in their response time and it clearly has uh lessened the impact of the coming and goings of the DBW buildings on SE Street particularly at dismissal time at 4:30 at 3:30 uh and it also helped with the congestion at the intersection of Broad and Southern Artery um doing that also allows some of the traffic calming and pedestrian safety improvements that are slated to happen in southern ottery uh in one of the phases of the Sea Street Improvement project includes the intersection uh this will allow the installation of a center traffic Island uh which you would not be able to cross to take the left uh but now you can go down to the south of the east by using this field Street connection um not only does the intersection that brought it uh Southern Artery and Sea Street get improved but the reach of Sea Street itself from Southern ottery marry Mount Parkway Down To The quiny Shore Drive area where the Improvement project is already been executed this F facilitates that next phase uh in addition as part of the building we committed to uh be as green as we could it's a unique building it's a high energy using building so we were not going to be able to achieve the lead status and and the other more widely recognized certifications but we did commit to doing what we could and do our part so over the talking structure will be canopies U built into the structure but on top of the structures will be solar PV panels they will be installed behind the meter uh of the building and the generation uh created by those solar panels uh through the efforts of the city and select energy who will be our partner in that endeavor uh they will roll back the meter so it'll be cost savings to the operational budget of the building uh and of course the environmental attributes and benefits of having the solar um in addition uh with the hope and the goal of eventually electrifying the city's Fleet and continuing to do uh those that have already been done uh we have provided at this time for the installation of over 30 uh PV charg excuse me EV charging stations within the parking structure for the city fleet and for the employee Vehicles during the daytime U but in addition to that we as part of this project have already installed under ground conduits and Transformer pads and distribution conduits through the parking structure to increase the number of evv charging stations down the road when the need of the fleet requires it the infrastructure is in place we drop in another Transformer and uh and activate that and we're able to more than double the capacity of the EV charging stations in that structure uh another beneficiary of all of this effort has been the operation of the father bills and father bills Place uh you will remember it was in the building on the end of Broad Street that was formerly the registry of motor vehicles it was a city-owned building uh built many years back uh when the registry of motor vehicles outgrew it and they moved on Father bills moved in uh even with an addition that was built on with the volunteerism of a number of the unions uh the building was too small they were cramped and they couldn't provide the full programming that they wish to do so in partnering with the city and father bills and in coordination with this project part of the land acquisition included the acquisition of land where the new uh father bills facility is uh in addition to our acquisition of the land the city through y efforts in the mayor's office uh entered into a 99-year lease with Father bills massri to allow that building and allow their operation on the city-owned land in addition for the development of that building uh the affordable housing trust fund through the efforts of the city again um committed over $2 million to the construction cost of that building so I think I would wrap it up there and I will ask Mr Joe to come up for his portion thank you Mr President I'm Joseph Daniel Shay with Granite City Partners um an engineering and real estate firm here in the city it's nice to see you all again thank you for having me as Chiefs of Staff Walker indicated and commissioner Hines gave a great overview this project this public safety headquarters initiative is about a dozen projects all rolled together I'm going to focus on the building although commissioner Hines did talk about the new Field Street and the new parking structure that adds emergency egress and a pathway sell plus 100 30 parking spaces to the site eveve ready uh he also touched on Father Bill's Place the new fueling Depot the pieces that are completed what will be completed in the very near future is the public safety headquarters building itself uh and going back through our notes uh I gave you a presentation about a year ago on February 5th 20124 um and we've come a long way in a year this is how it looked basically a year ago steel had just started masonry Towers were up concrete was well underway most people understood exactly the size scope and um magnitude of the building this summer when the steel completed uh and the structure form was completed so we have a July photo uh as an update um as commissioner Hines once said everybody or or earlier said everybody drives through the corridor Waits on SE Street and what they once saw was the former or the existing Police Headquarters rather rundown building well now you can't miss this building uh this building is designed to be a node to be a signature building in the city of quinsey to carry the same Grandeur as some of the buildings that commissioner Hines had previously mentioned such as cottington hall or the Thomas crane Public Library this will be a featured Corner in the city of quinsey for the next 100 years and as has always been the case with this Administration we're not just fixing a building we're revising the complete Corner the complete block all of the infrastructure all of the needs of this region of quinsey this section of w one here's the building as it stands 3 weeks ago pretty much looks today the building is watertight all trades are inside and underway the facade is mostly completed and the roofing although there was still Roofing work being done the roof is watertight for anybody who is unfamiliar with some of the details I realize uh my team lives this every day every week every month uh as a reminder it's 120,000 square foot building in five stories it will house the quinsey police quinsey fire leadership and Emergency Management it's got well over 150 different rooms and spaces we'll talk about that uh including some notable training and conference rooms something new to the city of quinsey a quinsey police department firing range uh with the secure parking deck and secure parking there are 330 spaces and as commissioner hin said there's a solar array uh that will be as a canopy on the parking garage itself the building from the front really carries a lot of mass uh this is a simple floor plan uh just for everybody can understand the magnitude and complexity of the building itself uh the different colors represent a different use within the building between EMS fire police it shared spaces the building core uh this by way of example just on a single floor has 68 different spaces and uses so this is very much a modern building very much built for the future growth of Quincy's First Responders very much built to standards that the current police station failed to achieve decad es ago once again I believe in my heart this is a 100-year building that the city has commissioned the project team was covered um in terms of City departments I believe almost every city department has played a role in this building um although it is for the police department fire department and Emergency Management uh I want to reach out and thank the IT department tal inspectional Services uh and probably the most impacted secondary Department here DPW with respect construction on this project um the team itself uh is up there suff construction really has done a wonderful job of driving a project early on in the process we made some schedule decisions around father bills and some scheduled decisions around money and suffk has proven that over time those were the proper decisions uh to trade some time in money for money by saving money and letting father bills build their full housing Resource Center uh some other people who are coming on the scene more recently will be select energy with the solar canopy and we know through discussions with the council these green energy matters are very important so at some point we'll be doing another update in the future on that component of the project every week we have ongoing meetings uh at the moment there are 15 or more than 15 trades present 170 to 180 workers on site each day the project is is predominantly Union we have different metrics that we look for but we have well over a dozen lws and man lifts on site moving materials every day you've all seen them looks very congested sometimes although it's a very large site it feels like we're working on a postage stamp um given how hemmed in we are with Broad Street and SE Street we do weekly safety meetings I'm very proud to say the safety record for this project has been exemplary this safety was a matter that was brought up during the funding component of the project by this body uh and safety has been something that from suffix standpoint to Second To None we feel the same way we have weekly constraint meetings weekly OAC or owner architect contractor meetings and we do monthly Financial reconciliation for a financial update the overall project or all of those initiatives is a $175 million aggregate effort the building which will be the topic of a lot of discussion this evening is $143 million of that aggregate 118 for the building and parking $1 million for the Furnishing fixtures and equipment 9 million for the offsite improvements and $5 million was budget budgeted for contingency and allowance I want to pause on that for a moment to just say this this building is got the magnitude and complexity that putting in the Furnishings the fixtures and the equipment is an $1 million project all by itself in over 150 rooms uh this is a very large scale initiative obviously he got very large dollars involved and I want to thank the team uh both the design team the architect team and suffix coordination team for staying on top of all of these individual moving pieces our current status of the $175 million we are 98% in encumbered we are confident that we will be landing the plane this fall we'll talk a little bit about schedule and 65% of the building budget has been spent so we are currently working with those 170 to 180 workers per day at a $4 to6 million per month burn rate there's a lot going on there the Furnitures fixtures and equipment is trending on budget the offsite improvements uh at this point have been substantially completed but for final Paving in some additional underground and Landscaping work that won't be done until the building is done and the project contingency line item is now at $2.2 million for timeline this is a relatively simple timeline but we are driving to get the building open this October so October 2025 making the building watertight last October was huge for us that allowed us to work through the winter with trades like electricians whose work cannot get wet um so we are driving for October 2025 to start to occupy the building um I will say it's not going to be a magical day when suddenly police fire and Emergency Management show up in the new building there will be a migration into the building I'm hoping by Thanksgiving but we will be ready um in October 2025 uh we will also ask all the men and women women of police fire and Emergency Management please start scanning all that paperwork because although some elements need to come with us we may not need to bring all of those file cabinets and piles of paper that I'm sure the people behind me are smiling about we will also be then demolishing the existing police station in the winter of 2025 26 we know that'll be a lovely day and then doing landscaping when the existing police station is gone to finish up the corner clean out the corner um and make it look like a cohesive component of the existing new Public Safety headquarters um with that I'd like to turn the microphone over to Chief Kennedy for some his comments good evening Mr President members of the council uh I just wanted to take uh some time