The Mayor's 2006 'State Of the City' Address
The following is the text of a speech given by Mayor Harvey Rosen to the Rotary Club of Kingston Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006.
(Rotary) President Robert Boucher, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is a pleasure for me to have this traditional opportunity to be invited to speak to the Rotary Club of Kingston as we commence a new year in Canada's First Capital.
When I last stood before you, only this past November, I spoke of some of the challenges Kingston has been facing to bring about progress in our city, most specifically concerning our entertainment centre.
Today, I intend to address the state of our city; where we are and where we are headed.
2006 will be a pivotal year in the renaissance of our city.
Kingston has long been saddled with the reputation that "nothing gets done"; that we're a city that has unique opportunities for economic development that continue to appear on our doorstep and yet we do not embrace such with open arms.
I have been encouraged by a healthy majority of Kingston City Council members who have worked tirelessly to shake this image; to embrace a spirit of cohesive action working towards the goal of progress for Kingston as a whole; not for a select few or from members of a specific district or interest group.
We all must look beyond what appears to be the most superficial benefits of our municipal initiatives to see the wider implications that they hold for the community.
To truly succeed as a Council and therefore as a city, we need cohesive, not divisive action.
Although we are far from a tight ship at times, I am forever an optimist and I remain hopeful that we can continue to work together towards completing the list of seven priorities Council chose as its focus for this term.
2006 is an election year.
Later this month, we will elect those who will form our government at the federal level.
Next November brings us another municipal election.
Although any community can become enraptured by the dialogue and debate of an election campaign, I would hope that our incumbent members of Council remain focused on the tasks at hand, remembering that 2006 needs to remain the focus of our efforts.
I respect our democratic process and the right of every council member to take positions and express opinions as he or she sees fit, but quite frankly, I hope that in this coming year we can keep grandstanding and bickering to a minimum so that we can continue to see the progress that Kingstonians want and deserve.
I believe Kingston is an improving city; a more favourable place to live and work than it was two years ago, even a year ago.
You can see it in the several new projects already under way; you can feel it in the renewed optimism and enthusiasm of our fellow citizens.
Several factors have assisted in this improvement, but one I am particularly proud of is the list of seven priorities that Council set for itself in the early portion of this term of office.
Council selected seven projects that were deemed most important for commencement and hopefully completion before the end of this year.
By way of review, those seven items are:
- The Ravensview Sewage Treatment Plant upgrade
- The Large Venue Entertainment Centre
- The Multiplex Community Centre
- The Refurbishment of the Grand Theatre
- The Revitalization of Market Square
- The Widening of John Counter Boulevard, and
- The Acquisition and opening of the Kingston and Pembroke Trail.
The existence of a list of priorities was established to keep Council focused on achieving results on seven important projects for the city, as opposed to initiating numerous projects and accomplishing little or nothing, as has often been the case in our recent past.
I would say that we not only selected 7 initiatives upon which to focus our efforts but more importantly we determined with what we were not going to dilute our efforts.
We have made significant progress on many of the seven priorities.
Although I am generally pleased with the progress made, there is much to be done in the final year of this Council.
Before I proceed with a brief update on the progress we are making with each of these priorities, I would like to acknowledge the crucial financial contributions made to some of these priorities, namely the first and arguably most important priority on the list, the Ravensview upgrade.
2005 saw the official announcement of matching $25 million contributions to the Ravensview project by both the Federal and Provincial governments.
The Ravensview upgrade will be the single largest construction project in the history of our city, and we could not enter into this ambitious plan without the support from our senior governments.
I applaud Peter Milliken and John Gerretsen for delivering for their constituents on this important project.
However, at the risk of appearing greedy, Kingston needs more assistance from the senior levels of government and we will continue to press them accordingly.
In reality, the Ravensview funding was simply a matter of equity which brought us up to par with other municipalities in this province.
We will need more investment from our senior governments to not only keep us competitive but we must use the resources wisely to put us ahead in the competitive race with other cities.
While we will continue to lobby senior levels of government, we need the public's help as well.
With a federal election in full swing, this is an ideal time to get involved.
I encourage all of you to canvass our local federal candidates on whether, if elected, they will work diligently to secure federal funding for important projects in Kingston, such as the entertainment centre.
Kingston is seeking ten million dollars for this project from senior levels of government and this funding is absolutely essential if it is to proceed.
In order for us to avoid this project becoming part of an increasingly unfair tax burden, we need to receive this financial assistance.
