FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 2, 2022

Mayor Noble Hires ARPA Manager for the City of Kingston’s Economic Recovery Plan

KINGSTON, NY – Mayor Steven T. Noble is pleased to announce he has hired a Project Manager to oversee Kingston’s American Rescue Plan Act funding, Bill Reynolds, who will start on September 12, 2022.

“We are thrilled to have Bill Reynolds join the City of Kingston and begin managing our Economic Recovery Plan. With his many years of both State and local government experience, he will ably oversee the numerous projects that will be funded and come to fruition as result of the Federal infusion,” said Mayor Noble.

Reynolds has 33 years of professional experience managing public affairs and communications for New York State government. Under the administration of Governor Kathy Hochul, Reynolds served as the Media Services Director of the NYS Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs; the Communications Director at the NYS Office of the Inspector General; and the Communications Director at the NYS Department of Transportation. Reynolds received his BA in Communications from the State University of New York at Brockport.  He served as Ward 7 Alderman from 1994 to 2011, and the Majority Leader of the Common Council from 1996 to 2011. A lifelong resident of Ulster County, he has been living in Kingston for 30 years.

“I have always enjoyed public service, particularly my years serving the people of Kingston on the Common Council. I look forward to working for my community again, together with the Administration and the Council, ensuring that federal ARPA funds are expended wisely, providing maximum benefit to the people of the City of Kingston. Many thanks to the mayor for this appointment.”

This 4-year position will be supported by the City of Kingston’s ARPA funding.

APRA Background: After months of engaging residents, businesses and community leaders, the City of Kingston released a draft of the Economic Recovery Plan, an outline for allocating the $17.3 million ARPA funding. The Economic Recovery Plan was created using federal guidelines, community input, plans for existing projects, and community feedback for new initiatives to support pandemic recovery.

Federal guidelines state that ARPA funds may be used by local governments for:

• Costs associated with responding to Covid-19 or its negative economic impacts
• To support workers performing essential work during the Covid-19 public health emergency
• To cover revenue losses caused by the Covid-19 public health emergency
• To make necessary investments in water, sewer, or broadband infrastructure

The City’s Economic Recovery Plan was drafted using a community-based needs assessment that studied the ways the community was/is impacted by the pandemic and has identified priority projects to serve as a catalyst for economic recovery. The full Economic Recovery Plan can be found here.