Soldner was best known locally for his community work. Hoyt said KURA meetings were held in the members’ homes at first. “It became clear that we needed to become a more formal organization with a leader at the helm, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind it would be Jerry,” she said. “He became the president of KURA, and took the position seriously since it was felt the city had many serious concerns to be addressed. We addressed issues such as quality of life, a new definition of ‘family’ which would have created a city of legal boarding houses and organized meetings to educate the public on how to grieve their assessments. Jerry, along with those of us on the board of KURA, worked together on all these projects, but Jerry always taking the lead.”
Soldner also founded Kingston Uptown Stakeholders Association which helped local business owners coalesce ideas around the ultimately unsuccessful efforts to have the Pike Plan canopy dismantled.
A great friend
Hoyt said she misses Soldner not only for his outstanding leadership skills and dedication to cause but also his friendship.
Realtor, former alderwoman and mayoral candidate Andi Turco-Levin was a close friend with the Soldner family as well, having worked with them on community issues. “Jerry had so much to offer, his knowledge of successful planning, his ability to research, he had the time to spend which he did out of love for Kingston,” she said. “In addition he was well aware of the incompetence of the previous assessor, and did his best to alert the property owners of the inequities. He saw our potential and wanted to help create the change necessary for Kingston to thrive. His efforts and input on the new Kingston 2025 Study would have been extensive and detailed which would have enhanced us in so many ways.”
On a personal level, Turco-Levin said Jerry and Doris were very supportive of her political endeavors, both while she served on the planning board and when she ran for office. “We were similar spirits that loved old houses and hoped for the return of respect and neighborhood pride. He touched me deeply, I saw a lot of my dad in him, especially his love for anything mechanical. He could fix, build, or restore anything and knew the entire history of it when he was done. He had so much more to give, it’s such a shame we lost him in this way. It only makes it that much harder to accept without anger.”
Fellow KURA member and local history lover Eric Winchell said Soldner was very concerned about quality of life issues for city residents.
“With him at the helm, KURA undertook important projects like Meet the Candidates [nights] neighborhood cleanups, a nuisance abatement law informational meeting, as well as a survey of residents to aid in the development of the comprehensive plan for the city.” Winchell added that Soldner’s “amazing ability to crunch numbers and analyze data” got the group involved in more complicated issues, such as the city budget and the over-assessment of city properties’ impact on school taxes.
Winchell agreed with Hoyt that Soldner was often surrounded by piles of papers. “He will be sorely missed,” said Winchell. “If I could describe Jerry in a few words, they would be brilliant, generous, modest, organized and a consensus-builder.”
Jerry was one of the most gracious men I’ve ever known. I will miss him. In the two or three years that I knew him, he taught me more about civility and gentleness, even in the face of adversity, than anyone other than my father. My heart goes out to Doris and to the rest of his family and friends.
Jerry was a true gem. This article is a great and well deserved tribute. Thank you.
John Garesche – fellow Green St Resident.