Remember to vote on the proposed 2013-14 CCSD budget today at the high school. — Jim
On April 22, the Cazenovia Board of Education adopted a $26,419,662 budget proposal for 2013-14 that increases spending 3.39 percent and carries a 4.94 percent property tax levy increase.
The fiscal plan maintains the district’s current academic program, while achieving cost savings through retirements, energy-saving measures and cuts in discretionary spending on equipment.
(Cazenovia, NY – May 2013) All of us know that today’s libraries are about much more than books and, through continued community support, the Cazenovia Public Library has been able to expand its collections, programs, exhibitions and services to meet the ever-changing needs of the people in this area.
One of the Library’s many services is wireless access as well as 12 computer-research databases, including the new Ancestry.com genealogy database.
I am honored to announce my candidacy for a third term on the Village Board in the June 18 election.
It has been a busy four years. I have worn many Commissioner hats, including Parks, Youth Recreation, Trees, and Police. I have sat on the Lake Watershed Council and the Carpenter’s Barn Restoration Committee, and currently serve as Deputy Mayor.
As I look at where we are now compared to where we were in 2009 when I was first elected, I am amazed at all we have accomplished. These four years have been transition years; transition to a new Comprehensive Plan and new zoning, a new Mayor, a new Police Chief, new proactive management of our infrastructure and trees, new lake health efforts, and a new tax cap. Along with all the new, we have never lost sight of the history that makes us special.
We have made significant progress. Our streets and water lines are now catalogued and prioritized. Trees are inventoried and maintained. The lake is clean and its users are educated on keeping it that way. We continue to support a volunteer fire department and maintain our own police protection.
Several local entities have built new structures, some in new locations. We have been awarded grant monies toward restoration, public safety, and environmental objectives. We have a fleet of talented Village staff and volunteer board and committee members. We have an engaged and active community and an open government process. The groundwork has been laid for progress.
We have attracted a tremendous opportunity with the proposed brewery project. I think the reason for this, besides the owner’s love of this area, is that we are ready for it. Not only have we laid the groundwork, we have taken a hard look at what we want, what we need, and how to make it happen. Opportunity knocked, and we were ready to open the door.
I am hopeful that we will not only be welcoming this project to the Village and reaping the numerous benefits, but that it will be the first of many. I would love to see smartly planned growth in the Route 20 gateways. I would love to see families continue to choose Cazenovia as their home, and avail themselves of our local business, schools, and natural resources.
Obviously this will require private developers to step up and make heavy investments in our community, but this board has shown a willingness to think creatively and collaborate. We are ready.
I am incredibly proud of my four years on the board. The unique challenges of working on these dilemmas with a volunteer board under significant economic constraints have been demanding, rewarding, and fun. Everything we have accomplished has been the result of collaboration, consensus, and creativity. We have a diverse and dedicated group at the table with a rich supply of talent and skill.
I would be honored to continue my service and work toward this progress. I would welcome your support on June 18.
“History repeats itself” is a phrase we have all heard, and it is true. Recently, Madison County is experiencing a rebirth of hops growing. Drive south along Route 46 in the late summer or early fall and you will see the bines climbing at a number of farms. Growth of the crop is expanding to Sullivan and Cazenovia, meaning all ends of the county can experience a rebirth of the industry.
Along with the expansion of hops, breweries are emerging in the area. It harkens back to when James Coolidge planted the first hops plant near Bouckville (a site that is now marked by a historic marker on Route 12B in Madison). While we recognize Coolidge we forget that during the first hops era we had a thriving distilling and brewing industry throughout central and southern Madison County.
Muckraking Journalist to Discuss Corporate Abuses at Cazenovia Forum
CAZENOVIA, NY – Corporate tax dodges and other manipulations of the U.S. economy will be in the spotlight as former New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston, a best-selling author widely known as one of the nation’s foremost muckraking journalists, delivers the next Cazenovia Forum lecture on Friday, April 26th at 7:00 pm in the Morgan Room of Hubbard Hall, located on Seminary Street at Cazenovia College.
Johnston’s lecture, entitled “Monopolists Rising: How Big Business Uses Government to Thwart Competition, Jack Up Prices and Deliver Services Europeans and Asians Laugh At,” is open to the public and is free of charge. As with all Cazenovia Forum events, the speaker will entertain questions from the audience, and a reception will follow.
Over 13 years at The Times, he reported on hidden aspects of executive compensation, showing how top executives built vast fortunes while paying little or no income tax; revealed shortcomings in the pension and retirement savings systems that prompted reforms; exposed abuses of the bankruptcy system; and revealed how the rules of electricity “markets” raise prices rather than lower them. He wrote warnings about the housing bubble years before it popped.
