By SCOTT JACKSON
Representatives from CVS met with the City Council to discuss concerns about conditions at of the pharmacy giant’s stores in North Quincy and Quincy Point.
City councillors in March unanimously approved a resolution asking for an update on conditions at the CVS stores located at 321 Quincy Shore Dr. and 626 Southern Arty. Ward 6 Councillor William Harris had introduced that resolution, seeking an update on the North Quincy location, and Ward 1 Councillor David McCarthy requested a similar update on the store in Quincy Point.
Tom Driscoll, a district leader with CVS, and attorney Peter Lyons met with councillors Monday to address those concerns. The managers of the two stores were also present.
During the meeting, Harris said he is not trying to get the CVS locations shutdown but wanted to open up a line of communication between the company, city officials and residents. The store had made some progress since the resolution was approved, he said, “but we’re not even close.”
Harris showed before and after pictures of the CVS site, showing that the fence around the store’s dumpster had been repaired in recent weeks. Harris added, however, that the dumpster was not being kept locked.
Harris also read a letter he received from an official with the state Department of Public Health following an inspector’s visit to the site on April 19. The inspector said there was no longer signs of mice within the store’s pharmacy but a couple of other areas within the store had signs of mice, Harris stated. A supervisor from the store told the inspector a pest-control specialist was visiting the location three to four times a week, but the supervisor said there was no documentation for those visits.
“Obviously the eyes of Texas are one you and I’m sure you’re going to be visited again,” Harris said. “Moving forward, there has to be a better plan.”
Driscoll said he was named district leader in January and began to address concerns about the location on Quincy Shore Drive as soon as he heard of them. He had the regional and district managers from Orkin, a pest-control company, visit the store along with a local representative. There was no documentation of those visits because the local representative’s printer wasn’t working, Driscoll said, adding that he would provide that documentation to the city and state.
Harris also raised concerns about the condition of the fence that separates the store’s parking lot from neighboring homes. CVS is working with its landlord to get the fence replaced, Lyons said, and has also reached out to the landlord about changes that would improve the flow of traffic in the parking lot.
McCarthy said his chief concern about the CVS on Southern Artery is the dumpster in the rear of the store, and trash blowing around the property. Driscoll said he would recommend moving the dumpster to address McCarthy’s concern.