This is not an unusual or unreasonable request.
Kingston is only asking for what other municipalities in this province have received in grants for similar facilities in recent years.
I spoke at length about the entertainment centre during my address to you in November, so I will minimize the follow-up today.
The city received packages from four operators and ten design-build teams during the Request for Information period last month.
The Request for Proposal stage will begin this month from a shorter list of candidates, pending Council approval.
My pledge has consistently been to have a shovel in the ground before the completion of this term of Council.
This pledge has been reinforced by an application deadline for Kingston to be considered to host the Memorial Cup in 2008.
We may, too, be part of Ottawa's bid for the 2008 World Junior Championship.
I have been assured by staff that the timetable that has been set for this project is achievable, and that the shovel can go into the ground in the late spring or early summer this year.
A few minutes ago, I touched on the Ravensview project and the historic undertaking it will be in terms of construction costs for Kingston.
A sewage treatment plant is tough to get excited about, but to put it in perspective; Ravensview was assigned the top priority of this Council, even above the entertainment centre.
With this city's ever-growing population and a crucial need to better protect our natural waterways, Ravensview has to get done.
Unlike the other projects, this one was not an option.
The city will be paying approximately half of the costs to finance this construction upgrade, which will commence late this year.
With another winter season upon us, recreational ice sports are full-speed ahead once again in our busy city.
The multiplex community centre will replace many of our aging community rinks with a modern, multi-purpose facility that will include four ice rinks, community space and perhaps a field house and/or swimming pool in cooperation with the local Y.
In the coming days, the multiplex steering committee will meet to unveil a report concerning the possible locations for the facility.
I am excited about viewing the proposals for this important facility for our community.
My vision is to build a facility that Kingstonians of all ages, especially those with young families, can use with pride at a west-end location that is accessible to its entire majority of potential users, and is most convenient to an increasing majority of them.
As the third of Council's three major priorities, I am encouraged that Kingston can break ground on this facility this year as well.
If you've been to the neighbourhood around City Hall in the past two weeks, you may have noticed a crowd of frosty skaters circling the outdoor rink in our Market Square.
I am told that estimates indicate that some 9000 people have used the Market Square rink in the past two weeks since it opened.
Needless to say, the rink has been a resounding success; however please keep in mind that it is just one of several revitalization plans for the square.
Market Square is to become a more user-friendly venue with improved lighting, seating, a fountain and improved sidewalks with functional space for outdoor concerts and possibly theatre, in addition to the square's traditional use as a location for local farmers and vendors to sell their goods.
It is truly heartwarming -- even in the frigid temperatures that greeted the large crowds celebrating the New Year -- that Market Square and the neighbourhood around City Hall are becoming the centre of our city; a year-round meeting place for all to enjoy.
We have glimpsed its potential and there is more to come in 2006, including next month's Feb Fest festivities.
The final paving stones, concrete and landscaping will be completed this summer.
The Grand Theatre is also undergoing a major facelift, with a completion slated for this fall.
You may have recently heard that the federal government, through the Ministry of Heritage's "Cultural Spaces" program has approved $2 million dollars for the Grand's renovation.
This is a much needed boost for this project and will allow the Grand to have some important modern equipment installed that will enhance the experience of the attending audiences in the future.
For Kingston to truly advance itself as a destination for new businesses to locate to our city as well as our tremendous tourist capabilities, Kingston needs locations and facilities like an entertainment centre, multiplex, Grand Theatre and Market Square so that top performing acts, sporting events and cultural festivals can choose Kingston as a popular tour stop.
The widening of John Counter Boulevard from two lanes to four is going ahead despite the delay in the latest round of funding from the Canada Ontario Municipal Rural Infrastrure Fund (or COMRIF), which has a City of Kingston application before it.
The funding is crucial to the substantial bridging that must be completed over both the Little Cataraqui Creek and the CN railway tracks.
The federal election will delay the announcement of the successful COMRIF applicants.
Originally expected in December; March is now more realistic for the announcement, we are told.
This means more than delaying progress on John Counter Boulevard.
It also means a delay in the third round of COMRIF funding until late summer.
I will continue to lobby the federal government and I am cautiously optimistic that Kingston will get our fair share, but the success of this project would be certainly more assured if the funding was in-hand earlier rather than later.
A contract will likely be approved at the coming Council meeting to retain professionals to perform land acquisition negotiations on behalf of the city for this much-needed infrastructure project.
