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‘Walk Among the Spirits’
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The Cazenovia Preservation Foundation will present its eighth “Walk Among the Spirits” event on Oct. 27-29. Guests will be guided by lantern light through the headstones of the historic Evergreen Cemetery, where they will encounter several “spirits” who will share their stories and knowledge of Cazenovia’s past.
CPF to present living history tours By Kate Hill Staff Writer The Cazenovia Preservation Foundation (CPF) will present the eighth edition of its “Walk
Among the Spirits” living history tours on Oct. 27-29. Guests will be guided by lantern light through the headstones of the historic Evergreen Cemetery, where they will encounter several “spirits” who will share their tales of adventure and intrigue and their knowledge of Cazenovia’s past.
The approximately 70-minute tours will depart every 10 minutes from 7 to 8 p.m. and feature five stops, including one at the cemetery picnic grounds. “Guests can expect to meet Henry Burden (1866-1937), regarded as one of the greatest philanthropists in the history of Cazenovia, and Mary Jane Beck-
with (1820-1890), whose diary is held in the library’s archives and provides [a lot of] material for the tour,” said CPF Executive Director Jen Wong. Each year, CPF prepares for the event with help from Elisha Davies, Cazenovia Public Library & Museum’s assistant director/archives coordinator.
Town board takes steps to improve Mount Pleasant Water District By Kate Hill Staff Writer
On Oct. 3, the Cazenovia Town Board took multiple actions related to the Mount Pleasant Water District, which includes 26 homes on the north side of Stanley Road (Mount Pleasant Drive and Huntington Drive) in the north end of town. First, the board opened a public hearing relative to the map, plan, and report — including a cost estimate — prepared in relation to the proposed increase and improvement of the facilities of the Mount Pleasant Water District. Supervisor Bill Zupan said the board scheduled the public hearing because the town is applying for a grant to replace the water mains in that district. Councilor Pat Race ex-
plained that the system was originally installed around 60 years ago by a developer as a private water system. “[At some point], long before my tenure, a district was formed, and the town took responsibility to manage the system,” Race said. According to Zupan, the developer incorrectly backfilled the water mains all those decades ago. “Now, big stones are rubbing against the main lines, and we are having a lot of breaks, so I thought if we could get grants, we could improve that water district for the residents up there,” he said. No public comments were made during the hearing. Next, the board adopted a public interest order in the matter of the increase and improvement of the facilities of the Mount Pleas-
ant Water District. The maximum estimated cost of the proposed work, according to the adopted resolution, is $750,000. The board then adopted a bond resolution authorizing the issuance of $750,000 bonds to pay for the project. “We have to pass this resolution for the total amount of the work, and we are hoping that it will all be covered with grants,” said Zupan. “So, there will be no increase in water rates in Mount Pleasant because of this work.”
In other news
The board approved the tentative/preliminary budget for the Town of Cazenovia for the fiscal year beginning Jan. 1, 2023. “Right now, for town outside of [the] village,
we are proposing a three percent increase, which equates to four cents per $1,000 tax rate increase,” said Zupan. “Most of it was because of inflation.” During his report, the supervisor stated that he has been working on the budget with Town of Cazenovia Bookkeeper Elizabeth Merrill. “In this time of inflation, I think it’s a very good budget,” he said. “We stayed under the two percent cap, which is great. There are a few more numbers that are going to be coming in, but I know we can stay under the cap.” The board will hold a budget work session on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. A public hearing as to the adoption of the proposed 2023 town budget is scheduled for Monday, Town l Page 16
“With her extensive knowledge of local history, Elisha is able to identify the spirits for whom we have the richest historical information so that she and the actors can work together to build their story for the Walk,” said Wong. According to Wong, this year’s Walk l Page 16
Offsite options for town offices to be explored By Kate Hill Staff Writer During its Sept. 28 work session, the Cazenovia Town Board continued its ongoing discussions on the future of the town offices, which have been housed in the historic Gothic Cottage at 7 Albany St. for over half a century. The town began exploring the options of either renovating the Gothic Cottage or relocating the town offices over a decade ago. At the work session, Supervisor Bill Zupan commented that in planning for the future of the town hall, he believes the board should consider the space’s ability to accommodate a possible consolidation of the town and village at some point down the road. On Oct.4, Zupan clarified that his intention was not to suggest that the village will be forced to dissolve anytime soon, but rather to highlight one more thing the town should think about when evaluating its options. “If we are going to remodel or build a new town hall, we should be prepared for more workers in the building,” he said. “. . . Maybe the village can get enough tax revenue to survive another 150 years, Offices l Page 13
Volume 213, Number 41 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.
community: Discussion group delves into NYS education system.
sports: Cazenovia football rallies to win.
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Calendar ������������������ 11 Editorial ��������������������� 6 history ���������������������� 13 letters ������������������������ 7
obituaries ������������������ 3 PennySaver ���������������� 8 Sports ������������������ 14-16
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