— News about Quincy from Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

Solid gold police palace?
A City of Quincy/Kaestle-Boos image

Quincy Quarry Weekly Fish Wrap:  Copper for coppers!

Actually, more like Kruegerrands are planned to be spent on a new Quincy police headquarters/semi-combined public safety facility rather than but mere coppers. 

Lots and lots and lots of Kruegerrands.

A key reason: the cost of copper planned to be used for much of the roof of the police department’s spare no expense whatsoever design is so costly that British coppers and U.S. pennies only use copper as a coating as copper is too expensive for use in the making of chump change.

Koch Maladministration cash burn rates inevitably burn taxpayers
Image via cheat-sheet.com

Even so, this past week the Quincy City Council approved $120 million more in funding on top of the $30 million approved last year to build a new Quincy Police Headquarters which will also house the Quincy Fire Department’s administration personnel.

Granted, the current police headquarters has seen better days as well as is inadequate to the policing needs of the ever-increasingly mean streets of the Q.

That and has at least once been hit by a fire.

“Interest rates are so low that taxpayers have to fund my free-spending ways.” A Facebook photo

Regardless, $150 million in total is stupendous, if not also stupid, money per reasonable measures.

Then again, when it comes to Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch’s “Edifice Complex,” his profligate spending of tax dollars is not of concern to him.

After all, the original plan was to combine the Quincy Fire Department’s main station within a combined public safety headquarters to save some money; however, along the way the Koch Administration’s ace planners discerned that relocating the fire station would swive response times by hosers.

Every hoser’s dream toy
Image of a collectible old toy

So what, apparently, about doing a proper citywide study to discern what firefighting resources need to be prepositioned where so as to provide optimal response/cost fire fighting services BEFORE proposing the now-withdrawn proposal to relocate Quincy’s main fire station.

Then again, such a proper study would probably also all but assuredly point out how certain local station houses of hosers are, well, hosing it, whereas others are hard-pressed. 

For example, the profoundly burdened firefighters at the inadequate but one firetruck as well as woefully worn-out West Quincy fire station that not only has to cover West Quincy but also support fire fighting efforts within the Blue Hills Reservation.

The Germantown, Hough’s Neck, Quincy Point, and Squantum fire stations, however …

Let’s just move across the street!
An old Columbia Pictures image

Accordingly as well as only to be expected, the revised plan is to build a new main fire station across the street from the current station at a cost of who only knows how many tens of millions.

In short, nothing like a little prudent planning. 

In fact, nothing like it all.

Even more problematic, with the prices of construction supplies soaring given COVID-19 supply chain disruptions, such will surely only add to the only to be expected cost overruns all but invariably incurred on akoched-up projects under the sole control of the Koch Maladministration.

Leading the way into Chapter 9?
An old Facebook photo

But not to worry for Team Koch as the project can go 10% over the $150 million authorization to date before the team is supposed to come back to the City Council for even more millions.

Not that it duly did so when its remodeling of Old City Hall ran roughly twice what the Koch Maladministration originally promised would be the maximum price, however.

Accordingly, the touts on the Quincy Quarry’s construction desk have set $180 million as the over and under for the final price.  

That and everyone in the Quarry newsroom is taking the over.

Enough already
A file photo

Absent the caveat of serious value engineering at a later date, that is. 

After all, late-in-the-going cost savings feature cuts are not cost-effective in terms of the features lost given late cuts – think basically the inverse of a stitch in time saves nine – and so come at a considerable cost for usually modest actual dollars so trimmed.

On the bright side, however, every single one of the capos in La Kocha Nostra have no choice but to take the under.

That and such is even easier than taking candy from a baby.

In fact, way easier.

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