I am in favor of a Main Street Manager so long as the Federal Grant funds it for just these two years. I have been asked to repeat this since I posted it several weeks ago.
For too long, the City of Kingston has been divided into three geographical regions. I don't have to give great detail where and why. Concerned locals know what I mean.
A little background: Early into my tenure on the Council, we were faced with a parking dilemma. All three districts had different parking regulations which magnified this distinction further. I made it clear to my fellow Councilmen, that whatever parking regulations we approved had to be identical throughout the city.
Why? Because we are ONE city. Since the merger of the many towns that make Kingston, we have been in the same economic boat. Nothing is accomplished when three business districts are fighting over the same limited City, State and Federal funding.
Unfortunately, we suffered through the free [2 Hour - once per day] catastrophe and are currently regulated by the parking meters. Like em or hate em, they are identical throughout Kingston. Exemplifying the ONE city concept.
This is where the Main Street Manager comes in. If there were a single person, for all the business owners from the three commercial areas to work with, with the intent to increase the business friendly atmosphere of ALL of the City's commercial areas, then we will see more of an upswing in the general perception of our city.Don't misunderstand me, the existing business groups do a phenomenal job with the tools they've been given. But I see the city wide initiative as a more lucrative expense for their efforts.
I should disclose that I do represent a portion of the midtown district and have issues with the lack of attention from the High School down past Stewart's.You'll notice that this strip, with the original Locust Trees, has had side-walk issues as well as empty store-fronts. We had a neighborhood meeting on this just the other day.
I would also suggest the business community to hire someone of their own choosing. No influence from the city. My reason? The city has been in position to bolster the business community for 100 years...what good has it done?Sure, the Mayors words regarding the tax shift have merit. We did say that the tax shift would come in small doses at a later time. It will. It will be painful. Until then, this proposal for a city wide merchant leader should prove useful and I am in favor of providing temporary seed money to make it happen.
11 comments:
I agree with you 100%. If this position is going to be created, the candidate should be picked by the business districts that he/she will serve.
Mike,if you go back to the comments in your last article on this topic you would see that many of the ideas have merit and should be looked into before hiring an outsider.
I'm all for the manager to be unattached to the City of Kingston government. For you to state an opinion that pulls Council control away from this appointed position says alot about your sincerity toward helping the business community. Bravo
It is all a bunch of nonsense in my opinion. You already have economic and community development. Let them do a job as opposed to primarily occupy space and time. Let the Murphys and Finkles of this world branch out a bit. You don't need another position. Just my humble opinion. Or hire someone part time, you don't need a big salaried position to do part time work.
That white building in picture 3...wasn't that the old bus station at Rite Aid? Where the hell did you find that? What about the old YMCA before the fire? Is that online as well?
You have Steve finkle who is already paid well over $100,000 let him do his job as director of economic development.
What type of person are you going to get for $30,000.00. Thats not even $15.00 an hour. Let finkle earn his money for a change.
Why waste $50,000.00 on something the business people should develop themselves? The cost of doing business in Kingston is expensive. If you sell the right product you will be successful. Herzogs is a prime example. They go head to head with Lowes and Home Depot with no problem.
This person you hire will not solve your problems. You will just throw $50,000.00 down the toilet. Buy $50,000.00 worth of lotto tickets would be a better investment of taxpayer money.
If Steve Finkle cannot attract or improve business for $100,000 do you really think someone is going to do it for half the money.I know the Kingston voters just go along with what they are told, but this is just plan stupid.The Council is saying in one breath they dont have money and have to raise taxes,then they want to hire a new layer on top of Finkle and Murphy.
So businesses who now pay double will now pay triple for services the City should already be providing?
Bolster business - fix the streetlights, pave a street, paint a crosswalk, replace a sidewalk, prune a tree - what?
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