and talk about what this building means not only for the men and women who are going to work in it but what it's going to mean for our community when it's finished and what these improvements actually mean to the people who are watching this and the people who are in the room right now uh first and foremost the the community access to police and fire service is going to be like nothing we've ever had in the city before um we're going to be centralized the police and fire uh the admin offices right on the first floor it's a very welcoming uh environment when you walk into the lobby of the police station uh right in there you're going to be able to access the fire Administration uh for permits uh Records anything that you might need from the fire department as well as right next door the the police administrative uh professionals who uh handle the accident reports uh police reports and things like that um we're going to have state-of-the-art meeting and training rooms right off the second floor elevator where we can actually host many of the classes that we put on for the community whether it's um you know the boating safety classes the citizens Police Academy the Youth Academy um we we host uh uh self-defense classes pepper spray classes and a Litany of other classes and things that we do for free for the community and right now when we want to host them we're um you know reaching out to some of our partners in the community and maybe 1250 hancco Street or some of the schools just to try and get space to do it and that's not going to be an issue anymore we can host everything right in the police station um which is going to be great with um plenty of parking uh and most importantly from my perspective there's going to be private rooms off of the lobby of the police station where people who come in and want to file a police report want to speak to an officer to get advice want to speak to one of our Mental Health Counselors currently when you walk into the police station they're doing it in the lobby there's really no private area to sit and talk so as somebody is coming in and maybe having a bad day and they need to talk to an officer they need to talk to a counselor currently they're doing it in the lobby while other people are walking by and getting police reports and it's this is going to be so much um better more professional we have private offices that people can go into and I think that will really better serve the citizens um the other thing we're we're looking to do and I believe one of the pitches might have shown it but a new state-of-the-art uh emergency Communication Center is in the works we're working on getting police fire and EMS um all dispatched from one Central facility which will improve our response times and make our community safer uh so that's that's a work in progress um you know some of the things that that are happening uh for the men and women who are going to work in this building and our professional support staff it's going to be a safer Health healthier environment to work in climate controlled offices proper ventilation and air circulation things that we haven't had in the existing building um in in really in my 27y year career working in that building um and also you see that uh the new structure is going to be elevated currently every time it rains our basement floods and our roof leaks that's not going to happen now um so little things like that go a long way um uh we have a well a portioned locker rooms for the the staff both the officers and the professional support staff that work in the building both on the police and the fires side uh we have a fitness facility that uh the men and women of our department help design um you know we we're really focusing on on people's uh health and our employees health and it's one thing you know we have our vehicles on maintenance schedules and we know when they need a tire rotation and when they need an oil change but uh for years I think we've really lacked on uh taking care of the the health of the investment that we put in to our people you know every officer in this room is I'd say over a million dollars invested in them when they're training and equipment and salary and we need to do a better job of of uh protecting them and and safeguarding their health so the fitness center and things like that are I I think are going to be um ways that the city is proving that they they do care about uh the police and fire who who are going to work in that building um uh the new cell block I took a tour a couple weeks ago with Chief Jackson and we saw the new cell block area and uh what a difference our our cell block now we fail the state inspection every year we have more cells that are out of service than are actually in service and as I mentioned the climate control in the building is atrocious so it's really um inhumane sometimes when we have people that are in our cell because it gets either it's either freezing cold or roasting hot um so what we've been doing if somebody's going to be in there for a significant amount of time now uh we send him in to uh North for County Sheriff mcder has been great helping us out and taking some of our people um so that they're in a at least a more comfortable environment if they're going to be there for a weekend or or um an extended period of time so that's going to be a lot better for the people that we come in contact with um you know the uh the Mr Shay mentioned the the 10 Lane indoor fire in range currently our offices are constantly training in firearms on a monthly basis and when we want to go to a range we're paying the city of Boston and we're paying the town of hover to use their range that's not going to happen anymore we're going to have a facility right inside where we can use we can access 247 and we can train our offices uh as I mentioned the det defensive tactics training room um we're going to be able to use it not only for our officers who are constantly doing training we used to have to go out to squantum to Marina Bay to the Indoor Sports plex in there and um you know we'd be doing defensive tactics training as kids were in the little area playing with balls and uh it really wasn't a great fit uh so we're going to be able to do that there and also run our our ad classes and our civilian self-defense classes right inside the building which will be a big help um also just the Forward Thinking to this building uh for the first time ever we're going to have a virtual reality training room allowing our offices to experience realistic High Press scenarios um and work on deescalation techniques in a very controlled but very realistic environment um obviously and they mentioned the ample covered parking for employees and visitors and what I really liked was they included spots for our specialty vehicles uh like our we have an armed rescue vehicle mobile command post which we currently have to park off site because there's no room for it um and you know when when those pieces of equipment roll out seconds count and you know to be able to deploy that directly from our headquarters I'm I'm certain it's going to save lives um essentially um I'll wrap up with just saying that uh the this building in terms of what it's going to do for our department and the future of our department we are on the path towards accreditation which means that uh we get certified from from an outside accrediting agency that all our policies our procedures are in compliance with current law current policing best practices but also that our physical building is in compliance and there is not a hope we would ever be accredited in the current structure we're in um you know for a number of reasons I mentioned the cell block we are just out of space we have poor circulation poor security really in some areas inside the building we have hallways and stairways that are used uh to house um file cabinets and those are all things that um are obviously not in compliance with current best practices so um the accreditation uh really ensures that the agency meets the highest Professional Standards promotes accountability and enhances public trust and that's really what I believe this building is going to do and uh you know last I I'll end with as a kid who grew up in quinsey I really believe quiny is a worldclass city and um this is a worldclass public safety building that our community will be proud of the men and women who are going to work in this building and the police the fire and the Emergency Management side and the citizens who visit this building I think are going to agree when this is when we're moved in there and they come to visit that uh What uh the mayor with the city council uh with your support have uh really created a worldclass building that is going to be here for a hundred years so with that thank you thanks chief thank you Chief um Mr President I'm going to touch on the principle and process of the public art installation at the public safety headquarters you'll see the slide that's up now shows the figures and their scale to the overall building public art for this building as shown here costs roughly 1 half of 1% of the overall project project that as we've just heard has a scope that is massive and uh all-encompassing the scale of the figures you see here is prominent not dominant and is entirely appropriate when the scope of the project and other similar projects around the city are put into their proper context the public art component of this project is minor from a cost perspective but vitally important it carries through a tradition of public art that has touched so many of our major public projects over the last many years and in a good way the kind of artwork on public buildings and public spaces speaks to our values as a community it says that we honor our past and we care about our future that we create spaces that make this community proud it may be a little subtle at times but the public OD at places like quinsey high school Hancock Adams common Central Middle School generals Park killway Square Navy Memorial Park Mount walleston Cemetery and so many more all add Great Value to this community incredible value to this community a value that's greater than half a percent in the budget we've heard from a few folks well well maybe this money could be better spent education Public Safety helping with the homeless there are two pieces to that question I'd like to answer first mayor certainly doesn't view it as an either or proposition we can walk and chew gum at the same time we can create public spaces with great P public art while at the same time doing everything possible to provide the core service of the city speaking specifically why didn't we spend this money on solving the homeless issue well let's take a look at this project in particular look look at what this project has done to help address the homeless issue in this city the city and this body together provided the real estate for a $1 per year lease allowing F bills to dramatically change their operation and build a whole entire new facility to provide for the core Services it provides that's a value of tens of millions of dollars over the course of time and not only that this body together with the mayor and the affordable housing trust several million dollars more for the construction of that new facility father bills is doing extraordinary work the extraordinary work that it does on a daily basis on behalf of our most vulnerable not in spite of this project but because of it we can do both up and down the list of the core Services the city provides the story is the same we have the most well-funded Urban School District anywhere in Massachusetts we've built more new schools than virtually anyone else our Public Safety departments have not been this well staff in more than a generation we physically could not hire more contractors to do more road work all of this we can do all of these are priorities we don't have to sacrifice one to give up the other the second part of my answer goes back to what I mentioned earlier the value of public art and the value of creating lasting public facilities the mayor believes deeply in that he values that a level with our core Public Services we don't need to get into specific examples but our history not in quiny not just Massachusetts but all of America over the last several decades is littered with public facilities that for decades were built in a way not to