Council approves more than $2 million in street repair work
Published 9:38 pm Tuesday, May 26, 2026
QUINCY — The Quincy City Council had a short meeting Tuesday evening, moved from the regular Monday evening schedule due to the Memorial Day holiday.
The council approved two separate construction projects totaling a little more than $2 million dollars.
The larger project saw Rees Construction of Quincy awarded a contract for $1.35 million for the Kentucy Street improvement project. The work, covering Kentucky between 16th and 18th streets, will include water main and lead service line replacements, sewer reconstructon, new curbs and gutters, and new sidewalks along with new asphalt pavement.
D&L Excavating of Liberty, Ill. submitted the low bid of $727,464 for the North 14th reconstruction project. This work, which will include the same improvements, will cover 14th Street between Locust and Sycamore streets.
The council also approved the purchase of 18 shotguns to outfit the Quincy Police Department’s squad cars to provde officers with an additional less-lethal option when needed.
Chief Adam Yates told the council that the shotguns, Mossberg 590A1 12-gauge shotguns, will have orange shoulder stocks and other hardware to clearly indicate they are a less-lethal choice. He noted that, while the shotguns can take regular, lethal rounds, QPD does not use shotguns for standard patrol use and so there won’t be any ammunition to be loaded accidentally.
Yates noted that the shotguns will have several options for officers choose from, including bean-bag rounds and pepper-spray or tear gas rounds.
The shotguns will be purchased at a cost of $13020.56 from Research and Testing Worx, Inc. of Mount Morris, Ill.
One ordinance change was approved Tuesday that will regulate the number of gaming machines allowed in eligible businesses. Before the change, the ordinance limited the number of the gambling machines to six, the current limit allowed by state law.
The new ordinance will not have a set number of machines, instead relying on whatever regulations the state passes, either increasing or decreasing the allowance, rather than requiring new council action any time a change is made at the state level.
Ald. Dave Bauer, D-2, said the original intent of the machine restrictions, originally set at two, was to allow small business to be on a level playing field with bigger operaters. He voted against the changes, as did Ald. Jake Reed, R-6. Aldermen Tony Sassen, R-4 and Eric Entrup, R-1, were absent Tuesday.
The Quincy Regional Airport will receive new snow-clearing equipment after the council approved the cost of the city’s share to complete a grant. The total cost for the equipment will be just over $1.24 million, the low-bid submitted from M-B Company of Chilton, Wis. The majority of the funds will come through federal and state snow removal equipment grants. The city’s portion of the bill was approved at being no more than $31,003.19.
One last ordinance approved was an amendment to the city’s current fiscal year budget that removes funding for the deputy clerk’s position from the office of the City Clerk. In the request to make the change from Mayor Linda Moore’s office, the change is reported as being due to current Deputy City Clerk Rachel Hubbard shifting to the city’s water department with no plans to fill the position.
At the motion of Ald. Jack Holtschlag, D-7, the council waived the three-readings requirement for the ordinance and passed it with 11 aldermen voting in support. Bauer voted present on the change.
