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October 25, 2019 - In This Issue:
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A Message From Mayor Steve Noble:
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Dear Friends,
Since February of 2018, I have been working with the Kingstonian development team, NYS Housing and Community Renewal, and local nonprofit housing partners to exhaust all avenues to bring affordable housing into the Kingstonian. This week I was able to announce that I negotiated bringing 14 new units of affordable housing to the Kingstonian project, which amounts to 10% of the overall units.
I would like to thank the Kingstonian development team, Brad Jordan and Joe Bonura, for their efforts to create a project that aligns with our community's needs and my administration's commitment to equitable economic development. Our growing community needs all types of housing stock, and this project will now bring much-need affordable housing units and so much value to our city.
At this time, there is no citywide requirement for inclusion of 10% affordable housing in new construction over 6 units, however, this is a benchmark model I would like to see translated into other projects across the City to meet the intent of our
Comprehensive Plan. I believe that it is an important and realistic goal and would firmly support this legislation be taken up by the Common Council.
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2020 Recommended Budget
Upcoming Meetings
Last week we released my
2020 Recommended Budget, which can be viewed here.
The Common Council will hold a public hearing on the 2020 Recommended Budget on Monday, October 28 at 6:00pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall (Please note: the date has changed from previous announcement).
After hearing public comments, the Common Council Finance Committee will meet with City Department Heads in a series of budget meetings. The following Finance Budget Review meetings will be held at 6:30pm in Conference Room 1.
Monday, October 28 DPW/WWTP budget review
Wednesday, Oct. 30 KPD budget review
Monday, Nov. 4 Fire/Building Safety budget review
Wednesday, Nov. 6 Parks and Rec. budget review
Monday, Nov. 18 City Hall budget review
Monday, Nov. 25 Wrap-up meeting
Monday, Dec. 2 Common Council Caucus
Tuesday, Dec. 3 Common Council Meeting
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Ground-Breaking at the Health Alliance Hospital Expansion
On Thursday, along with Lt Governor Kathy Hochul, County Exec Pat Ryan, and hospital officials, I was able to be a part of a historic ground-breaking on a $92.9 million expansion for the Mary's Ave Health Alliance Hospital complex. This expansion is an investment in our community's health and welfare, and will be transformative to the City of Kingston. It's wonderful to see these much-needed improvements are now underway.
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YMCA Public Survey for Community Needs
Earlier this month, the YMCA of Kingston and Ulster County launched its Community Needs Assessment to help in determining how new programming at the Y can be responsive to the needs of the community. We encourage you to complete the online survey yourself and share it with your networks so that the Y can gain a variety of responses from the community. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete. Thank you for participating to help one of our most valuable community resources do an even more focused job in our City!
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Festival of Scarecrows on Saturday, October 26
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Rondout Youth Program Funding Applications Open
Last month, the projects selected by community members in each business district allocating funds from the 2019 Participatory Budgeting Project were announced. The Rondout district voted to allot its $20,000 for "youth programs, community events, education and wellness centers." Through the Office of Economic and Community Development, the City is now taking applications for funding from groups and organizations operating in the Rondout area. Programming and event applications should have a minimum of $500 in funding requests.
The application is available online and must be submitted to the city's Office of Economic and Community Development by Friday, November 15, at 3:00pm.
A community engagement meeting about any application will be held on Tuesday, November 19 at 6:30pm in Conference Room 1 at City Hall, 420 Broadway. A subcommittee of the Community Development Advisory Board will review all applications and will make the funding decisions.
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Call for Boards and Commissions
We encourage all individuals who are interested in serving on a Board, Commission and/or Committee, to please complete an application
online.
This information will be used in determining which individuals are best suited to serve on each Board, Commission and Committee, based on their qualifications, backgrounds, skills and interests. The purpose of this application process is to enable the City to recruit individuals who have a strong desire and ability to serve and to ensure that each Board, Commission and Committee reflects the rich diversity of our community. We are striving to build an inclusive process that seeks to attract applicants who embody the values and principles of our community and who are committed to serving in this important role with integrity, respect, compassion, and professionalism.
Some current openings include:
- Live Well Commission and sub-committees
- Heritage Area Commission
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Weaving the Waterfront Open House Event Tomorrow
Weaving the Waterfront: Kingston will allow the community to be involved in creating a vision and design for upcoming projects for the Kingston Waterfront. The event will include: a self-guided walking or bicycling tour with exhibit stops staffed by the project design teams; boat tours to the Lighthouse (rsvp required), and free trolley rides to and from Kingston Point. There will also be face painting and lots of fun!
The outdoor open house event, Weaving the Waterfront: Kingston on Saturday, October 26 from 11:00am to 4:00pm will inform and engage the community about four major projects that will improve and protect 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.
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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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