last built in a way that ended up costing more money in the long run built in a way that spoke of no Pride whatsoever I think the record is pretty clear that this mayor and this Council has rightly rightly turned that trend on its head the process for this these statues begins and ends and AO Ely so under the mayor's discretion this body as we've all discussed had no role in the procurement process for these statutes so any and all questions rightly right rightfully belong in the mayor's office and that's okay he's happy to have that conversation because he believes in it as you know this project was approved under the CM at risk Mass chap chapter general laws 149a and the Figures were commissioned as part of the design process in accordance with the CM atrisk law on a project of this this magnitude as this body well knows the body approves an appropriation for a bottom line budget the budget is approved is a snapshot in time there were PL plenty of intricately specific items in the budget that were shared during the council hearings but things evolve always keeping to that bottom line some of those things that were included in that budget at that time there was a discussion of some Merit of some length relative to $1,000 microwave that was going to be in this building well that was a s shot in that time that microwave that on those early preliminary estimates showed $1,000 because it was built around what the kitchen needed to be and where the utilities for the kitchen needed to be that microwave ended up costing $200 so the budget changes as we H as happens when we do this we drill down working with the team flexibility gets created within that bottom line and that's where the money for comes comes from there are literally dozens of components of this building [ __ ] mentioned the amount for furniture and fixtures 11 million dollar that were not specifically line by line discussed or approved by this Council or would they ever be I don't think this part would ever want to have that discussion this public art again 05 one half of 1% of the total overall project Falls within that category of the things that wouldn't necessarily be discussed as part of the budget appropriation process I say this not to suggest the council shouldn't ask questions or Express their opinions but that from a process standpoint it provides a clear d delineation to the public as to who was ultimately responsible for these decisions and who made them I think that process has worked incredibly well between the body and the mayor's office and it's made some historic results over the course of many years as for the specific context of these specific figures I want to be clear that the depictions of Michael and floran transcend any religious connotation these are historic symbolic Protectors of our first respers their connections to the police and fire services are deep and longstanding their Import in symbolism cannot be understated and ultimately that's what this is about I think it's easy to let the noise undermine the intent of this public art this is about our police and our firefighters it about the risks that they take every day on behalf of our community these are professions in which the men and women who wear these uniforms have no idea what they may Face On Any Given day there is a nonzero chance that one of these days could very well include a situation where their lives or the lives of our community are in danger life and death situations life and death decisions I think sometimes we take these rules for granted and it's not just about the police and firefighters themselves it's about their families and loved ones they watch every day as their loved ones leave the house every morning they too not knowing what the day will bring to have this symbolic message for prot of protection is important to our First Responders and in this case it's a message coming directly from the people that SW to protect this community it says we as a community recognize your sacrifice we as a community understand what we've asked of you and we as a community are proudly saying we've got your back that's a principle the mayor believes in deeply it's at the core of why he decided to place these small symbols of that principle on This Magnificent facility it's a principle he's willing to fight for I happy to answer any questions order please order uh Sim similarly to how I will address the naysayers with the boo signs I I appreciate that you hold Applause I appreciate your support um but similarly we have to abide by the decorum of the Rome and there's no mistaking how you feel we can read you can put those signs down please uh before I I can hold the meeting for as long as possible okay Bill you're the only one you know this we've been here before for so you're saying one person's rights don't matter this isn't about your rights this is about the decorum of this meeting that I'm chairing I'm not up you're upsetting the meeting with your signs which aren't allowed sir in the back please thank you very much thank you now allow my colleagues to uh aine question starting with Council McCarthy uh thank you Mr President um first of all Mr Walker great job U I had a couple questions for um Mr Shay if I could I'll come back to you hi hi Joe um good evening coun early on I just want to and I I try not to be all over the place I'm making notes and I know we've spoken about this multiple times because it sits in Ward one I know about a year ago we had a um a qatv spot that we did and we kind of walked through a lot of this uh at the time and at that time we also discussed how things evolve how things change how are the structures um that we've built in the city uh the design have changed um I think we talked a little bit about this saying that the the bricks have changed on on on the police station Etc and the budget of um I think it's 143 uh 118 for the building um was always the the bottom line we weren't going over we were staying within that number um 175 though was for everything I I know and and I'm just kind of reiterating this number again to make sure I got it all straight 175 was was Broad Street was father bills was everything we did um correct that is correct including all the designer Services right so then the the 118 so the $850,000 that's in there for the facade work um for the ornamentation the statues the images whatever we want to call them um that's within that 118 that building number that is correct that's correct okay so it's not an extra $150,000 it's not a an additional appropriation somewhere that was grabbed from somewhere else it's within the number that this Council approved that is correct okay um couple of quick police station comments also and to Chief Kennedy's Point um they're going to get so much out of this police station it's it's unimaginable of what they're going to get out in regards to having that firing range I know they're going to have some tremendous parking uh that we really didn't have we kind of just kind of lobbed it in there with DPW um the building itself going to be loaded with Excuse me load with training uh facilities that we never had before um etc etc so you'll love to see both police and fire which they're here tremendously in support tonight um get what they need and as Mr Walker just put it out there the mayor makes sure that all the Departments and all the residents quinsey end up with services that are Beyond Comprehension sometimes on the support that comes out um of all the Departments but most especially I'll lean on the First Responders um police fire along with EMS along with DPW that do a great job so the $850,000 um that was in the 118 building number uh is um being used for uh facade work for strictly Michael and Florian am I correct on saying that or is or is there other brick work or or structures on the facade that that go along with that the the facade art in its mounting yes it's fascinating okay um the parking and the number of cars that uh the police and vehicles they have is there a mechanics is there going to be some type of mechanics option I mean I I don't know if Quirk gets involved with this and helps us out but is there is there an option I didn't hear that within within the public safety complex I'm actually going to ask for the clicker that I left over there um currently there's a mechanics Bay underneath the garage in the existing um police station going to diplomatically call it a mechanics Bay um the new Public Safety complex does not include a mechanics Bay but the current management plan is to move two bays do move the mechanics into two bays at the existing Public Works building adjacent to the site pardon me for shooting backwards here we go to the existing Public Works building along the right hand side M of the site so approximate to the public safety building it's an existing garage and that work would be done in conjunction with a new sewer apparatus building that this body approved uh through commissioner grazioso for the storage of some sewer equipment that is required so there was a separate DPW sewer funding component that freed up two bays within the the existing DPW building for the mechanics so that was the building that we recently approved correct so we're going to have mechanics over there and they'll take care of all support for just police uh whatever the whatever whatever the current operation approaches yes okay all right um I forgot to mention too I know the chief mentioned they're going to get a state-of-the-art updated uh Communication Center too uh and uh we could go through that whole building and I've been in there a few times and um it needs everything so anything we're getting is going to be a A plus and um the station um it looked great it's been tremendous progress in a year and the uh to your point Council that the informational technology on the Dispatch Center is a a great example of how this project has evolved uh quite honestly the technology today continues to evolve So based upon some of the concept work in 2019 some of the approvals in 2020 the additional approval in 2022 we had always captured a line item a very educated estimate as to what the technology would cost but that's a perfect example of how construction manager at risk projects continue to evolve throughout the course of the project the system is actually designed and intended to allow you to make these design decisions as a long-term massive scale project progresses and to Mr Walker's Point we we do that based upon your Baseline approval within the framework of the bottom line but we do not come back to ask for uh approvals for changes within in the overall project no and I've seen that with quiny high Central Southwest uh it'll same thing with squantum right any other buildings we get involved with I'm sure um the animal shelter had plenty of changes as it evolved um in regards to dollar signs going up and down to make sure we did it right and that's what's happening here um the citizens of quinsey are GNA probably be the best Safety Center on the east coast and um I'm fine with the way that the setup is I'm fine with the artwork I'm find that it's a message of support I never took it as a religious um you know as any type of religious type annotation that we were going down that path uh it's the patron saint uh for First Responders so I think that's a good thing and it's it's great for these guys so thanks Joe thank you Council thank you Council McCarthy uh president recognizes councelor leang thank you Mr President um I just want to actually start by taking advantage of um all the First Responders being here in the room tonight and frankly the news cameras um Chief I just want to share with you actually when you had mentioned during your your presentation about how right now there aren't any offices for residents to go in and you know give any statements or anything like that um it reminded me of an incident that happened I think like 3ish months ago I went into the police station for something I wasn't in trouble it was going in there for some bookkeeping stuff um and this kid came in um I don't even know how old he was I'm already short right and he's shorter than me so he's probably like in Middle School um and I noticed them because I heard the mom speaking in Mandarin and I don't speak Mandarin but I recognize the dialect and um I heard her saying something to her son and the son turns around and starts talking about how he was