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October 18, 2019 - In This Issue:
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A Message From Mayor Steve Noble:
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Dear Friends,
Over the last few weeks, my staff and I have been assembling my 2020 Proposed Budget, which I presented last night. I am proud to work with wonderful, dedicated public servants who worked diligently to deliver a budget that provides all the City's essential services without added costs to residents. We will be continuing to invest in our infrastructure, community centers for children, necessary equipment for first responders, and many improvements to our parks - including constructing a skate park!
This weekend is the Burning of Kingston commemorative event. I hope you can make one of the several activities happening around Uptown this evening and tomorrow throughout the day. See you there!
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2020 Recommended Budget Has Been Released
At last night's public Budget Address, I announced my 2020 Recommended Budget, which I'm very proud of. You can watch Radio Kingston's live-stream here.
Highlights include:
- The tax levy remains at $17,650,940 for the fifth year in a row (0% increase)
- 0% increase in sewer rates
- No layoffs
- 12 full-time positions added or expanded including a full-time Bilingual Clerk, a full-time Director of Arts & Cultural Affairs, three positions at DPW including a Tree Maintenance Technician
- Major infrastructure projects will be completed or underway in 2020
- Low Fiscal Stress Score (6.7 out of 100)
- Appropriate funding in contingency for non-recurring costs (such as retroactive raises for employees)
In addition to added capacity in several key departments, the 2020 Recommended Budget includes a variety of exciting capital projects including Wi-Fi in Kingston parks, essential DPW equipment, and a new fire engine. In the Parks and Recreation capital plan, $150,000 has been set aside for improvements to Block and Loughran Parks as well as the construction of a skatepark at Hasbrouck Park.
For the first time in a decade, the proposed budget would decrease spending. Mayor Noble is proposing cutting spending while still adding services and expanding capacity.
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Burning of Kingston This Weekend!
Friday, October 18
6:30pm Welcome and Introduction by Paul O'Neill, U.C. Commissioner of Jurors at the Old Dutch Church
7:00pm Screening of the Burning of Kingston Documentary at the Old Dutch Church
S
aturday, October 19
11:00am-4:00pm List of Sufferers: a Friends of Historic Kingston Special Exhibit at the Fred J. Johnston House
11:00am-4:00pm Tours at the Old Dutch Church
11:00am-3:00pm The 18th Century Autumn Festival at the Senate House
10:00am-2:00pm Harambee and Kingston Land Trust Special Exhibit at the Matthewis Persen House
12:30pm Seen but Not Heard: Slavery in Ulster County During the Revolution talk with Rev. Evelyn
Clarke and Reynolds Scott-Childress at the Matthewis Persen House
2:00pm The Volunteer Firemen's Museum Bucket Brigade
3:00pm Burning Memories: John Jay, Kingston, & the Legacies of the American Revolution lecture by
Robb K. Haberman at the Old Dutch Church
7:00pm Theatre on the Road's Living History Cemetery Tour at the Old Dutch Church
7:30pm Colonial Ball Beginner's Instruction - free dance lessons provided at the Old Dutch Church
8:00pm Colonial Grand Ball at the Old Dutch Church, Bethany Hall
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Tenants Protection Roundtable Discussion
This week Assemblyman Kevin Cahill hosted a panel discussion about New York's Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and how we as elected officials can best help our residents here in Kingston.
I am proud to say that Kingston is the first municipality to move forward in pursuing this legislation. We have commissioned a Vacancy Study to determine if our community is eligible for enacting the Tenant Protection Act. We expect that the results will show that Kingston is well within the vacancy percentage to qualify.
Housing is such an important issue facing our community, and it's vital that we work together on the City, County and State level to protect tenants' rights.
I am committed to working to ensure that all community members have quality housing that they can afford.
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Festival of Scarecrows on October 26
Please join us for
Kingston's Festival of Scarecrows o
n
Saturday, October 26 from
10am to 2pm
a
t
Frog Alley Park, the ruins of the Louw-Bogardus House on Frog Alley, adjacent to the Wiltwyck Fire Station.
If you are interested in creating and displaying a scarecrow for the event, p
lease contact
scarecrowsatfrogalley@gmail.com by October 21 to reserve your spot and for additional event details.
Artwork from local Kingston City School District elementary students
will be on display and select farm animals will be visiting from the Forsyth Nature Center!
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Foxhall Avenue Paving Next Week
A reminder that Foxhall Ave is closed to traffic until paving is completed next week. Paving will begin early next week and will be completed by Friday, October 25, weather depending.
There will be intermittent traffic detours in place from now through the paving work. Drivers should expect delays or seek alternate routes.
The City of Kingston has created an online hub for all things paving, including a list of streets paved in 2019, photos from current projects, letters to residents regarding upcoming roadwork, and forthcoming projects that involve paving. Visit www.kingston-ny.gov/paving for more information.
Milling on Foxhall Avenue this week
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Unique Employment Opportunity for Teens
Kingston YMCA Farm Project's five-month
paid youth employment program
for the design of a memorial site at the Pine Street African Burial Ground is accepting ap
plications until Tuesday, October 22.
Under the direction of KaN Landscape Design, YMCA Farm youth (
ages 14-18)
will lead the community in addressing how to convert the existing unmarked burial ground into an interpretive site for reflection and education.
The design project will run weekly on Tuesdays 2:30-5:30pm from November 2019 to March 2020. Participating youth will co-host a community kick-off to introduce the program to the public on November 14 from 6-7:30pm at the Ulster County Restorative Justice and Community Empowerment Center at 733 Broadway.
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Weaving the Waterfront Open House Event
Mayor Noble and the Offices of Grants Management and Sustainability are pleased to announce an outdoor open house event, Weaving the Waterfront: Kingston, on Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 11:00am to 4:00pm. The open house will inform and engage the community about four major projects that will improve and protect the Kingston Waterfront:
Weaving the Waterfront: Kingston
will allow the community to be involved in creating a vision for specific designs in the Kingston Waterfront. The event will include: a self-guided walking or bicycling tour with exhibit stops staffed by the project design teams; free boat tours to the Lighthouse; and trolley rides to and from Kingston Point. Information regarding the projects and the tours will be available throughout the day in the Kingston Home Port and Education Center also known as the Clearwater Barn at 50 Rondout Landing.
Weaving the Waterfront
will bring together engineering and design teams from McLaren Engineering Group, Weston & Sampson, Supermass Studio and Brinnier & Larios PC and City staff to inform the public about the current design projects along the Kingston Waterfront. Additional projects affecting the waterfront, including the
Kingston Point Rail Trail Phase 2, Hudson Landing Promenade
and
TR Gallo Park Improvements
, will be exhibited in the Kingston Home Port and the Trolley Museum.
Space is limited on the FREE
Solaris
lighthouse
boat rides. Reserve a spot
here
.
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Kingston Happenings 
The City of Kingston often receives requests to share upcoming events happening in our community. Our partners at
KingstonHappenings.org
do an excellent job of centralizing this community information. So while our website is the best resource to gain information about City of Kingston sponsored events and important municipal information, Kingston Happenings can give you a greater preview of community events. Check them out today!
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