July 21, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A statement from Mayor Steve Noble, regarding recently submitted and upcoming grant proposals:
“The City of Kingston was recently informed that our goal to secure $10 million of funding through the NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) would not be realized during this round of funding. While I am disappointed, I cannot help but to be tremendously proud of my team who worked on this proposal. As soon as we announced our intention to apply, we brought together dozens of stakeholders to envision how we could continue to build Midtown into a vibrant community core that attracts new residents and businesses to the area and also supports our existing community members. The input from this community meeting, along with an online survey and a number of interviews, helped the City of Kingston’s Office of Economic and Community Development to prepare an outstanding proposal.
Shortly after submitting our proposal, we learned that Kingston was one of only seven finalists selected in the region and that we would be given the opportunity to present about our city to the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council. In just 72 hours, our team mobilized to prepare an incredible presentation that I believe demonstrated Kingston’s strengths and challenges and laid out a clear vision of how we intend to move forward.
Unfortunately, only one community could be selected in our region. I want to sincerely congratulate the City of Middletown, who I am confident will use this opportunity to further develop their downtown core. In addition, I am encouraged by the Governor’s commitment to invest in the Mid-Hudson Valley and believe that a coordinated regional effort to leverage resources and investments will benefit each of our communities.
While we did not succeed in this competition, our outreach and planning efforts have been critical as we prepare our NYS Consolidated Funding Applications. This competitive funding process allows municipalities and other entities to apply for multiple projects and funding streams. Our experience preparing for the DRI application and interview has helped us develop competitive applications that respond to the funding priorities and clearly reflect the needs of our community.
The challenges we have before us are not insurmountable. As we proceeded through the DRI process, it became clear that we have a tremendous network of resources, plans and partners. I remain steadfast in my commitment to revitalizing Midtown through a community-driven process and look forward to applying this vision to new funding opportunities.”
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