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An unseasonably sweet moment
Lori Lewis
A milder Winterfest
Submitted photo
The Nelson Creamery took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather to open this past weekend for the Fire and Ice event. It’s not often in February that you can sit outside and enjoy a little soft serve ice cream, but that’s what Weston Hartline did, satisfying his ice cream craving on a 62-degree day.
Winterfest in Cazenovia had a decidedly different feel this past weekend, as high temperatures and a lack of snow cancelled several of the annual events. But that didn’t stop Miles Allen from enjoying one of several ice sculptures that were created around the village or the groups that enjoyed the horse-drawn carriage rides around Lorenzo and Meier’s Creek.
New cleaning station, launch procedures coming to Cazenovia Lake By David Tyler
As part of the continuing effort to protect Cazenovia Lake from invasive species, a new boat cleaning station will be installed at Lakeside Park and new boat launch procedures will be put in place for the upcoming boating season. At the Feb. 5 village of Cazenovia Board
of Trustees meeting, Trustee Tom Tait, who also serves on the board of the Cazenovia Lake Association, provided details of the new protocols. The cleaning station will be a dry station, as opposed to the spray stations located on many lakes in the Adirondacks. It is the same procedure that is currently being used on Lake George.
“Think of it as a Shop Vac on steroids,” Tait said last Monday night. The station is approximately the size of two large parking spaces and will be installed immediately to the west of the steward’s station. Last fall, Lauren Lines of CACDA applied for a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for the $46,000 station and
the town of Cazenovia will provide $10,000 in matching funds. The cleaning station will be ordered in March with an anticipated delivery later this spring and will be owned and maintained by the town. When a boat arrives at the park to launch, it will first be evaluated by the Lake l Page 3
Caz school district begins budget process District mulls decaying bus garage The Cazenovia Central School District began the 2024-25 budget development process at its first board of education budget work session held on Monday, Feb. 5. Superintendent Christopher DiFulvio and Assistant Superintendent/School Business Official Thomas Finnerty presented the highlights of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget proposal, which includes a modest increase in state aid to school districts across the state due to declining enrollment in New York schools over the last decade. Under the proposal, the Cazenovia district would receive a projected reduction in state aid of -$339,823. With a simple rollover budget based on the current school year, Cazenovia would need to generate an estimated $1,854,276 million in revenue to offset expenses and the estimated reduction in state aid. Administration also shared the district’s maximum allowable tax levy limit, which is 4.4% for the 2024-25 school year. The limit is the threshold by which a simple majority of voters is required for approval. Cazenovia’s academic programming,
course offerings and graduation rates were highlighted, and staff and student enrollment data were also shared. Currently, students at the high school have 23 options for Advanced Placement and college credit courses. The CCSD graduation rate has held steady at 96% for the past two years. Total enrollment at Cazenovia has declined over the last 10 years, with an average loss of 20 enrolled students per year. This year, CCSD saw a decrease of ten students from last year while adding 34 students in UPK. Class sizes trend slightly above the statewide averages at the elementary and middle school levels. The budget process will continue over the next three months. Information regarding board of education meetings can be found on our website. The annual public hearing on the proposed budget will be held on Tuesday, May 14 at 6:30 p.m. in the high school auditorium. The annual budget vote and election will take place on Tuesday, May 21 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the middle school aux gym.
By David Tyler
The Cazenovia Board of Education faces some daunting decisions regarding the declining condition of the district’s bus garage. Built in 1976 as a pole barn, the 7,240 square foot building has four service bays and one wash bay. On Monday night, Superintendent Christopher DiFulvio and director of facilities Eric Benedict presented the board with a slide show detailing multiple problems with the building, including a leaky roof, doors and walls that are rusted through, cracked concrete and heaving flooring, overhead doors that don’t work, rusted fuel tanks that won’t pass inspection, and a well that doesn’t produce potable water. Benedict said that many of the roof trusses have rotted through, and when it rains, the roof leaks and water gets into the building’s electrical panels. In addition, the outdated fire alarm is not monitored, so if an emergency took place there overnight, no one would know. Of immediate concern, however, is the
concrete that supports the garage’s sole underground lift is failing and Benedict said it will not pass the NYS Department of Transportation’s bi-annual inspection coming up in June. Repairing the lift would cost approximately $175,000 while replacing it would cost about $525,000. “There are required services that we need to provide there,” he told the board. In both 2015 and in 2021, the district contracted with architectural firms to survey the needs of the building. In 2015, the survey indicated about $473,500 of high priority repairs that needed to take place. By 2021, that number had increased to $2.219 million, with several million more required to fix all the building’s issues. The decision on what to do with the building is muddled by the state’s mandate that districts convert their fleets to zeroemission vehicles in the coming years, and whether even if fully repaired, the location of the current bus garage would be able to handle a new fleet of vehicles. “Currently, we don’t think the site is big Garage l Page 12
Volume 214, Number 7 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.
health & fitness: A powerhouse on a plate.
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sports: Caz boys indoor track wins big at sectional meet.
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Editorial ��������������������� 6
Obituaries ������������������ 2
history ������������������������ 6
PennySaver ���������������� 8
letters ������������������������ 6
Sports ����������������������� 13