State police announce plans for Caz College

By kATE HiLL Staff Writer

The New York State Police officially entered into an agreement with Cazenovia College to lease a large portion of the college campus for use as its new NYS Police Basic School Auxiliary Academy that will run concurrently with the NYS Police Training Academy in Albany.

The two-year lease begins Aug. 1, 2023, and includes the buildings that make up the main college campus, as well as the athletic center.

According to a July 19 press release from the Cazenovia College Office of Communications, a separate management company will be contracted to maintain the campus buildings and grounds and operate the dining facility. To provide these services, the company will be hiring staff, including current and former Cazenovia College employees.

Additional information regarding employment opportunities will be available soon, the press release said.

“We are pleased that we were able to arrange the lease with the state police and avoid having the campus vacant for a period of time,” said Kenneth Gardiner, chair of the Cazenovia College Board of Trustees, in the press release. “The fact that they are hiring several of our employees is an added bonus. On behalf of the board of trustees, I’d like to express our appreciation to Cazenovia College President David Bergh and his leadership team who worked diligently the past weeks and months to make this happen.”

The first class at the Cazenovia auxiliary academy is slated to start in mid-October 2023.

In the press release, Village of Cazenovia Mayor Kurt Wheeler welcomed the NYS Police to the Cazenovia community.

“This is a positive step in the repurposing of the college campus for ongoing educational and training use while at the same time providing a two-year window for further exploration of a more permanent transition of the campus at the heart of our village,” Wheeler said.

According to a press release from Governor Kathy Hochul’s office, the auxiliary academy is part of the governor’s plan to fund an unprecedented number of Basic School classes.

Hochul secured more than $66 million in the Fiscal Year 2024 Enacted Budget to fund two ad- ditional state police classes. The leased space at Cazenovia College can accommodate up to 275 recruits and 115 instructors. The firearms training and emergency vehicle operations courses will continue to be held at their present locations.

“With this additional auxiliary academy at Cazenovia College, we can help ensure that the New

York State Police is fully staffed with highly trained women and men to keep New Yorkers safe – a top priority for my administration,” Hochul said in the press release. “This expansion will also create opportunities for more candidates, which will support the state police’s mission to diversify and grow its ranks. We’re excited to welcome the academy’s first class in October as they prepare to serve our communities.”

According to the governor’s office, the expansion will not only accelerate the rebuilding of the force and increase the number of NYS Troopers, but it will also allow the state police to increase the number of Community Stabilization Units around the