This document contains the agenda and supporting materials for the City of Quincy City Council Meeting held on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at the Historic City Hall Great Hall, 1305 Hancock Street, Quincy, MA.
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- GoNetspeed Utility Grant – Review of a grant of location for utility work at 29 Sargent Street/Shed Street.
- Order 2026-036 – Resolution to review resident interactions with City Hall and expand accessible online municipal services.
Key agenda items included:
1. Residents Open Forum 2. State Primary Election Update (Clerk Crispo) 3. Order 2026-122 – Solar energy installation on General McConville Way parking garages 4. Order 2026-123 – Discussion of fair, data-driven pay raises for politicians 5. Order 2026-124 – Establishment of a Public Art & Place-Making Program 6. Order 2026-125 – Review of potential adoption of the Specialized Stretch Code 7. Order 2026-126 – "No Surprise" Government Resolution
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| Category | Total | Democrat | Republican | |---|---|---|---| | Total Voter Turnout | 15,359 | 12,492 | 2,867 | | Election Day Turnout | 8,647 | 6,596 | 2,051 | | Mail Ballots Accepted | 5,641 | 4,995 | 646 | | Early In-Person Voting | 1,011 | 846 | 165 |
- Registered Voters: 68,983 | Turnout Rate: 22% - Turnout increased significantly from 19% in 2024 and 20% in 2022, though well below the 39% turnout seen in 2020. - Citywide, 58% of mailed ballots were returned across all six wards.
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Introduced by Mayor Thomas P. Koch
The City of Quincy authorized the Mayor to enter into lease, easement, and Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with Solect Energy Development LLC for solar photovoltaic installations on two new downtown parking garages:
- 119 Parkingway (a/k/a 101 General McConville Way) - 86 Parkingway (a/k/a 25-55 General McConville Way)
- Term: Up to 25 years (plus an optional 5-year extension) - Provider: Solect Energy Development LLC, Hopkinton, MA - Program: Massachusetts SMART 3.0 solar incentive program via PowerOptions, Inc. - PPA Rates: - 119 Parkingway: ~$0.225/kWh (G-3 rate) - 86 Parkingway: ~$0.166/kWh (G-3 rate) - Equipment: Approximately 879 and 850 ZNShine 585-watt solar panels respectively, with Chint inverters - Estimated Annual Production: ~591,000 kWh (119 Parkingway) and ~580,000 kWh (86 Parkingway) in Year 1 - Performance Guarantee: 85% of estimated annual production - Purchase Options: City may purchase the systems at Years 7, 10, 15, and end of term at Fair Market Value - Goals: Reduce operating costs, lower carbon footprint, and promote clean energy
- Prevailing wages required for all installation work - Early termination amounts range from ~$3.85M (Year 1) down to ~$455K (Year 25) for 119 Parkingway - Payment and Performance Bonds required at 100% of construction costs - City is self-insured; Solect must carry minimum $1M per occurrence commercial general liability
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Introduced by Councillor Maggie McKee
- Noted that in 2024 and 2025, the previous council passed ordinances giving 79% and 50% pay raises to the Mayor and Councillors, plus annual CPI-based raises — all without public debate. - The current council deleted those ordinances in June 2026. - This order calls for rigorous, transparent discussions on elected officials' salaries, including a public hearing for community input on both the amounts and the process for future increases.
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Introduced by Councillors Ash, Mahoney, Jacobs, Hubley, and Riley
- Proposes amending Chapter 12 of the Quincy Municipal Code to establish a Public Art & Place-Making Program. - Creates a Public Art Commission with 5 members plus 2 alternates (appointed by the Mayor) and 1 non-voting high school student. - Applies to city-owned properties and plots greater than ¼ acre. - Commission responsibilities include commissioning art, managing the city's public art collection, and engaging the public. - Commission must hold at least 4 open public meetings per year and must make recommendations for art expenditures of $50,000 or more.
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Introduced by Councillors Ash, Mahoney, Yuan, Jacobs, Hubley, Riley, and Ryan
- Quincy adopted the original Stretch Code in 2010. - The Climate Act of 2021 created a new Specialized Code to further align construction with Massachusetts greenhouse gas limits. - The Specialized Code could save homeowners an average of $500/year in utility costs. - This order directs the Administration (Public Buildings, Planning, Inspectional Services) and community stakeholders to review and present the benefits of adopting the new Specialized Code, covering financial and environmental impacts.
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Introduced by Councillors Yuan, Mahoney, Jacobs, and Riley
This resolution expresses strong concern about a pattern of significant governmental decisions made without prior notice to the City Council or the public, including:
- Flock surveillance cameras used since 2020 without public disclosure; residents discovered this on their own. Records show 600,000–700,000 monthly searches by outside agencies, with the majority lacking case numbers. - ~$850,000 spent on two religious statues for the new Public Safety Building without prior Council notice. - ~$2 billion in city debt not proactively disclosed to residents or councillors. - ~$700,000 bid to pave green space for a parking lot expansion with no advance notice; the bidding process had already closed before a public meeting was held.
- Adopt a "No Surprise" approach — informing the City Council and residents before, not after, significant decisions. - Provide meaningful advance notice for actions involving mass surveillance, major expenditures, public property, or public debt. - Enable genuine public participation and oversight before decisions are finalized.
> "We did it first and told you later should not be the standard of government in the City of Quincy."
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| Category | Count | |---|---| | New Registered Voters | 4,495 | | Total Deleted | 4,275 | | Moved | 1,838 | | Deceased | 486 | | No Response to Confirmation Mailings | 1,468 | | Registered Voters (as of 9/11/2026) | 69,281 | | Inactive Voters | 26,848 |
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The document also includes multilingual Inactive Voter Information Sheets (English, Chinese, and Vietnamese) explaining eligibility, acceptable ID, and post-election procedures for inactive voters, consistent with Massachusetts Secretary of State guidelines.