bullied like tremendously in school and you know he was there trying to explain the situation to the officer behind the the class um and by the time I was leaving he was sitting there with his mom giving this really I mean a kid giving a really emotional statement to the officer who I know and actually so appreciated that he was so generous and kind and making sure that you know he was patient with him and that he was safe in that space to give that statement but this kid should not have been in the lobby giving that statement right I mean you got you all were doing like the best that you could and like as you can tell I'm getting emotional thinking about it but because it's no one should be in that position to begin with but then to be a kid having to do that and translate for a parent who doesn't speak the language and they're in a police station for crying out loud so I mean I just they but they were safe right because your officer went above and beyond to make sure that again the kid was was feeling okay and was patient with him patient with the mom and I think it's those little moments right that I think show us what the men and women in this room do for the city and for the residents of the city about a month or so after that there was a big um protest that was here in quiny it was to recognize um the gentleman who was run over at the post office for simply existing as an Asian person in the city and anyways there was a whole bunch of you know aapi Advocates and and folks coming to quiny from quiny but also coming to quiny right to to speak up and say that this is something that can't happen in this community and I remember some of the organizers reaching out and saying you know Nina we don't want the police there okay we we feel endangered if they're there we don't want them there so you know yeah we're going to be Crossing this Main Road we're Crossing that other main road or it's going to be night time but we'll figure it out we don't want the police there and I remember coordinating with the police and saying no we need you all here because it's for the safety of these folks to make sure that they're Crossing these busy roads and that they're safe doing so and do you know chief after that uh protest the amount of messages and phone calls I got from people who were afraid leading up to it who then afterwards said nothing but hey I went up to that officer and shook their hand and said thank you I was over there in the Commons and I took the time afterwards to say thank you can you make sure to follow up and tell them I said thank you felt so safe that night tell them thank you right like it it's these two small incidents that alone I think again I'm taking advantage of everyone here in this room and people watching at home that should know you all do an absolute hands down above and beyond job not just the basic but the above and beyond especially in a time when you all are operating in situations where folks are just looking for you to make the wrong move right you all are constantly always always going above and beyond and I just needed to I couldn't help but just stop and say thank you and hope that everyone takes that moment right to to stop and thank those who are protecting us frankly even in this room right with the amount of tension that everyone feels over a number of issues I know showing up here I feel safe because you all are in the room with us so for all of our safety not just here but every day I think it's important to you know to just always again and again say thank you to all our first responder So yeah thank you not question here tonight and I think you all should know that and uh I'd just like to say that that having the police and fire in uh uh in the same room and in our leadership in the same building uh the amount of times that that we're fortunate enough to be able to work with our our brothers on the Quincy Fire Department uh we had a a community meeting at Thousand Southern ottery and they showed up in force and uh really I think helped put some of the uh residents at ease and used some of the language skills that we didn't have uh that some of the firefighters had to to speak to the community there and uh I I I can't say enough about uh the the work that our officers do and the work that the the uh the Quincy Fire Department does so thank you for bringing that up no I just I can't say enough you guys your are right thank you I think you deserve the Thousand Ways right um but kidding as that I just wanted to then now get into um the update that we're seeing here today Mr Walker if I could have you come up here so you had mentioned in your presentation um briefly about the process and how we got here and I think you know even though I was part of the process in my time up on the council right it's been years and it's been years you know leading up to this point with the approval processes different presentations that have been in front of us and so I just think if we could sort of slowly but more sort of um clearly walk through the process on how we got to where we are right when did the whole process start with even thinking about redoing the building what was the appropriation process right like let's brush up on some of like the actual processes in place on the approvals the meetings Etc and again how we got to where we are today you're going to give me a little leeway give or take on the months and you know the exact days on the timelines um so I think is that this Council remember I think it was 2018 uh in that range that we came to this body uh for the first trunch and which in glued to the acquisition in planning money I think uh shortly after that perhaps 2019 was um a cost estimate for the building uh that was the larger appropriation um in the meantime covid happened uh and the building was still the design of the building was still building up to that point uh so the estimates at that time were low we came back U at that time I believe 22 um for the final uh appropriation uh to where we are the final bottom line appropriation of where we are now and when you say when you came in front of us for the appropriation so again just to be really clear about processes and who's we and who's that like a so folks in the administration right and the folks that you were working with who designed the building came in front of the council to get an appropriation for the cost of the building correct and the appropriation request correct okay but we weren't the ones that designed it it was a matter of again you know projects get presented to us the appropriation is en tied to that and then we have an opportunity to discuss that project but ultimately the vote is for an appropriation to either be of any amount of any project the appropriation is to either be approved by us or cut and then approved or not approved correct correct same goes for this project correct okay so then those Appropriations came in front of us and then what happened after that they were all approved uh the process moved forward um so we get into the timeline of how the how the outwork came into place is that where we're going with this it is yeah okay so we get the final bottom line number everyone is in place at that point in time the budget is still not line by line explicit as to exactly which screw goes into which hole which desk goes into which there's still a process that takes place even though you've come to a bottom line conclusion so at some point during that process as the design was getting to the level of construction drawings because now we're sub now the the CM at risk is starting to sub bit out all the actual work to the actual contractors who are going to be doing the work predominantly unionized labor they're bidding that out and at some point it it's a very simple process the May is looking at the facade of the the building and he says you think we could do something out front do we have any flexibility within the budget to do some artwork out front to uh enhance the facade of the building working with the team Joe Steve crucial from The crucial group The Architects yeah there was some money within the budget not because we lopped anything off not because something didn't get included but within contingencies not even contingencies but within you know the Bor costs within certain contract costs there's a sliding it goes up it goes down all with that goal of hitting that number right on and so we were made aware that we could produce some public art for this facility while keeping that bottom line number exactly where it is and not touching on the project contingency and at that point in time the process then started moving forward with uh the contractor the artwork and the sculptor and the process is still ongoing now they're certainly not finished okay so and again this is a presentation in front of us this evening not for an appropriation request that we can vote on it's just a presentation on monies that we're already voted on you all are giving us an update on how it's being spent similar to departments correct when we vote on budgets every single year we anticipate the Departments will be spending it accordingly and then every year they come and provide an update for us as to how they spent that money but we can't change Appropriations that have already been appropriated in previous year's budgets or previous votes correct correct okay so then again similar to this then if that is the case there are concerns that were brought to us obviously and to you all as well about you know this project that's in front of us particularly with the statues and so if this process is that the deciding you know I guess Vote or whatever you want to call it right is no longer in this in this body because there's no appropriation request where can folks and should folks go then when it comes to the actual expend like you know spending of these funds that we approve you go straight to the mayor um this is one of those occasions where uh it's certainly okay for this body and I think we've tried to make it clear over the course of answering some questions describing what we've been doing whether it be in this forum or through the media that uh this was ultimately and only the mayor's decision and that if anyone asks anyone in this body that that the the the respon an okay response is I had nothing to do with that call the mayor and we're fine with that he believes in this uh he thinks it's the right thing to do uh part of the reason that it happens in this process is is for that reason he there is a sense of not exposing this body to something that had nothing to do with so in in our minds we're trying our best and he's tried his best not to expose this body to have to answer questions that you had no role in whatsoever you finding out about this with the public um well I appreciate you saying that because I didn't want to say it but you did yeah no we found out when everyone else I got the notification on the and there's a purpose behind it it's for that very reason at the end of the day if you have a concern an opinion support yay nay on this ultimately and only this decision came out of the mayor's office that's it it's one place okay well again I think it was really important to clarify because I got you know questions from folks calls from folks texts and emails Etc saying you know don't vote for the statues and you know what did you do when you were voting for the statues and oh wait I heard there's a meeting on Monday where you're voting on statues you know are you voting on statues and I just I think it's important that Beyond either being supportive of of something of anything or not being in support of something that understanding process is important for me and for frankly conversations I then have with folks right it's I don't want to work within things that I don't understand and so I do think it's important that we all understand how things is functionally how they operate right and all of that being said then you know because there was no vote in front of us there is one thing that I do still believe I'm responsible for as a counselor which is advocacy and so I think it's important to then lastly take this moment and take this opportunity to Advocate right and just Express what has been shared with me that folks are very unhappy with these statues that folks prefer to see some other sort you know form of art there not that they don't want to see any art