Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Time to say good morning and welcome to Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch for our weekly City hall update. Mayor, is it hot enough for you?
[00:00:06] Speaker B: Mayor Indeed. But it's July, you know, it happens every year.
[00:00:10] Speaker A: It's true.
And there are plenty of places to cool off throughout the city for sure. Libraries, Kennedy center, beaches. Yep, there's the beaches, of course, and they are mostly open. A couple of small ones are shut down, but Wallacen's wide open.
[00:00:29] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:00:30] Speaker A: And many events taking place too on the beaches this year for sure.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: 27 miles of shoreline. There's plenty of places to take a dip.
[00:00:39] Speaker A: The Interestingly, the 88th Quincy Bay Race Week Regatta is coming up this weekend. I, I am just astounded that that has been lasting for so long and still so very popular. It's, it's a great event.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: It is a great event. It brings all the yacht clubs together in a great way.
Yeah, it's pretty exciting. Good stuff.
[00:01:00] Speaker A: Yeah. If Cokes can check that out. QuincyBayRaceWeek.com Mayor I was hoping could talk this morning a little bit about an announcement last week regarding the joint 911 dispatch center plan between Quincy and Milton.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: Sure.
Well, as you well know and the people of Quincy well know, we've just finished building a state of the art public safety headquarters including, including beautiful state of the art dispatch center.
And the state has been encouraging more regional approaches dispatch because some of the communities, you know, the call numbers aren't that high and both for efficiency and you know, the state likes to see the regional stuff. They do and I get it. And there are a lot of communities that don't have the resources necessarily either. So the state helps to fund some of these operations.
You know, the chief, Mark Kennedy approached me about it months ago. They wrote a grant about it and yeah, so we're going through that next phase.
The state helps cover the cost of it and I think it's something worthwhile. I know that this probably wouldn't be the last one. There might be one more added to it.
But you know, we want to walk before we can run.
So it's a very unique process and it's professionalizing the whole operation. Not that our call takers aren't professional, but there's certain certifications and tests and so forth now that come with us as well. So I think it'll make us a more professional operation overall, obviously meeting the demands of the residents with the 911 calls. But there's some serious training involved in it and you know, looking forward to that and you know, we can help out Our neighboring communities. Why not?
So I think that's a good thing.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: So this was an $8 million state grant that was awarded. What will that actually pay for?
[00:03:01] Speaker B: I think that's over time, Joe, too. I don't think that's immediate. Okay. I think that helps to fund the infrastructure needed. I mean, we.
We certainly have the basics in there, you know, with the new station, but this would help us run the lines necessary from obviously connecting the Milton and Quincy operations and provide some of the equipment inside.
Obviously, it's a new station, but, you know, this would require an additional. I think an additional two stations. So it would fund all of that. Again, the state encourages this. The state's finding the money to do it.
So it's not on the backs of the checks base at Quincy. It's an efficiency created that will benefit both Milton and Quincy.
[00:03:45] Speaker A: Okay, so it's a new department, civilian department, that's being created for the center, is that right?
[00:03:53] Speaker B: Yes. So there'd be a division still be overseen by the police and fire chiefs, but the person would be appointed by the mayor.
And the person's sole responsibility would be for the operations of the dispatch center, every aspect of it. And we'd like to, as part of this, bring that person on sooner than later and have that person oversee the changes necessary, the training necessary, the investments of the infrastructure to make sure we get everything right.
And, you know, both chiefs have a lot of responsibility with a lot of different areas.
So we felt it was time. You know, a lot of the major cities have a separate operation for this purpose. So I think this puts us in line with those types of major cities.
[00:04:41] Speaker A: So this is basically creating a new city department, Is that right?
[00:04:45] Speaker B: It's what I would call it a division, but, you know, you could call a department, you know, a few more people in it. One person is going to oversee the whole operation.
Rather than having, you know, somebody from the police, somebody on fire, somebody from this or that, you have one person responsible, overseeing the whole operation. Again, meeting the standards set by the state, particularly with all the training that's going to be required.
[00:05:09] Speaker A: So had this new director would be responsible for hiring the employees in that. In that new division.
[00:05:15] Speaker B: Well, they'd be responsible for putting together the hiring. At the end of the day, the mayor of the city is still the hiring authority. Okay. But they would put the process together by which they'd be chosen. Okay.
[00:05:26] Speaker A: And then. So the grant would cover for that cost of that entire department or division?
[00:05:31] Speaker B: Essentially, yes.
[00:05:34] Speaker A: Does this need to be approved by the unions? The Police and fire unions.
[00:05:38] Speaker B: That is something that we will not. It's. Yes, it's something that any work changes would have to be approved. So getting into the specific changes and training and so forth, that would be the approval necessary, not the idea, but the impact. And they call it impact bargaining. So it impacts that it has an effect on we. Then we bargain that so that will happen. Not only police and fire, but also the Quincy Public Employees Union.
Some of the clerical and dispatch positions fall into that.
[00:06:09] Speaker A: How are the 911911 calls handled right now, Mayor, how does that actually work?
[00:06:17] Speaker B: You know, I, I don't know specifically. Obviously you get calls when we have call takers. And then in the, in the center, there's the dispatchers and the dispatchers are ones that operate now. Right now, the fire department listens in on their system at central Firehouse, and based on what they hear, they dispatch an engine directly.
