Promoting innovation and fostering entrepreneurship is one of the key elements of council’s vision to make Kingston a smart and livable 21st century city. Today I’m excited to introduce one of the ways we are going to achieve this goal: by transforming the old Portsmouth Town Hall into a new small business acceleration centre. The Portsmouth Town Hall…
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This week marks six months on the job as your mayor, and so I’d like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to all of the incredible volunteers I have met at countless fundraisers, walk/runs, awards ceremonies, grand openings and community events. You may not think there is much in common between a science fair…
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Thanks to everyone that took the time to vote in last week’s poll on Re-imagining Kingston’s skyline! Of the 445 votes cast so far, 40% of respondents said: I’m comfortable with 18 storey buildings, but only if they are in the right location and only if they are visually attractive and innovative in their design.…
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I am very pleased to hear the old Empire Theatre property on Princess Street has been sold and that plans are in the works to build a brand new residential development on the site. In my view developments of this kind are critical to the future health and vitality of our downtown. If we have more…
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At our council meeting this past Tuesday, one of the important topics discussed was the proposed creation of Valour District. The proposed district would recognize our military history here in Kingston through the creation of new street signs with a red poppy, the symbol of remembrance, and the words ‘Valour District’. The signs would replace…
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I’m very pleased to announce that this coming Monday, we will be launching two new express bus routes in the city. Our first express bus route has been an enormous success, and now we are building on that success with route 601/602 that provides a quick trip from the east end to the downtown, and…
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This week at our final strategic planning session, council was asked to set a target tax rate increase for the city’s next four annual budgets. After several hours of debate and discussion, council voted to set this tax rate target at 2.5%. I have consistently stated that as a city, we must live within our…
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Last week I was honoured to be elected as the new Chair of the Eastern Ontario Mayor’s Committee for a two year term. This group includes the mayors of Kingston, Belleville, Brockville, Cornwall, Gananoque, Pembroke, Peterborough, Prince Edward County, Quinte West and Smiths Falls. At our first meeting last week, it was clear we had…
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On Monday April 20, City Council will decide the future tax rate increases to our budgets for 2016 through 2018. The tax rate we choose will determine the extent and pace for introducing new city programs and services, and will guide potential changes in our current operations. Right now the city invests an annual 1% tax increase for…
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