Kingston is growing and our major road arteries must grow with it.
Environmental assessments have been done for this project and if all goes as planned, construction could begin this summer.
The final and perhaps least advanced of the seven priorities is the acquisition and opening of the Kingston and Pembroke Trail.
The land purchase has not taken place as of yet, and since much of the property in question within the city limits is owned by Bell Canada, some negotiating on price will need to be done before this can proceed.
Ideally, the city portion of this recreational trail can be acquired by the end of this year.
So as you can see, although much has been done on the majority of these seven priorities, much still needs to be done, with cooperation from Council, municipal staff, our citizens and senior levels of government.
It's an ambitious undertaking for our City, but I believe we are up to the task and that we can make these improvements to the benefit of our citizens, guests and tourists.
Looking to other matters of note, Kingston has conducted a review of its services, such as the Bell Island Golf Course, the city's rented premises, the municipal bus charter service and Lake Ontario Park.
This City has made some tough decisions to eliminate its involvement in the campground business at Lake Ontario Park and our bus charter service, and other difficult decisions will need to be made this year, such as our involvement in the municipal marina services.
One year ago, the death of Bert Meunier left the City of Kingston without a Chief Administrative Officer.
As could be expected, a transition period ensued that was challenging, but thanks to the dedication and hard work of city staff and in particular that of the then Acting CAO Denis Leger, disruption of city business was kept to a minimum.
I am pleased with our progress and the new policies and mechanisms that have been put in place.
We have a new CAO, as of last July, Mr. Glen Laubenstein who is extremely vigourous and dedicated to ensuring real progress is made on council's priorities.
We are moving to a results oriented assessment of our performance.
Getting the job done is now the number one priority, rather than determining success on the basis of the process involved.
This is not to say that we do not follow procedures, rather, the goal of our administration has changed.
In terms of the never-popular topic of property taxes, our administration has kept to its 5-year plan on tax increases, that being the inflationary rate plus one per cent.
There have been some challenges that have resulted in the city's operation budget coming in above those rates.
Our biggest challenge has been to contain the budget increases of our external agencies, over which we have limited control.
All we can do is continue to appeal to these external agencies to keep their budgets within set increase levels.
I believe our internal departments have been very diligent in keeping their budgets within the parameters set by Council and hopefully external agencies can continue to find the appropriate methods to bring themselves within these limits.
Our internal departments as well as our external agencies, for example, the Cataraqui Conservation Authority, the County of Frontenac, the district health unit and the library, need to share a common goal of responsible budgeting.
This is especially important during this period of increased service downloads on the municipality without significant tax support from the province and federal government.
One of our external agencies will have a new home within the next year.
The shovel has been put into the ground at the site of our new Police station on Division Street and we should see something rising from that property in the not too distant future with a projected opening for early 2007.
After some considerable changes in the past 18 months, I am hopeful that KEDCO will find the right administrative person to guide the organization in its vital role on our community's behalf,
We have a very competent and capable individual, Jeff Garrah, at the helm in the interim.
As the government liaison officer at KEDCO for the past year, Jeff played a major role in securing provincial government funding for Ravensview and in acquiring the Bittern from the federal government as a fire prevention vessel for our city.
Jeff remains integral in the pursuit of government funding for several ongoing federal property files, and it is hoped that at some point in the near future we'll be able to make some very significant announcements concerning the city's progress in that area.
At the beginning of this address, I acknowledged that 2006 is an election year.
I can anticipate that someone today may ask what my plans are for the municipal election this November.
Although I appreciate your interest in the longer-term future of this great city, I would prefer not to discuss my own personal plans at this time.
Suffice it to say it is a great privilege to be your Mayor and I remain committed to doing everything I can to help move this City forward.
At this early stage in the year, it is crucial for me to remain focused on the tasks at hand to help ensure that the momentum on these projects remains in tact.
I can assure you that I will make an announcement as to my future plans at an appropriate time, deeper into the year.
I was elected to be your Mayor for three years, and there is much to be done now before we can worry about next year and beyond.
My greatest desire for the final year of this Council is to find ourselves in a much better position than we were at the beginning.
We are on the right track and there is the potential for some very significant wins in the next ten months on a number of priorities and projects.
We're not going to be successful at everything we try, but a majority will come in and as a city we will be able to look back with satisfaction and pride on a job well done.
Then, as now, your continuing interest and help will be vital to what Kingston can become -- now and in the future.
Thank you very much.
