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January 14, 2017 - In This Issue:
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A Message From Mayor Steve Noble:
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Dear Friends,
This past Tuesday, I had the distinct honor of delivering my State of the City address to the Common Council and community. It was an incredible opportunity to celebrate some of our greatest accomplishments over the past year and to highlight important projects and priorities my administration has set for 2017. As I stated in my speech, we have a lot of work ahead in order for us to achieve the goals we have developed in the areas of economic development, quality housing, infrastructure, sustainability, public health and transportation. I have great confidence that with the groundwork we set in 2016 and the partnerships we are continuing to build, we will meet these goals.
Also on Tuesday, hundreds of neighbors came together to express their opinions about a memorializing resolution I proposed to reaffirm the City of Kingston as a welcoming and inclusive community. It gave me great pride to see over 60 individuals walk up to the podium and voice their support and opposition to this resolution and on other city matters. I think that we can agree that it's easy to have an opinion, but it takes courage to speak in front of hundreds of people who may or may not agree with what you have to say. So to all those who showed up, who spoke, who wrote letters, or shared information, thank you for having the courage to do so. While I am of course pleased to see that this important memorializing resolution passed, it was the process we went through to get to this moment that I believe demonstrates what type of City we really are.
-Steve
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Mayor Noble delivers State of the City Address
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Video brought to you by:
KingstonCitizens.org and filmed by Clark Richters |
Mayor Noble's State of the City address included an overview of the accomplishments the City has earned over the past year, including significant advancements in the City's economic development strategies, major infrastructure projects throughout the City, a glimpse into the public safety and public works services provided in the past year, improvements in the way the City communicates, additions to youth programming in the Parks and Recreation Department, and the development of the 2017 budget. The Mayor then set a series of goals for the City to reach in 2017, specifically in the areas of economic development, sustainability, housing, transportation, City workforce development, open government practices, and public health.
Read the full State of the City address here.
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Common Council passes memorializing resolution reaffirming the City of Kingston as a welcoming and inclusive community;
Mayor Noble signs resolution
O
n Tuesday, January 10th, after three hours of public comment, the City of Kingston's Common Council voted 5-3 in favor of a memorializing resolution reaffirming the City of Kingston as a welcoming and inclusive community. Mayor Noble signed the resolution on the morning of Thursday, January 12th.
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Annual Winterfest to be held on January 28th
The City of Kingston Parks and Recreation Department and the Friends of Forsyth Nature Center will host Winterfest on Saturday, January 28th from 10:00am-2:00pm at Kingston's Hasbrouck Park on Delaware Avenue.
"Winterfest is a great opportunity for people to get outside and celebrate winter during these cold months," said Julie Noble, Environmental Education and Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Kingston. "Hasbrouck Park is such a perfect setting for winter exploration and fun. We look forward to an exciting family event, snow or shine! Think snow!"
During Winterfest, participants can attend one of three snowshoe instructional classes with a hike through Hasbrouck Park. The hike will include a lesson on the history of snowshoeing, animal tracking and winter safety. Classes will begin at 11:00am, Noon and 1:00pm and will be led by Parks and Recreation Department environmental educators. Snowshoes will be provided to those interested in participating. Classes are first come, first serve and are appropriate for youth and adults, novices or advanced snowshoers. All participants should wear warm clothes and winter footwear. In the event there is no snow or poor snow conditions, a regular winter hike without snowshoes will be held instead.
As part of this event, Mark DeDea, Caretaker at the Forsyth Nature Center and avid birder, will be at Kingston Point Beach from 10:00am- 2:00pm and will be offering guided bird watching, with scopes, natural history, behaviors, identification techniques and habitat information. At 10:15am and 12:15pm he will be leading a guided bird walk at Kingston Point "Rotary" Park, which will also include spotting winter birds of the fields, forests and wetlands. Binoculars will be provided for youth and adults. Participants should meet at the Kingston Point Beach Parking lot at the designated start times.
In addition to all of the wonderful outdoor activities, attendees are encouraged to warm up and enjoy the fun inside the Hasbrouck Park Stone Building. Indoor activities will include a variety of children's arts and crafts, games, warm beverages and food. There will also be a roaring campfire which participants are welcome to use to make delicious s'mores.