but that they want to at least a have some input or B you know be able to have a conversation about what are some Alternatives right and so at the very least again I just want to make sure that folks um feel comfortable reaching out when they're not understanding of the process that they can understand fully what the process is so that they can also then understand what the next steps are should they want to advocate for themselves Advocate with us you know try to move the needle to a decision that's agreeable for everyone and so at the very at least I I want to do that because we can all do that right but short of you know decisions being made already outside of something that we voted on you know I think it's important that we always keep that door open and if you could just you know again lastly clarify like if folks leave here today and they're not happy right like what is that next step like what can they do to reach out not just sending an email right and just we all send emails and it gets lost in The Ether sure but like some tangible next steps what can folks do wait for the beautiful public artwork to appear on these buildings enjoy it with the rest of the public no honestly I'm not trying I'm not trying I'm not trying to be I'm really not trying to be flipped it I think I I think I've made a little bit I think I've made it clear that the decision on this has been made that there's no the mayor and his authority makes decisions he's made this decision he understands that some people don't agree with it that's the price of doing business that's I'm sorry I just I can't hear what he's saying we get it thank you than you Mr so yeah I would I don't I don't very proud of yourself I understand decision all due respect Mr Walker I don't want to have a back and forth with Mr Walker right now while folks are interrupting us so yeah F wait I just we can wait it's disrespectful I think we're having an important conversation I don't want to you want to have a conversation this is how it starts we understand your position you can smile and grin all you want and put your little signs up but we're not going to continue until you put them down okay Council we're going to take a recess until these people mind Their Manners if we're ready we'll call this meeting back to order president recognizes councilor leang thank you Mr President thank you Mr Walker for your patience with me on that so I I always say never say never you know this uh and I'm always a big fan in making sure that there is a path forward some way one way or another I understand and you've made it very clear the mayor's position on this um again just in my role right as an advocate right now and and not voting on something that's in front of me I do want to just emphasize and and emphasize and ask that we do after this night find a way to have an open line of communication just to see like again is there an opportunity to think about any kind of revisions what were you know other questions that folks might have that I'm not hearing or asking here tonight right like I think saying that you know the the decision has been made and it's final it's moving forward feels like the door shut for conversation and I I suppose what I'm trying to get around to here is that I would like to stress that there should always be an open door for conversation right and that I think is important for us to at least say that we can offer to folks fair enough so yes so I'm sorry I just want to make sure so then if folks are curious to do so like calling into the office yes absolutely of course conversation there's nothing wrong nothing wrong with having a conversation okay no I I look I know you and I know this right I I I when I have issues with things I do reach out and I know this but you know I'm not just speaking on behalf of myself tonight and again I do think it's important that's why I wanted to go through the timeline right I want to make sure um the folks that everyone's on the same page as far as how we got here and then what that path forward looks like so thank you I do appreciate it thank you thank you Mr President thank you councelor leang uh president recognizes councelor deona thank you Mr President um just want to thank all the firefighters and police officers that are here tonight past and present um good good um you know update on the police station the public safety headquarters um I think I'd probably start with Joe Shay if I could um the timeline obviously is October 2025 which is about 7 to8 months of time going into October which is great drive by the drive by the complex at least four to six times a day um you said in in in the winter and into the spring there's going to be a demolition of the existing um structure right now that's in there the the the the original police station in that police station talked a little bit about filing cabinets that can't be converted over is there anything in the existing building that can be converted over anything that you can reuse Salvage um that could be used from the existing building into the new one um that's a great question counselor very little certainly uh when the occupants come over and they bring over their personal effects uh one of the only elements that will be coming over uh will be the evidence uh this body had approved a new evidence tracking and entry system in preparation for the transfer from the existing police station to the new Public Safety headquarters uh very proud to say that another part of the state-of-the-art component of the new Public Safety headquarters is the way that the evidence is going to be stored the way the evidence is going to be enter entered whether it's uh separate rooms for drug related evidence weapons related evidence General related evidence and other categories uh so the evidence will be coming over the police have been working and preparing for that uh with the system that this body had uh funded I'm not exactly sure when in the recent past I can't recall but I know you uh with your approvals that was a nice step forward I see the parking garage behind the new building is that where most of these vehicles will be housed will they be inside that garage or they'll be somewhere else uh no they'll be inside the garage the garage is a secure garage so it is gated uh all of the First Responders vehicles uh will have passes or equipment to open the gates um the garage second floor that you can see here in the graphic or that you can clearly see if you go down Broad Street if you're visiting for Tellies will have a a canopy above it so the second floor is not covered directly it'll be covered with a solar canopy so still open to the elements but we'll have some shielding um the underside um is completely gated we can store their uh the motorcycles the SWAT vehicles personal vehicles not person excuse me the uh response Vehicles when an officer comes in in their personal vehicles they will be stored in a gated area and then also when in the public safety complex itself uh there is indoor storage for the motorcycles there's a sally port obviously for uh guests coming into detention uh there's a bicycle room we have a great many police officers on bicycles in quiny these have all been accounted for within the parking garage structure or the rooms adjacent to the parking garage structure so they would be shielded based on like to say we have a big snowstorm a lot of these vehicles will be Under The Canopy inside the garage so you know free of Free of snow whether it be like 12 in out there so that this is where it's set up of that Fleet what do we have an inventory of police vehicles as of right now well that's a that's a great question I don't I don't have that number I may glance left to see if there's a chance of a number we get back to you with that counselor pardon me for not having you think we're at like 150 100 or i' say less than 100 less than 100 okay that was so less than 100 less than 100 okay so to give some access for folks that are visiting the facility that want to come in to do whatever type of business they they need to do for people visiting the facility there is an an unse a parking lot directly across from fatelli outside of the garage on the backside of what is now the fueling Depot currently we're using that for uh the civilian cars of the police force but that will be for civilians who are coming to the site they also can continue to come to the site and park in a um lot that is shared with DPW I don't I've taken enough parking away from commissioner grazioso I don't wish to take more but there would be a shared parking lot um in the graphic off to the right hand side uh the layout also will allow people to not get to the front not drive to the front door um of the public safety headquarters but there is a a roundabout where they can come in drop off and walk up to the front door I think there was talk about a gym a fitness center is there one inside the facility and and if you do is there Square what's the square footage on that to allow folks to work out in the room that is excellent while I start to answer the question I'm going to ask my colleague to check the the um exact square footage but yes there is a physical fitness facility in the basement floor um something we're actually very proud of it's something uh at a my February 5th 2024 meeting was discussed to be state-of-the-art something that I think we had described as a really solid D3 workout facility great um it's time this group needs an an major upgrade in many of those categories that Chief Kennedy discussed including the physical fitness room see if I have enough time to get an answer on square footage we'll get back to you on the specific square footage and my last one is you know when father bills was reopened we redid the facility um folks from the public ourselves got a chance to tour the facility is that going to be the case where the public can come in and maybe do an open house where everybody can kind of tour this new Public Safety headquarters that is definitely the plan yes to have some ribbon cutting and some opportunities for touring of most of the facility um some portions of the facilities such as the evidence areas will always remain secure um but absolutely yes just gives a little fam if you have to go inside to the facility you don't feel like lost okay I've been in here before I know what I need to do I need to go in there for a particular particular situation so um thank you Mr thank you for your time thank you for everyone being here thank you Mr President thank you council deona president recognizes councelor Campbell thank you Mr President um I'll be brief I just had a couple of maybe comments and um questions actually I'll Jo so you don't have to sit down um I too travel SE Street every day I watched uh the development from very early I signed the the I beams when when they were first put up and that was an exciting moment and to consider where we were to where we are now I think it's an incredible accomplishment and and teamwork and and really doing a great job getting the building to where it is today um is there a way to break down cost of the police station cost of the fire station you know to actually I'm sure it's not Apples to Apples in or fire trucks but police cars see that that was that was very good they are in many ways they are inseparably wed um because there's so much shared Common Core space so much shared training space MH um within the facility sure um there certainly is a um as you saw with the previous graphic um we have gone through and done our best to color code each area it's not necessarily broken down just police fire and Emergency Management um but we do have a a matrix of additional categories such as shared core train um that can certainly be produced floor by floor now are there going to be like forbidden areas you know security security areas is that is that set up in in I think we talked about like an emergency management room is that is there there is okay yes the the generally the building on the first floor when you arrive uh through a very nice Atrium well decorated um that's where um residents corporate citizens can come they can get to a window they can come to a meeting room then as you go up in the building you are getting more secure mhm great um so uh let's go to slide 20 do you have slide 20 available there and and I guess I'll start off uh with with kind of some simple Parts here