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back to school Cazenovia students return to the classroom Sept. 7
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Post-Caz College public input sessions planned Town takes first step Deployment of ‘Smart in annual budget cycle Meters’ discussed By kate Hill Staff Writer
During the Sept. 5 Village of Cazenovia Board of Trustees meeting, Lauren Lines, executive director of the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association (CACDA), announced two upcoming public information/input sessions focused on the repurposing of the Cazenovia College campus. The sessions will be held on Oct. 11 from noon to 2 p.m. and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Hampton Inn & Suites Cazenovia. Both events will include presentations by seven or eight local working groups that have been looking into different ideas for the future use of the campus. “[These groups] don’t have the funding, but they have, I think, some pretty interesting and creative ideas that could just use more vetting,” said Lines. The working groups are exploring such uses as a high-tech workforce development center, a site for training/ workforce development in the historic preservation trades, and a charter school for neuro-diverse students. “They are all at the stage of looking at similar examples elsewhere and how they [run] and how they’re funded, and [they’re] compiling all that information,” said Lines. “They are all very conceptual ideas. All the groups seem to [really want] more public input on the ideas. There is so much expertise out there in our community, and I think the public is also interested to know what conversations are going on, and people might be interested in getting involved.” The working groups will answer
questions following their presentations and have tables set up for further conversations with interested community members. Lines said she also invited the entities that are interested in purchasing the campus and are currently in the due diligence stage. “Some want to be more public than others, but so far two have said [they’d] love to get public feedback and see if the community is interested in their ideas,” she said. Mayor Kurt Wheeler commented that there are three or four interested entities that he believes would each bring their own unique set of advantages to the local community. “Each of them, I think, is in the process of doing their financial analysis, their vetting of, ‘OK, do we have funding lined up? Who would we actually have for tenants and users?’” Wheeler said. “Again, the good news is there are some very viable interested parties, so we hope something will come to fruition in the near future.” According to Wheeler, the three criteria he and other community leaders are looking for in a new campus tenant/ owner are job creation, economic activity, and neighborhood compatibility. The New York State Police, which is currently leasing a large portion of the campus for use as a new NYS Police Basic School Auxiliary Academy, will also attend the Oct. 11 sessions to deliver a short presentation and answer questions. During her report, Lines also informed the board that she is working through the contracts for a $44,000 Empire State Development grant and a $166,000 U.S. Economic Development Administration grant. CACDA was awarded both grants on behalf of the village for the purpose of
strategic planning for the campus. The funding for the planning process also includes an additional $40,000 in matching funds from the town and village. Lines said she is also planning to prepare a request for proposal for a consultant to assist with the strategic planning process. Although the scope of the planning work has not been finalized, it will include feasibility studies and needs assessments for proposed future uses of the campus, as well as a parking study. “Any day, one of these [interested] parties could end up buying the campus, so it makes the planning process really challenging,” said Lines. “But we are just kind of moving it forward because maybe they all fall through.” She added that the strategic planning process could also be useful if a buyer does emerge but doesn’t have plans for the entire campus. “These funds could still be used to help figure out whatever users would be compatible, so I think it will be worthwhile,” she said. Later in the discussion, Wheeler reported that the offer submitted for the campus by Cazenovia Community Vision, LLC was not accepted. The entity was formed by investors seeking to gain local control of the real estate to then be able to work collaboratively with local government, CACDA, and other agencies to find the most suitable use for it. The group has now gone dormant but, according to Wheeler, is “still in the wings.” “Their only interest is to help do what is best for the community,” Wheeler said. “I think some of the same folks are also
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By Kate Hill Staff Writer
On Sept. 11, the Cazenovia Town Board adopted a local law authorizing the adoption of a budget for the fiscal year 2024 that may require a real property tax levy in excess of the limit specified in General Municipal Law §3-c. Prior to voting on the proposed local law, the board opened a public hearing and responded to questions from community members regarding the tax cap and the budget process. New York State’s tax cap law limits the annual growth of property taxes levied by local governments to two percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. Local municipal boards must pass a local law or resolution by at least a 60 percent vote to override the tax cap. According to Deputy Supervisor Patrick Race, the Town of Cazenovia has adopted a local law to enable it to override the tax levy limit every year since the property tax cap was first implemented in 2012. “All this [local law] says is that if we should determine while we are doing the budget that we have to exceed that limit for fiscal reasons, we have the ability to do that,” Race said. “If we don’t pass this and we have a problem, there is no going back. We’d have to do something differently, like cut services.” In the past decade, the town has ended up needing to override the tax levy limit four times, but it has never gone above two percent. Each time, the rate of inflation was less than two percent. According to Race, the Town of Cazenovia has the lowest tax rate in Madison County. For town residents who live outside the village, the rate is currently $1.55 per $1,000 of assessed value. “Your town tax as a whole on a $300,000 house is [about] $450 bucks,” said Race. “. . . A two percent raise in the rate on that $300,000 house would be nine dollars overall.” Race emphasized that adopting the local law to allow the town to exceed the tax cap is an annual formality that enables the town to begin its budget cycle. “This is one of those things where you have to put the key in the lock before you can even start to open the door,” Town l Page 12
Volume 214, Number 37 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.
A&E: ‘Shelter in Solitude’ premieres.
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sports: Football Lakers open, beat General Brown 30-20.
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Editorial ��������������������� 4
Obituaries ������������������ 9
History ������������������������ 2
PennySaver ���������������� 6
letters ������������������������ 4
Sports ������������������ 11-13