Admission to this event is free. Some crafts and food may have a nominal fee, which will help support the Friends of Forsyth Nature Center, a non-profit organization which supports the mission of the Forsyth Nature Center. This event is rain or shine.
For directions to Hasbrouck Park, please visit www.kingtsonparksandrec.org. For further information about this event, contact Julie Noble at (845) 481-7339.
Check out the Facebook event
here.
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Community Development Block Grant process begins
The City of Kingston must prepare its Annual Action Plan for Fiscal Year 2017 (July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018), which details the use of its estimated $600,000 annual grant under the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD's) Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) Entitlement Grant. Public comments regarding specific projects or program priorities you would like to see included in the Consolidated Plan or Annual Action Plan are accepted at the City's Office of Economic & Community Development at any time. The citizens of Kingston are also invited to participate in informational and public comment sessions on the 2017 Annual Action Plan.
Click
here for a schedule of CDBG meetings.
Click
here for information on the CDBG process and a copy of the 2017 application.
Click
here for contact information.
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City of Kingston and Conservation Advisory Council Meeting to Feature Natural Resource Maps
The City of Kingston with the Kingston Conservation Advisory Council is inviting the public to attend a special presentation that will introduce the City's new Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) maps and data on Tuesday, January 24th at 6:00pm at the City Hall Common Council Chambers, which is located at 420 Broadway in Kingston.
The meeting is designed to introduce the public to the many natural assets within the City of Kingston, displayed on user-friendly maps and compiled into data sets. This meeting will serve as an introduction as well as information solicitation from attendees, to best inform the completion of the project. Participation and feedback will be encouraged both during the meeting as well as following.
John Mickelson, Principal of Geospatial and Ecological Services, and consultant to the City for the NRI will present the data and maps created to date as well as different methods to use them including hard copy maps, online data access, and Google Earth manipulation. Julie Noble, Chair of the Conservation Advisory Council and Environmental Education and Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Kingston will facilitate the event.
Laura Heady,
Conservation and Land Use Coordinator with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Hudson River Estuary Program, will give an overview on the ecological benefits of natural areas and the ways that NRIs can inform community planning, with examples from the Hudson Valley.
"The NRI will serve to increase awareness of the natural areas in the larger, undeveloped areas of Kingston while illustrating the connections of the land to the Hudson Estuary and adjacent communities," said Julie Noble, Environmental Education and Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Kingston. "By compiling a large amount of map information into one planning tool, such as geology, streams, and land use, NRIs are an important component of comprehensive planning and can reveal the areas most suitable for community growth, development of parks, and conservation of the most important natural features. Habitat information is an additional component of an NRI, which the CAC is working to develop."
Support for the City of Kingston Natural Resources Inventory is provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program with funds provided under the NYS Environmental Protection Fund (EPF).
This program is free. Light refreshments will be served. Residents, business owners, developers, planners, consultants, elected officials, policy makers, neighboring municipalities and non-profits who are interested in the future of Kingston's open space and natural resources are encouraged to attend.
For more information, please contact Julie Noble at (845) 481-7339.
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Sign up for Swift911
Did you know that the City of Kingston has an Emergency Notification System? This system allows the City to notify residents of emergencies, changes in services and other important information. Winter is the best time to sign up for this service so you can receive text messages and/or e-mails to alert you of snow emergencies and parking restrictions.
Note: While the system does allow the City to place "robo-calls", we will only use this feature when a State of Emergency is declared or other serious events transpire.
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2017 Refuse and Recycling Calendar Now Available
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Upcoming Municipal Meetings
Monday, January 16th
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
City Hall Closed
No trash pick up (Delayed by one day)
Tuesday, January 17th
Laws and Rules Committee
6:30pm
City Hall, Conference Room #1
Zoning Board of Appeals
6:30pm
City Hall
Wednesday, January 18th
Police Commission
4:00pm
Kingston Police Department
To stay up to date on all municipal meetings each month, check out our monthly calendar
here.
Most meeting agendas and minutes can be found
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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