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— News via Quincy Quarry News – News, Opinion and Commentary
Spoiled walk, spoiled public access — whatever …
A meme via Geochaching
Granite Links formally announced on Monday that it was dropping its controversial bid to score a 99 year ground lease extension from an amenable, if not also subservient, Quincy City Hall.
News of dropping of the lease extension was currently broken via the all but invariably accommodating local weekly tabloid.
Reasons offered for dropping the lease extension bid were traffic concerns given the dangerous Charlie Foxtrot that is the Furnace Brook Parkway interchange with the Central Artery along with how currently high interest rates would increase the cost of financing significant new development at the golf course.
The Koch Machine hit the links
An old Columbia Pictures image
So what, apparently, for the fact that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation is finally working on plans to address this dangerous interchange.
That and how undertaking planning and securing permitting for additional development at the 27 hole golf course complex would take a while before consequential construction costs might require financing to be secured.
On the other hand, dropping the ask at this time does eliminate one of the biggest controversies facing Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch’s reelection bid.
After all, the lease extension ask was, best case, viewed by many locals as somewhere as between out of bounds and having a plugged ball in a sand trap, if not both and more.
In the deep rough. Very deep rough.
An Ian MacNicol image
At the same time, the O’Connell clan always come back as soon as right after the first of the year with a new lease extension ask assuming that Mayor Koch is reelected for four more years care of the fast approaching local elections and so able to resume taking care of all of his major backers in due course.
After all, in the meanwhile currently high interest rates for new construction financing have put many of their projects on hold are not expected to be coming down anytime soon.
Accordingly, the O’Connell family can try to again to grift a sweetheart lease deal at some point after the audit of the books on the current lease deal can be deep-sixed in one of Granite Links’ water hazards.
In other words, take an extra mulligan of a sort after shanking the ball after being found long out of bounds on the lease/tax deal with the City of Quincy.
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The following quote is from the Quincy Sun:
“In the future, O’Connell said Quarry Hills Associates “will invest the time to prepare a conceptual development plan with supporting data.”
So, that seems to indicate that currently there is no comprehensive plan, not even a conceptual plan, and that the mayor really doesn’t give a hoot one way or the other (about any plan). He was ready to sign.
And as soon as the air clears a bit, Koch will be more than happy to sign on the dotted line for whatever Quarry Hills wants.
Also, the sudden concern by QH about traffic improvements is a bit too convenient. And as the QQ article indicates:
” . . . dropping the ask at this time does eliminate one of the biggest controversies facing Quincy Mayor Thomas P. Koch’s reelection bid. “
Forget it Fredzo, it’s Quincytown.
Fredzo,
So, are you jealous that you were not invited to Mayor Koch’s big fundraiser gala at Granite Hills earlier this month?
Yeah, what else could it possibly be?
How many years has QH been operating without a plan, other than to do as little as possible in regard to fulfilling the obligations in the original lease? And regardless of that shady history, the mayor is enthusiastic to rush ahead with a 99 year lease without securing the best outcome for the city.
Dom,
No offense, but the O’Connells’ plan from the gitgo was to pay as little as possible in the way of rent and taxes as could be grifted and their toady Mayor Koch has long duly done as he has been directed to do to facilitate same.
As a lease is a contract and the Oconnells have not complied with the terms of their current original contract with the City of Quincy, our esteemed Mayor Koch should step up to the plate and do the proper thing for the citizens of the Quincy and tear up the contract. A contract is an agreement in this case with two parties. If one party does not live up to the terms specified in the contract, the contract and can be null and void.
Quincy’s bought and paid for mayor do the right thing? Ya, right.
Seriously, voiding the sweetheart lease and tax deal followed by an evicting of the O’Connells would be tough slog even for an independent and ethical mayor.
Insisting on short past payments paid with interest once a proper audit indicates shortages and then strip away the special discounted tax and lease terms going forward as well as announcing that a lease extension ain’t happening when the current lease expires, however …
Plus, one has to assume or at least hope that the original contract has clear terms for addressing defaults on terms within it along the lines of the preceding.
That and tie it all together with a settlement agreement that agrees to not pursue fraud charges so as to lock it all down. Think civil version of a plea deal to lesser changes so as to get the perp off the street without going to trial.