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CAVAC celebrates 50 years
Village approves Caz College tax settlement, shares tentative budget By kate Hill Staff Writer
Kate Hill
The Cazenovia Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps (CAVAC) celebrated its 50th anniversary during a banquet at the Hampton Inn & Suites Cazenovia. By kate Hill Staff Writer On Saturday, March 2, the Cazenovia Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps (CAVAC) celebrated 50 years of service to the community during an anniversary banquet at the Hampton Inn & Suites Cazenovia. Established in 1974 and currently based at 106 Nelson St., the local ambulance service relies on volunteer drivers, crew coordinators, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and general members, as well as paid professional paramedics. A high school student corps also supports its operations.
In addition to providing emergency medical services (EMS) to Cazenovia and surrounding communities, CAVAC offers short-term loans of medical equipment, such as crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs, and has a New York State-certified child/baby car seat installer. The organization is led by the CAVAC Executive Committee, which currently consists of Kerstin McKay, president; Ron Scott, vice president and student corps advisor; Niki Ammann, secretary; Dennis Goldmann, treasurer; Rick Macheda, chief of operations; Chris Marconi, ombudsman; John McCabe, medical director; and Sara Mitchell, immediate past CAVAC l Page 12
president. “Tonight is dedicated to celebrating all of you — those who have paved the way before
Willow Bank Yacht Club offers scholarships through Al Marshall Memorial Fund By kate Hill Staff Writer This summer, the Al Marshall Memorial Fund will enable eight aspiring sailors to get out on Cazenovia Lake through the Willow Bank Yacht Club (WBYC) Youth Sailing Program. Established in honor of avid sailor and twotime WBYC Commodore Alfred Marshall, the new fund will support eight scholarships for one-week sessions of sailing lessons this summer. The same scholarships will be offered again next year, and other funds will be used to update and maintain existing junior fleet boats or to buy additional boats. The Al Marshall Memorial Fund scholarships are open to WBYC members and nonmembers ages 8-17. To apply, kids must submit handwritten letters explaining why they want to take sailing lessons. Letters should include the applicant’s contact information and be mailed to Bindy Dain, 57 Chenango St., Cazenovia, NY 13035. The deadline to send letters is April 12. “Al would love anything that gets more kids sailing,” said Marshall’s wife, Elaine, who administers the memorial fund with his sister, Bindy Dain. Marshall passed away unexpectedly on Feb. 23, 2023, at the age of 60. He grew up in Cazenovia and graduated from Cazenovia High School in 1980. He went on to receive a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1984. For most of his career, Marshall worked in the radar industry, initially at Hughes/Raytheon in California on military aircraft radar and lastly at Saab in Syracuse on airport ground control radar systems. He started sailing in the mid-1970s at WBYC, first in lessons and then in the junior fleet. After returning home to Cazenovia as an adult, he sailed in both the WBYC Laser and Finn Fleets. He also crewed for other fleets over the years, and there wasn’t a boat at the
club that he could not sail. According to Elaine, her husband preferred sailing Finns in his later years and Lasers before that. “He enjoyed being on the water and the camaraderie with the other sailors,” Elaine said. “He really enjoyed helping others improve their sailing knowledge and was generous with his time.” A memorial featured in the WBYC “Scuttlebutt” following Marshall’s death highlighted the sailor’s innate ability to read the wind, his generosity with his sailing knowledge, and his humility in his victories, including his win at the last race he ever sailed at WBYC, the 2022 Preston Cup. The memorial thanked Marshall for all the work he did to maintain the club and keep it running efficiently, and it commended him for guiding WBYC through two summers of the COVID-19 pandemic as commodore in 2020 and 2021. “His quiet and focused leadership was a much-needed contrast to the many challenges and stresses of those years,” the memorial said. Also acknowledged were the ten-plus years that Marshall was part of the WBYC charter of the 1932 schooner Brilliant out of Connecticut’s Mystic Seaport. Aboard Brilliant, he and the rest of the WBYC crew won the schooner division of the Pat West Gaff Rig and Schooner Race in Martha’s Vineyard in both 2019 and 2022. “Al was a mainstay on any Brilliant voyage and could often be found at his favorite position — the helm,” the memorial said. “He was a keen sailing tactician who effectively communicated with a gesture, nod, or a quick remark. In calm seas or the foulest of foul weather, Al was always the first to be found in the most challenging areas of the Brilliant’s formidable deck and could always be relied upon to provide helpful technical knowledge to both new and seasoned WBYC schooner sailors. He was the first crew member to assist with daily meal preparation and last one to be found in the
2024-2025 Tentative Budget
Submitted photos
This year, the Al Marshall Memorial Fund will support eight scholarships for oneweek sessions of sailing lessons through the Willow Bank Yacht Club (WBYC) Youth Sailing Program. The fund was established in honor of avid sailor and two-time WBYC Commodore Alfred Marshall, who passed away unexpectedly on Feb. 23, 2023.