so from each Edge to each edge here if you're looking at from the the the the wall back to the building itself how what's the area that any I you don't have to get be specific is how far is the building set back from the SE Street wall obviously we' see seen a lot of grass there and within that area in front of the building itself do we have a plan for that yet um the plan is for for it to be o Open grass open grass so so but it looks like there's like wall there there is there a sitting wall or or yes there as you get closer to the door um we go um as you get closer to the door there's actually an area that is an arrival patio basically on the outside of the building that's where staircases will come together plus an um an ADA ramp which you'll see on the it's hard to see but it's on the left side of this picture towards the bottom left hand corner will come together um plus there is also access to this point from the fueling Depot side of the site so people can also walk up you could come out of fatelli walk through the parking lot and up on the fueling Depot side of the site okay um so I guess the next part might be Mr Walker here and and it's really morphs into this is you know as we kind of look at at the way that this is designed I think it's beautiful and um you know it's not a solution necessarily but I know that that at one point there was a um commission that was put in place for art commission was spending public money for public art um I know that that was part was the quiny um District uh quizy City District public coding um I think that was it's it's something I'd like to look at and and hopefully we can discuss if there is a a way to maybe create a commission that will'll will'll review that's a yes Happ to take a look at that okay okay so um yeah and ultimately I think that that's something that that you know when we're when we're reviewing where the evolution of the city has become where it was where it's go where it is now where it's going I think we're going to have these these situations and and uh come up more and more often and I think if if public input as possible through that um that's something that I'd like to to travel down that path happy to travel down with you good that's it thank you Council Campbell uh president recognizes councelor Ash thank you Mr President um I did take a moment and and write down my thoughts to make sure they were um organized and coherent I guess we'll say but I will spoil that with um with the sentiment that they do mirror councelor liang's um so I apologize for any any double dipping on that front um so just so again I don't have any real questions just more so just statement um as as was discussed tonight this project was voted on uh prior to my time on the council was not a part of the approval of the funding for the new public safety building although I do find it to be a welcome project at the core I start with that because many residents who have reached out to me are under the impression that we're voting on uh particular Le statues as a part of the funding and plan for the project um and I certainly uh as mentioned previously and and prior did not have any information regarding the same until about two weeks ago um I'm from a blue collar family as many of many um folks may know um many of my family members had decad long careers in the norfor county sheriff's office I can appreciate the symbolic nature of the stat that the statues have within the police and fire departments respectively I appreciate the opinions of all those who' have spoken tonight I represent one of the most diverse areas of the city and also uh need to take a moment and make sure that my constituents and um those that have reached out also feel like they're being heard and advocated for um I've fielded dozens of emails and Communications uh me most in opposition um to the these statues as being erected um as designed the facility is built to serve the public um in the hardworking departments also the folks um that will be seeking service from the same while I understand that there's not a vote before us tonight to decide whether these whether the statues should be erected as designed I do um welcome the idea of more public input into this process um and I think that we have the opportunity to um some to actually start earlier than when the building opens we we spoke tonight about making sure that this building um fostered accountability and public trust um it was a building for the future growth and um I do think that we have an opportunity now to to start that earlier than um when the building is open and um I do suggest that we open up um more discussions surrounding the public art um given the response from the general public um that being said if the result is the statues as designed then then great I just think that there should be more of a discussion going forward surrounding um the public art as Commissioned I do um note a 2009 Council order that is specific to the quiny center downtown district regarding public art I'd like to see something like that implemented and um plan to work on implementing something like that for the for the city in General so that there are parameters in place um for this process going forward and um with that being said I do commend both departments and thank them all for being here tonight both police and fire I've had a number of issues over my my first term just over a year work closely with both Chiefs um and lieutenants officers everyone is uh amazing and Beyond professional we have the the best public safety departments um and I can say that after after uh 14 months on the council with full faith so um I thank you for the opportunity to speak and um that's all thank you councel president recognizes counselor Divine uh thank you very much uh this building is uh it's pretty awesome um people in Massachusetts I think are following quiny we're the lead we're the ones out front we're getting everything done people people people going to want to be more like quiny and uh this building has all new glass the reason we have extra glass and all this type of stuff is for people's mental health um there has to be certain ventilation certain glass so they feel good so I'm very happy that our First Responders are going to have this new building that they'll be able to work better and healthier in and then uh for chief Kennedy I had a question about uh do we have a is there a decompression space or room or facility in this for the officers after decompression space yeah like is I might have it wrong but is there something like that let's say after an incident that they have would they have a space that they can go to that would have um even possible people to speak to and and also to decompress does that make sense yes so we do have um two uh uh licensed clinical social workers that work for the police department uh and I know that generally 99% of their job is uh dealing with people in crisis on the street citizens but there are times where um we will have them call if there's a particular uh call that may be troubling we have an employee uh assistance unit employee stress unit um they'll have an office in the building uh and then also the uh the two uh clinical social workers we will ask them hey reach out to so and so they just maybe had a uh a difficult call um so there are areas that officers could speak to them inside the building good because uh I think it's extremely important that um I think people forget that policemen are humans and uh your emotions can run wild and you uh when you're in a stressful situation that doesn't mean that it's not hurting you uh mentally so I hope that there's a good space for you guys in there and then um the other one would be for um Mr Shay I believe would you be on funding good evening councelor how are you um thank you for coming uh you said that uh I think someone said that uh we're on budget right now right we are on budget yese it all or no like uh TimeWise we're doing pretty good so we we are on budget 98% of the budget is spoken for so we we are in the final s months of the project and the contingency we have a contingency is that we have2 left in contingency okay um in terms of timeline yes we're on the revised timeline I've been reminded many times over over the years of the original timeline however with covid we made a conscious decision to adjust the timeline uh really around father bills building their new Housing Resource Center all at once in Li of us building a temporary shelter so we are on we are on the timeline to open this in October speaking of all bills actually now you mentioned it uh I believe did they build a uh almost identical one in Brockton to what we did something similar um so father bills has built a Housing Resource Center in Brockton but also the city of Brockton is also building a public safety headquarters yeah um that I've toured and I'd like to be proud of quiny to say ours is better yeah yeah so um father bills is I'm in there almost once a week um and uh it's very impressive so once again people are following quiny uh other cities and towns are going to I hope that they should just you know copy and um drag and click and copy those things because it's doing phenomenal that it's a bright space there's a lot of people there they're staying there they were able to have space in the back it's uh it's unbelievable and since that is part of the this project I think it's okay to talk about that um so it's doing really well I can't wait to see when all this comes to fruition um I uh I think you can sit down that's that's all I don't I don't want you to sit as I talk more I don't want people think I'm talking to you in case it's bad um the statues is clearly uh contentious for everyone um I have uh in W for I I'm a ward for counselor some people reach out from outside my ward and I refer them to their their their counselor or councils at large I'm not here to represent them I'm here for my ward um I take it very seriously I put a a heart and soul into this and um I understand that you know religion and state is completely um supposed to be separate and I and I have a bunch of some people reaching out about the lemon test or that these are only um Christianity uh in reality uh St Michael is referred as also Michael as a protector of people that are sick or hurt uh not just in Christianity but in uh Islam and judis uh many face Islam um Jewish face it's this is a these two are patron saints that were picked from the police and the fire um so I'm I reached out and I was happy to you know I'm like if you guys are okay with it as the end users I don't see it as a as a huge issue I know some people have an issue with it but if you want to get right to it the state house has two um statues right on the front thank you very much for the boo I appreciate maybe I can finish before you boo me um the state how has two statues one is Ann hutchon and one is Mary Dyer sure Mo most of you don't know who they are but they're both ministers Puritan and Quakers strictly religious I do not want to see them taking down because somebody refers to it as religious because they were forward thinkers of freedom of speech women's rights and um so that's so I just wanted to just get that out there and just let you know that we're we're we're doing good quiny is doing excellent um I'm very proud of our our fire department our Police Department uh and uh I'm proud of the way the city's going so I know that there's a few issues here and that we need to work on it and my co- counselors here have already touched there on the idea that we you know going forward we're going to have to make sure that we look a little bit harder into this and we will uh we're not perfect we're we're all different people we're doing our best and and we we're working for the people of quinsey we really work hard so thank you for the booze and uh thank you very much to the First Responders for all you do that's it thank you councelor divine um you're good you're good president recognizes councelor McCarthy uh thank you Mr President uh just a quick question for the chief if I could I I missed this one um or two of them uh in all the like we we talked about previous buildings Chief you know high school buildings uh middle schools all all the buildings that the the mayor has uh really got behind in the last 10 years 15 years um and the principles were always involved just a quick question I know