Over the next few weeks I have the privilege of giving a ‘State of the City’ address to a number of organizations across the community. This annual presentation is always a great opportunity to update Kingstonians on the latest news, the status of projects, or anything else that’s happening across the city. Here are a…
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Check out the latest version of From the Mayor’s Chair, where I break down the decisions of Council in 2 minutes! At the January 9th Council meeting one of the big items of discussion was the annual review of the Rogers K-Rock Centre and approval of the 2018 operating plan. Council heard about the projected…
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It’s hard to believe that 2017 is coming to a close. It’s been quite the year! Here are a few highlights that come to mind: The Third Crossing – after 50 years of debate and discussion, City Council approved the construction of the new bridge. If we can secure the remaining $60 million in federal…
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Check out the latest version of From the Mayor’s Chair, where I break down the decisions of Council in 2 minutes! At the December 19th Council meeting one of the big items of discussion was over the city’s pet licensing system. The city has been working with Docupet, a company with an online system for…
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We recently learned that Kingston now has the lowest rental vacancy rate in the entire province. The graph above is from the 2017 Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) report and shows that the vacancy rate in Kingston is just 0.7%, which is now lower than anywhere in the Greater Toronto area. This compares to…
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This week I was thrilled to present the first ever Mayor’s Arts Awards and recognize the contributions of five tremendous artists in our community. This exciting new event has been a number of years in the making, as a way to celebrate Kingston’s arts and culture scene and to raise the profile of great artistic…
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Check out the latest version of From the Mayor’s Chair, where I break down the decisions of Council in 2 minutes! The December 5th Council meeting began with a land deal between the City and Podium Developments. This is good news for the downtown as it will expand the supply of parkland in the core…
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This is budget week at City Hall. After two nights of presentations and deliberations, City Council approved the proposed city budget for 2018. The budget includes spending forecasts for all city departments and also a range of city funded agencies; everything from the library board to policing to tourism and economic development. I’m happy to…
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I was heartened this week to hear the Prime Minister’s announcement of a new national housing strategy that will provide billions of dollars for affordable housing across the country. Expanding the supply of affordable housing here in Kingston is both a personal priority and a key element in City Council’s strategic plan. There’s no question…
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Check out the latest version of From the Mayor’s Chair, where I break down the decisions of Council in 2 minutes! The November 21st Council meeting began with a recommendation from staff to begin some preparatory work on the Third Crossing with the hope that a decision on federal funding for the bridge could come…
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