galley cleaning up. Al’s wit and presence on the Brilliant always made everyone’s voyage brighter and he will be sorely missed in the years to come.” Founded in 1948, WBYC is a private, family yacht club that promotes sailboat racing, sailing in general, and other water-based activities, such as swimming, kayaking, and power boating, in an active volunteer atmosphere. The club, which is located at 27 Forman St., also maintains a full calendar of organized social events. To learn more about the WBYC 2024 sailing programs, visit willowbankyc.com/ sailing-programs.
Volume 214, Number 10 The Cazenovia Republican is published weekly by Eagle News. Office of Publication: 35 Albany St., Second Floor, Cazenovia, NY 13035. Periodical Postage Paid at Cazenovia, NY 13035, USPS 095-260. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Cazenovia Republican, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, NY 13206.
On March 4, the Village of Cazenovia Board of Trustees voted to approve a settlement resolving a disagreement relating to Cazenovia College’s new tax status and assessed property values. Last summer, when Cazenovia College transitioned from a tax-exempt educational institution to “The Institution Formerly Known as Cazenovia College,” assessor Brian Fitts and consultants determined that it no longer qualified for educational tax-exempt status, and the properties were put back on the tax roll. “[That] triggered a tax bill both for the school taxes that were paid last fall, as well as the town and county taxes from this year,” said Village Attorney James Stokes. “The college raised some arguments. . . . Nobody is admitting they are right or wrong, but in order to settle the case, it was agreed that some of the assessments would be reduced.” Mayor Kurt Wheeler said it is his understanding that all the involved parties worked together in good faith to negotiate a reasonable resolution to the situation. “They reexamined the assessed value [considering] what it had been in its highest and best use as an educational institution versus where it is now,” Wheeler said. “I think all parties came to a consensus and agreed on a set of figures.” According to Stokes, the village is the least affected of all the taxing entities by the reduced assessments. Some of the Cazenovia College properties with the most heavily reduced assessments are in the town outside the village. The total reduction in assessment for the village properties is $1,567,510. “It’s still a significant net increase in taxable value here in the village for as long as these properties stay on the roll,” said Stokes. “We don’t know how long that will be; it depends on their future use, but for now, they are on the roll. This does not mean that the college or any future owner of these properties can’t come in and challenge the assessment again based on the 2024 roll, which has not yet been completed, but for now, it gives us some certainty in terms of what property you can rely on for your tax levy.” According to Stokes, once the other taxing entities have agreed to the settlement and it has been signed by New York State Supreme Court Justice Patrick O’Sullivan, it will be made public.
community: Lorenzo hosts Women’s History Month program.
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sports: Pittman finishes indoor track season at state meet.
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At the beginning of the meeting, Wheeler announced that the village put together a tentative budget of $3,854,457 for the fiscal year 2024-2025, which begins June 1. The current 2023-2024 budget is $3,383,321.61. According to the minutes from the board’s Feb. 20 budget workshop, key budgetary challenges include the need to plan for a significant wave of staff retirements in the next two years that will require the village to have competitive salaries, increases in costs for all forms of insurance that exceed the rate of inflation, and massive increases in essential equipment such as fire apparatus. “Due to many years of fiscal discipline, we are on track to have the funds saved up to replace our fire department ladder truck that has reached its end of service life,” the minutes report. “Next [fiscal year], we will have to immediately begin preparations to replace the [fire department’s] pumper that will soon reach its effective lifespan as well. We have budgeted for the closing expenses associated with the replacement of the lake wall that forms the western and southern boundaries of Lakeland Park and will begin work this year on the final phase of that project to restore the pier that is the most iconic site in our village and central to our tourism and outdoor recreation programs. We hope to secure additional grant funding to assist with that effort. Finally, we have budgeted for ongoing support associated with the planning process to redevelop the former CaVillage l Page 10
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Obituaries ������������������ 3
Editorial ��������������������� 4
PennySaver ���������������� 6
history ������������������������ 4
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