you were probably involved and I I wanted to just get you your two Sense on on on the layout of what's going on in there and how much involvement you you were in in um you know the design of like the firin range and in in in the interior and then I got an exterior question for you yeah sure uh so it's funny when I when I took the job about a year and a half ago I knew I'd be handling budgets and HR issues and Patrol deployments and I really didn't think I would be as actively involved in the design of this uh police station uh it was it was pretty well in its way and I was told by the mayor you know you you have control with with Chief Jackson and Ali sleman of the inside of the building and uh it's not too late to make some changes and we did make uh some changes working with uh Mr crucial uh in in the design team The Architects uh you know we've been involved in pretty much everything from testing office chairs uh and things I never thought I'd be doing to uh more significant issues uh redesigning uh the evidence system uh our records managing system and a lot of uh the internal controls the design of the the new uh emergency Communication Center so there's been a lot that um that uh me and my team and chief Jackson and his team um have been intricately involved in in the in the inside of the building and and one of the things I know we we talked a little bit uh I think it was probably uh over last summer was having that Communication Center in there I I really want uh to take take a look at our connection with the schools I know that there's a third party involved in alarms and Etc and and I don't know where we are at but I always felt that with the new Safety Center going in with that type of communication going in that we make sure that all the schools are tied in not to give you guys more to do but you know just so they're tied in so that you know we have this opportunity we don't let it go by I know we chatted a little but I I'd like to get if not me I'd like to get the administration back on that to make sure all our schools are especially the older ones um are all are all hooked up to the to the police station yeah and I think we're in agreement with that counselor we had a meeting about a month ago uh with superintendent mby and uh the principls of all the different schools uh in the city and we talked a lot about behavioral threat assessments and things like that and that was an issue that came up how we could better in cooperate especially with this new emergency Communication Center um when you see it I mean with the with the screens the monitors the number of uh cameras and surveillance um that we have in the city that we're very fortunate to have um to somehow be able to get access to uh the schools uh the library we've been working with Sarah slman at the library um to you know the more set of eyes that we have on um especially our schools and in uh some of our uh vulnerable areas and with the training centers the training facilities I mean you can have more training like active Shooters etc etc down down the road uh yeah for everybody we really have an opportunity to bring in some world class uh training there is um which it's really it's almost like the the FBI uh executive leadership series it's called The Southern Police Leadership Institute and we never would have been able to bring them up here uh they've actually never come further north than Connecticut but it's Police Executive leadership they do two weeks on two weeks off and people come from all over the country to attend um and we're in talks uh with the Southern Police Leadership Institute to come up they bring in instructors from all over the country uh on policing best practices and for basically hosting it they get they give us a few free spots uh for our offices and it really would drive um some economy to the area because people are coming in from other parts of the country to attend this and they be staying at our hotels and eating in our restaurants and uh it's really a u a really cool opportunity and my last question what do you think of the artwork well I appreciate the uh the question counselor and is that what we're call I'll be honest with you um you know it was 30 years ago that I took a uh a public art class in college so I understand that that uh public art means different things to different people and it should uh and I can only speak for for the offices and I believe the firefighters in this room um and I can just tell you that from my perspective they're symbols of the police in the fire department and uh I think they they are so much more than religious and political um I think they remind each of us of the the respective oats that we took when we took this job and again from my perspective and I'm I hope I'm speaking for the the men and women of the police and the fire department when I say that uh I see them as symbols of protection Justice bravery and sacrifice and um that's just my opinion thank you well thank you thank you I'll say Council Mardy all set Mr President thank you all right um my colleagues will indulge me uh thank you Mr Walker thank you commissioner hin thank you Mr Shane Mr crucial Chief Kennedy thank you all for being here tonight for the update um appreciate residents being here appreciate the First Responders being here tonight and appreciate the thoughtful comments from my colleagues uh as every issue that comes before us I try to get to the core of uh the discussion so the concerns that have been raised I'm going to break into a couple categories uh first are the public funds that are being spent on Art especially art with historical or religious significance in public spaces uh interpretations of the artwork itself what it represents and how it's perceived and the amount of money being spent whether this is the best use of taxpayer dollars but the core issue here uh I think that you know we have discovered as a as a council here it's not the artwork at least it's not for me it's the fact that the city council was unaware that this was happening you know we approved funding from 2017 to 2022 uh for the construction of this project but the statutes weren't part of it I don't appreciate surprises like this especially when they spark controversy Andor political opportunity ISM which is what's going on here I think um you know people need to recognize how this issue came up this issue was not brought to my colleagues on the city council this was sent anonymously to the Patriot Ledger and that's how we all found out so this was Savvy this wasn't meant to open up a discussion with the people who work in government whether with the mayor's office or with the city counil this was someone trying to embarrass us which I don't appreciate in the counil please shouldn't be put in a position whether by the mayor's office or anyone who wanted to subvert this uh in a position where we appear uninformed that's not that's not good uh good faith interactions now the broader question public art cost and context so this is the first time in my tenure that something like this has come up where we're categorizing something as church and state uh in a debate so it's worth asking again connected to the political opportunism why now why is this an issue now so I'm not a judge and I don't believe that the intent of this artwork is was to promote a specific religion and personally I see that most statues any statues whether it's the Adams's out here the generals down the street they're all representative of religion in some way shape or form they represent the deification of human figures at one you know Council Divine just started going down the trail of talking about what Michael was or Florian was those were humans at one point in time who've been deified and now channeled through a religion that people are reacting to and ironically I don't even think the proposed statues for the public safety headquarters fall into that category of deification but let's talk about the cost because the cost has been part of this so the costs of the Adams and general statutes which have been a thing so we've got John Adams and John Hancock out front which was part of the Hancock Adams common that was part of A10 million project overall a couple years back I voted against it I didn't think it was good use of public funds at the time time uh to no uh criticism or applause was received at that time and now I recognize the huge value that this project brings the city it's the Heart Center of quinsey Center and the city it brings thousands of people through and to every year we saw thousands of people uh most recently for the Christmas celebrations it's a beautiful occasion where people can share and it brings the community together uh the city went on to commission a requested statue by residents depicting Abigail Adams which cost $700,000 one Statue for $700,000 as opposed to the two I think that we're talking about tonight for $ 850 we have multiple statues of generals and other historic figures and I I don't recall any major public controversy over their cost or their representation if we question the cost of these statutes should we also apply the same scrutiny to the other historical statutes and memorials or is this controversy more about the personal interpretation rather than the spending itself now public spaces and religious imagery uh there's a precedent that exists so one of the most overlooked examples that I don't hear anybody talking about uh where there's plenty of religious imagery is in our cemeteries in our public spaces in our cemeteries is thank you for thank you for coming quiny owns and maintains multiple cemeteries all of which contain religious symbols headstones and iconography while the symbols are paid for by the bereaved the property is maintained with public funds no one has ever suggested that religious symbols should be removed from cemeteries nor has there been any controversy over the public maintenance of these spaces if the principle being applied to these statues were applied elsewhere it would raise far more significant questions about religious symbols in cemeteries and Beyond now historical and legal precedent uh I took some time like councelor deine to look into a couple things like how public funds have been used for religious adjacent art and Institution in Massachusetts and in quinsey so uh public art with religious themes we've got at the Boston Public Library John Singer Sergeant's Triumph of religion murals these murals which were designed between 1890 and 1919 depict religious themes from Egyptian Assyrian Jewish and Christian Traditions there's a mural titled the synagogue which caused controversy upon unveiling but remains part of the library's historical collection never aeep have I heard about a problem there Mass used State House religious symbolism in art and monuments John Elliot preaching to the Indians a 1903 painting in Memorial Hall depicting Puritan missionary John Elliott evangelizing Native Americans the statue of Mary Dyer which honors a Quaker martyr executed in 1660 for defying Puritan laws statue of Anne Hutchinson commemorating the Puritan denter exiled for her religious beliefs there's a sacred Cod which is in the House of Representatives chamber which is a symbolic wooden codfish revered in a way that blends cultural and quasi religious significance and then there are sealing frescos by Frank Hill Smith which are allegorical artwork that include classical religious motifs these artworks are not seen as stain endorsements of religion but as historical Reflections at the time in which they were created now in quiny we're no strangers to spending money for faith-based institutions and organizations uh during covid-19 the city spent $2.5 million supporting churches and faith-based across faiths and religions organizations without controversy in recent years over $3.3 million has been spent in community preservation funds that have gone mostly to Protestant churches in quinzy again with zero controversy now every budget decision that we make up here it's subjective people get different value from the services that come from the city and receive them and appreciate them or don't appreciate them in different ways um education accounts for onethird of the budget that we approve every year many residents benefit directly but not all uh Public Safety our next largest budget area serves everyone but the spending decisions are debated um