Obviously, if it's a fire or if it's a medical, essentially those two items they send somebody. So, you know, this eventually would eliminate all that. It would just be that one, one center, immediate dispatcher, whatever it's a need, or whether it's fire equipment, whether it's a Brewster ambulance. Rooster also would be part of this central location. I think at the end of the day, Joe, we're going to save time and response time. We're going to be far more efficient at it. And that's a good thing for those people out there calling in need.
[00:07:10] Speaker A: And so would Milton be paying Quincy to use this center or how would that.
[00:07:16] Speaker B: Yeah, Milton would contribute toward the cost of the Milton aspect of it. Yes.
[00:07:21] Speaker A: Okay. And then what if once the grant runs out, then what happens?
[00:07:26] Speaker B: I think that's something that the state would then look at again.
[00:07:29] Speaker A: I see.
[00:07:30] Speaker B: This is, this is more us to get us started, but there are also grants to help us pay for it going forward.
[00:07:37] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:07:38] Speaker B: One step at a time.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: Yeah. So what's the timeline now? What's the next step?
[00:07:41] Speaker B: I guess it's probably going to take about a year to get all this instituted before we're taking calls from Milton, but.
And I defer to the chief on that.
[00:07:51] Speaker A: Okay, sure. And so does this put folks out of work that are doing this job now or.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: No, those people that are there would have first shot at these positions.
[00:08:00] Speaker A: I see.
Okay. Very interesting.
[00:08:04] Speaker B: It is interesting, yes.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: Also, Mayor, I wanted to talk a little bit about presentation you made not too long ago to the president of the Quincy Quarry and Granite Workers Museum, the keys to their new old granite house.
[00:08:19] Speaker B: Yes, it's kind of a cool story. First of all, let me say Al Beehner is quite a guy. And as you know, he has a lot of passion for the history of the granite industry in the city. And him. And he's had some help from Tom Bonomi and some friends who are loyal to him getting it done. But you know, he's operated out of their Turning the Lions Turning mill up there in West Quincy by the Granite Links golf course for a number of years.
You know, he scrapes money together for the sheds and you know, we help with community based preservation funding, but you know, somebody going up to a site I figured out to be a little bit more than that. So when the whole issue of the granite house on Willett street in West Quincy, owned by the McDonald family, who owned the Common Market, made a decision, they're going to build on that site, which is ongoing now, the question was, what do they do with that? So we reached out to Greg and he agreed, Greg McDonald to donate the house to use at the Granite as the Granite Museum, actually.
So the company we hired, they numbered every block and reused it. It's not the exact same shape, but I think it's much nicer looking shape building.
It's a little longer than the other building and not as high.
But all the building is made entirely of the granite blocks that came from that old house. So I think it's a great story in that regard. Now inside it's got electricity, it's got plumbing and has a restroom in it.
And it allow Al and his team to do little lectures in there and be able to house things inside the building that otherwise you wouldn't want, maybe in the shed as well as some stuff that's outside. So it's.
It adds a whole new dimension to the site and it fits beautifully. Rather than a wooden shed, you get a beautiful granite structure made for that purpose. I think it fits nicely.
[00:10:16] Speaker A: It's a fantastic story. This started with an idea that Al had and has really morphed into now a complete facility dedicated to the city's rich granite industry. Literally housed within Quincy granite.
[00:10:32] Speaker B: Yeah, it's awesome. I mean, you got by there 20 years ago, the site was just overgrown. You know, people that may have driven by maybe stopped and take a quick peek. But now he's assembled all these artifacts and tools and things we use at the various woodsheds. So it's really a good take now. And I give all the credit to Al. I do want to thank Kenny McIsaac, a Quincy local carpenter and John Fulsham, a Quincy local business owner who builds.
Well, between the two of them, they built the place. John handled the granite aspect of it, and Kenny did all the woodwork part of it. So both of them love Quincy. Both of them enjoy our history. So it was a labor of love for them as well.
[00:11:17] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
It's well worth the take. I highly encourage folks to visit it and talk.
[00:11:23] Speaker B: And, of course, thank the Community Preservation Committee for their foresight.
[00:11:26] Speaker A: Yes. It wouldn't have happened for sure. It was about over $900,000, I think, to help make this happen.
[00:11:31] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Excellent. And, Mayor, a tall ship is coming to the city.
[00:11:37] Speaker B: What's the name of it, Joe?
[00:11:38] Speaker A: It's the Oostersheldy.
[00:11:42] Speaker B: You like that?
All right.
[00:11:45] Speaker A: It's a Dutch tall ship visiting Marina Bay.
[00:11:48] Speaker B: Yes. It's gonna bring a little excitement to the marina, which is awesome.
We're excited about it. Bring some bodies down there, hopefully increase, you know, the folks down there to use the restaurants. And it's a great spot. It's a great spot for the tall ship, obviously, to be. And we couldn't get too big a one because of the draft, you know, that comes in there. Wasn't deep enough for one of the real big ones. But nonetheless, it's a handsome, handsome ship, and we're glad to have it. And we welcome.
[00:12:16] Speaker A: Yeah. It arrives Thursday. It'll be open for tours Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Hope you check it out.
[00:12:21] Speaker B: Indeed.
[00:12:22] Speaker A: Always great to talk to you, Mayor. Appreciate your time.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: Same here, Joe. Stay well.
[00:12:26] Speaker A: Yep, you too. Bye. Bye.
Quincy Mayor Thomas Coker. Weekly City hall update here on AM Quincy.
