In a 2018 Health Link study, 11% of Ulster County residents self-reported that they, or a member of their household, has been unable to get food when it was really needed. Feeding America reports that there are 17,940 food insecure people in Ulster County and 5,450 of them are children.

Food security is a pillar of a person's health. Without access to healthy, nutritious, food, a person's health will be challenged. Children that are hungry are more likely to experience developmental impairments, may perform worse in school and may have difficulty concentrating.

Thankfully, we have wonderful organizations here in Kingston that are connecting people with food. Community Action has monthly food distributions and farms stands. People's Place has a weekly farm stands and a twice monthly "Your Choice" Food Pantry, they delivered over 6,000 meals last summer with their Bag Summer Hunger Program, and coming soon, they will open the People's Café, which will serve free breakfast and lunch to anyone without asking for proof of need. UlserCorps has maps of all the Ulster County Farms and Food Pantries. They also connect farms with volunteers to harvest leftover crops and connect them with food pantries. There are other great organizations like Angel Food East, FeedHV, numerous food pantries and, soon, a member-owned Kingston Food Co-op that will have low-cost memberships.

Eat Well, a subcommittee of Live Well Kingston, brings together organizations that are working on food access and healthy eating. As a group they created a healthy food map and called attention to resources during the Federal Government Shutdown. Members of Eat Well also participated in the Kingston City School District's Health and Wellness committee. But the true value of Eat Well, is to break down silos, share resources, and collaborate about how to reduce barriers to healthy, low-cost food for everyone.

Mayor Steve Noble is pleased to announce the excellent financial performance of the City of Kingston in 2018. The City of Kingston Comptroller's Office submitted the City's 2018 Financial Report to the state on May 1, which documents a $1.1 million increase in the City's General Fund Balance. This strong budgetary performance was made possible through smart fiscal management practices- and without raising the tax levy for three consecutive budgets.

 

"2018 was a great year in the City of Kingston," said Mayor Noble. "Our revenues were up, including a bump in sales tax and more investment throughout our city, and we were able to implement a number of significant cost-saving measures throughout the year, all of which resulted in a surplus of over one million dollars. It is absolutely vital that remain diligent in our careful and meticulous budget oversight to continue to protect our taxpayers and provide the highest quality services."

 

In a communication to the Common Council, Mayor Noble has proposed using a portion ($390,000) of the unassigned fund balance toward paying down the balance on a higher interest retirement amortization loan, which will save the City money in interest in the future. Mayor Noble has proposed utilizing $350,000 for additional street paving in 2019. The Department of Public Works has identified eight streets to be paved, including all of Washington Avenue, that were scheduled for paving in 2020. If the proposal is approved by the Common Council, paving work will be done this construction season, making the total of newly paved streets close to 25 in 2019.

 

"By paying down a higher interest loan, we are saving the taxpayers in the long run, and we will not have to budget those funds for next year - it's a win-win," said Mayor Noble. "It's been one of my administration's top priorities this year to invest in infrastructure, and by using these funds for paving, we are delivering these improvements even faster than we hoped."

This week, the Superintendent of Public Works and I announced the second round of paving of City streets in 2019. Beginning on Monday, June 10 four streets will be paved:

                                    Newkirk Avenue

                                    Hanratty Street

                                    Delaware Ave - Corporate Drive to the intersection of 9-W

                                    Hasbrouck Ave - Delaware Ave to East Chester St.      

 

Roadwork is expected to be completed by Friday, June 14, weather depending. Round 1 of paving, which was completed in early May, included sections of Wilbur Avenue, and South Washington Avenue, Petit Avenue, Klingburg Avenue and Condie Street. 

The next round of paving is expected to be announced in the next couple of weeks.

Last Saturday, the LGBTQ Center and volunteers like myself helped repaint the rainbow and transgender flag themed crosswalks in Uptown. DPW refreshed the white lines on Monday making the crosswalks crisp and ready for Pride Month! 

I presented the LGBTQ Center with a proclamation in honor and commemoration of Pride Month in the City of Kingston and recognition of all the wonderful work the Center does for the community. The proclamation was read at the Pride Month Kick-Off Party on Saturday night. More Pride Month events and ways to get involved are listed here.

The intersection of Wall St. and John St. 

The Senior Picnic will be held this year on Friday, June 14 from 11:00am-2:00pm at Rotary Park at Kingston Point. This event is always a highlight of my summer. Hope to see you there! 

An update on recycling: the transition to Dual-Stream Recycling in the City of Kingston over the past couple of months has gone smoothly. However, there are many items still being found in recycling totes that should be placed in the garbage. "Clamshell" plastic containers that hold salad greens and fruit, plastic bags, pizza boxes and coated paper milk cartons are among the most commonly misplaced items. Here's a helpful list of what not to recycle. 

To urge UCRRA to accept more plastic items like clamshell containers, give them a call at 336-0300. 

More info at www.kingston-ny.gov/recycle