and hundreds of millions have gone into investing in our roads and infrastructure uh projects that'll last for decades including this public safety headquarters which is a 100-year project no decision is ever going to satisfy anyone and it's not that we're making a decision tonight but that's the nature of governance which seems to come up time and again over the past year and a half specifically so to me this issue goes much deeper than the statues uh it's about how we see the world it's about how we interpret public life and what we prioritize as a community you know could this debate have been avoided uh if we had known sooner or if somebody wanted to present this to us as opposed to going uh anonymously lacking total courage and going to the Patriot Ledger probably but I welcome the conversation it forces us to reflect on the role of public spaces on Art and on shared history so I think we understand what we need to do from the council perspective uh moving forward you know continue to make sure the public projects are openly communicated from start to finish in collaboration with the mayor so that issues like this don't arise as an afterthought set a standard for public art as was suggested earlier which I know had been uh discussed in Prior years before the downtown Redevelopment had truly occurred so that every Project's judged the same criteria rather than on personal interpretation and continue making decisions that both reflect the present and the future of quiny uh knowing that these are public Investments and we all share in them so again this isn't just about statutes it's about process it's about governance but it's also about politics and so while we won't always agree we can commit to making these decisions with more clarity integrity and respect for our city and with that Mr clerk next item on the agenda uh Mr President item number two a confirmatory vote for 2024 059 this was an appropriation for $1 million for the new squantum Elementary School uh motion to approve wait for just a minute until the sure r clares one moment and I was I was going to say more I was going to say I had more to say and I was like um not to e e e call this meeting back to order uh Mr cook can you please read uh the next item on the agenda again sure uh it's item number two Mr President confirmatory vote for 2024 059 it's was an appropriation for a million dollars for the preliminary work for the news squantum elementary school uh president recognizes councelor Harris thank thank you um I'd like to these next two um that are up on the agenda it's basically just cleaning up um one word on both um on both orders so that we can move forward with them so I'd like to make a motion to approve for the 2024 um 059 appropriation coun motion to approve made by councelor seconded by councelor McCarthy on the motion uh no not seeing any Mr clerk please call the rooll council Ash councilor Campbell Council Divine yes Council deona yes Council Harris yes Council leang yes Council McCarthy yes Council Mitten yes president K yes n members Mr clerk next item please the next item on the agenda is also uh a confirm vote for 22496 motion to approved made by uh councelor Harris seconded by councelor McCarthy the motion not seeing any um Mr call roll Council Ash Council Campbell Council Divine yes Council deona yes Council Harris Council leang yes Council McCarthy yes Council mitton yes president Kane yes Mr clerk next item please next item on the agenda is 20223 it's a gift of $500 from the Elizabeth Hatchy to DARE um motion to approve made by Council mcarthy seconded by councel jono Mr C please call her all Council Ash Council Campbell yes Council Divine Council deona yes Council Harris Council leang yes Council McCarthy yes Council Minon president Kane yes I'm you Mr clerk that concludes our regularly scheduled agenda approval of previous meeting minutes from January 21 motion approved made by Council seconded by councelor Campbell all those in favor those opposed eyes have it Communications and reports from the mayor other City officers and City boards yes Mr clerk thank you Mr President we have uh two granted locations one for Mass Electric Mayflower Road Standish Road and Huckins AV we have another Grant of location for Mass Electric Verizon Branch Street at 62 Albertina Street and one traffic for wood one Council McCarthy remove a handicap parking at 47 Merry Mount Road okay thank you Mr clerk um no all right unfinished business and proceeding meeting seeing none reports of committees ordinance committee chair leang I have some traffics to report out uh the first seven are from War Two the first is 2024 d161 at handicap parking to 26 P Street positive recommendation on committee um motion to approve made by councel Yang seconded by Council McCarthy Mr clerk please call a rooll council Ash Council Campbell Council dine Council deona yes Council Harris Council Wang yes Council McCarthy yes Council Mitten yes president okay yes you 202- 012 add no drop off pick up from 7:45 to 8:45 a.m.

and 2: to 300 p.m. J Clifford Marshall motion to approve um positive recommendation motion to approve made by Council Yang seconded by councelor McCarthy Mr clerk please call the rooll council Ash Council Campbell yes Council deine Council deona yes Council Harris Council Yang yes Council McCarthy yes council mitton president Kane yes 20 25-13 i' stops sign on fer Street at Lancaster Street positive recommendation Advocate May positive recommendation motion approve by councelor leang secutive by councelor McCarthy Mr CL please call the rooll council Ash Council Campbell Council deine Council deona yes Council Harris Council leang yes Council McCarthy yes Council Mitten president Kane yes 25-14 at stop signs at both ends of alen stre positive recommendation on committee uh positive recommendation motion to approve by Council than seconded by Council McCarthy Mr please call the RO Council Ash Council Campbell yes Council deine Council deona yes Council Harris Council leang yes Council McCarthy yes council mitton president Kane yes 20 25-15 that each end of low stre posit recommendation on a committing positive recommendation motion to approve made by Council exective by Council McCarthy Mr clerk please call the role councelor Ash Council Campbell Council Divine yes Council deona yes Council Harris Council leang yes CC McCarthy yes Council mitton yes president Kane yes 2025 d016 at a s sign at James at jamest Street at Washington Street positive recommendation on the committee positive recommendation motion to approve made by Council L seced by Council McCarthy Mr clerk please call the rooll council Ash councel Campbell yes councel deine yes Council deona yes Council Harris Council leang yes Council McCarthy yes council mitton president Kane yes 2025 017 at handicap Park parking in front of 148 Franklin Street pause recommendation I committee uh positive recommendation and motion to approve made by Council executive by Council McCarthy Mr clerk please call rooll councel Ash yes Council Campbell yes Council Divine yes Council deona yes councel Harris yes Council leang yes Council McCarthy yes Council Mitten yes president Kane yes thank you last one is that award for 202-0181 by councel exective by Council McCarthy Mr clerk please call the RO Council Ash Council Campbell Council Divine Council deona yes Council Harris Council leang yes Council McCarthy yes Council Mitten yes president Kane yes thank you chair leang thank you uh presentation of petitions memorials and remonstrants uh president recognizes councelor Campbell just briefly um I think we're um Council Ash I'll I'll defer it to you on uh the passing um you want to take it now well I guess we're double diing here um I I don't have the um obituary and I I want to be able to make sure to do um Mr Edward J Uncle Teddy hartnet III justice so I will defer and wait until the obituary is up but um uh he did pass last night at 6:30 uh father to um Greg hartnet EJ hartnet uh both quinsey Police Department um I if you're listening or watching the meeting I'd implore you to um check online look for the obituary if you're interested in attending the services um that was just last night so I'm sure more details to come but I'd like to pick that up when I have all the info in front of me to make sure that uh we we cover all the bases for a wonderful man yeah and I I would like to also add Don uh don Kelly um I graduated together from woodsy High School and on Teddy and Maria together again um but I obviously that deserves its own it's own really well well done uh presentation uh but I do want to congratulate the North Quincy High School boys and girls basketball teams they both won the Patriot League uh title this past week um quiny is ranked quinsey high school is ranked number seventh for the girls uh North quiny girls are fifth ranked fifth in division 2 and the boys I'm not sure what they ranked but they had a great season um and just at the end um Kobe new Yan scored a thousandth Point congratulations to him I'd like to invite him uh in The Patriot League teams and um Alyssa Hops uh in at some point in a later meeting uh but also very exciting just announce I just saw that that mave powers was named uh Patriot League All-Star and MVP of the of the um Patriot League the Fisher division which is a big deal that's um her uh dad and uh mom are are proud North quiny grads so congratulations to the poers family thank you Council Cel president recognizes Council Harris thank you uh it's uh with a sad uh note um the passing of darus J Capa vojak um darus vojak of quinsey um passed away peacefully on at on Saturday February uh 15th Dy was born to Angelo Ralph Capo and valet of brani Capo uh on uh April 21st 1941 in quiny Massachusetts she graduated from North quinsey High School in 1967 and later went on uh to labber college to become a registered nurse a path that would lead her on a lifelong adventure of healing and compassion around the world after gaining experience in critical care Dy found her calling in emergency nursing spending the majority of her career in the emergency Departments of Connie hospital then University and Boston City hospitals there she stoked her passion for caring for the vulnerable and un under serviced in need of life-saving care this passion is what would drive Dy to find the great mission of her life her service as a member of dmat the disaster medical assistance team a rapid response team with FEMA her deployments with dmat included Ground Zero on September 11th 2001 the ice storm in platsburg New York in 1998 Hurricane Katrina in 2005 earthquake in Haiti in 2009 Hurricane Sandy in 2010 and hurricane Maria in 2012 and Michael in 2017 the earthquake in Bam Bam Iran in 2003 among many others she worked periodically for interpole that's bi biological terrorism division providing training in several com countries Lebanon Morocco France and Vietnam as busy as Dy was with these uh impressive accomp accomplishments she also found time to pursue her love of art subject that was mentioned earlier this evening well known by her friends and family for her lifelike pencil and chold portraits some of which hang proudly in the galleries of the Plymouth Center for the Arts she continued to develop her art and was learning sculpture in her final years daugh D's greatest joy was her family her philosophy of always being able to provide an Open Door safe place to go and a hot pot of coffee made her home The Hub of activity from the time her boys were teenagers until the last years of her life um to just uh reiterate what I had just read off she was quite an incredible woman when you think about it and the places she's gone she went and and her profession as a nurse first responder so um uh my heart goes out to the family and I wish them uh I wish them well in Remembering such a great woman a great woman uh who uh came from quinsey and graduated in 1967 from North quiny High School so thank you very much Harris president recognizes councilor Divine uh I'd like to uh offer a uh on a happier note I'd like to offer a huge congratulations to council Ash on his recent engagement so that means he said yes C nice well congratulations I'm sure it's from everyone so thanks councelor Divine and congratulations councelor Ash okay um scheduling of committee meetings and public hearings we have our next Reg ly scheduled uh city council meeting on Monday March 3rd at 6:30 p.m.