A frequent guest on national television shows, Johnston is the author of a best-selling trilogy on the American economy: “Perfectly Legal,” a book about the American tax system that won the 2004 Investigative Book of the Year Award, “Free Lunch” (on subsidies) and “The Fine Print” (on monopolies and oligopolies). In 2001, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on tax loopholes and abuses, which prompted numerous criminal convictions with long prison sentences, successful civil cases against tax cheats and tax shelter promoters as well as adoption of reforms by Congress and Oregon lawmakers. An anthology he is editing for The New Press will be published this fall under the title “DIVIDED: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality.”
Over the years, Johnston’s reporting has shut down so many tax dodges that Professor Douglas Shackelford of the University of North Carolina’s business school named him the “de facto chief tax enforcement officer of the United States.”
Other newspapers Johnston was worked for in his 40-year career include the San Jose Mercury, Detroit Free Press, Los Angeles Times and Philadelphia Inquirer. Since 2009 he has been a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer at Syracuse University College of Law, where he teaches the property, tax and regulatory law of the ancient world as a way to showing the principles and theory in the law today. He is currently board president of the 4,200-member Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE).
The Cazenovia Forum is a 501 (c) 3, not-for-profit organization established in 2006 by community members focused on promoting the understanding and discussion of national and international issues. By organizing and underwriting lecture events featuring nationally-known experts, the group intends to further Cazenovia’s commitment to knowledge-seeking and community involvement. The Forum’s email address iscazlectureseries@gmail.com.
39 Lincklaen St. (1-1/2 blocks north of the center of the village)
How can rural communities like Cazenovia grow in a way that protect their open space and unique character?
Speaker Randall Arendt is the author of over 20 books and other publications on community
design and planning and has worked with local governments, landowners and
private developers in dozens of rural communities.He will present examples and suggestions for
meeting the challenge of blending conservation values within economic and
regulatory needs to make communities more attractive, habitable and sustainable.More information on Randall Arendt can be
found at his website: www.greenerprospects.com
Did I really read in the Cazenovia Republican that the chief objections to the brewery project are from one neighbor who believes that the project may attract an unknown “quantity and character” of people to the neighborhood, and that as a result he may be “forced” to close walking and riding trails that cross his property? That is his right, certainly, but labeling people of a certain “character” as undesirable is a thin cover of – and significant evidence for – the exclusionary attitude that I’ve always felt was unfairly applied to Cazenovians. I hope I misinterpreted the comments.
I also felt the headline on the March 13-20 cover story was misleading. While the landowner has stated his right to close access to trails, the headline implies that CPF trails will be closed. In the article itself, the president of CPF is quoted as saying that CPF would reroute trails as needed. CPF has done excellent work developing and maintaining a fantastic trail system throughout Cazenovia, and encouraging and monitoring proper use of those trails. Whether access to the landowner’s property is retained or lost, I’m sure CPF will continue its stewardship of the trails in that area.
(Cazenovia, NY – Feb. 2013) During February, visitors to the Cazenovia Public Library Art Gallery will enjoy a unique exhibition entitled “Current and Past Resource Maps.”
Ask a Cazenovia resident or visitor what attracts them to the Town of Cazenovia, and some aspect of the landscape is sure to be a part of the answer.
Not surprisingly, the mapping of these natural features has a long history as residents and municipal leaders have worked to define a vision for the Town’s future and to guide the growth of the built environment in a way that respects and protects the natural features.
Cazenovia — The annual Lorenzo Driving Competition will host a special social event from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at the historic 5 Ledyard to help support the 37th annual LDC held the third weekend in July on the grounds of the Lorenzo State Historic Site.
This spring showcase will highlight the accomplishments of local residents and CNY venues. The evening attractions will include signed, animal-themed books by local author Bradford Wheler, a slide presentation about the new state-of-the-art Morrisville State College Equine Rehabilitation Center and the unveiling of a unique 18k gold and diamond pendant valued at $2,500, donated by Skaneateles Jewelry. This one-of-a kind item will be offered for raffle at $20 per ticket. Only 250 tickets will be available and the drawing for the winner of the raffle will take place at the July carriage competition.
By NICK WILL
Dispatch Staff Writer
Twitter:@DispatchNick
CAZENOVIA — Local leaders gathered in Cazenovia Wednesday night to discuss their accomplishments for 2012 and where they hope to take their communities in 2013.
The Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of commerce members Art Bigsby, Gene Giussin and Town of Nelson Supervisor Roger Bradstreet, Cazenovia Mayor Kurt Wheeler, Assemblyman Bill Magee, D-121, Cazenovia Supervisor Ralph Monforte and Cazenovia School District Superintendent Bob Dubik spoke briefly at the annual State of the Area conference.
Bigsby spoke on behalf of the chamber and the events it has helped put together in Cazenovia. The town brought in more than 25,000 people for various events in the village, including the year round farmers market, cruise-ins, the Fourth of July Parade and the Memorial Day Parade.
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The fiscal plan maintains the district’s current academic program, while achieving cost savings through retirements, energy-saving measures and cuts in discretionary spending on equipment.
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