Cazenovia’s popular Joint Youth Recreation Program is preparing for the 2014 season with a new adult supervisor, some new programs, a community service project and the opportunity for community businesses to support and participate in the program through sponsorships.

JYRP Director Elizabeth Digiacomo and Trustee and Village Parks Commissioner Fritz Koennecke discussed the recreation program last week at the village board’s March 3 regular monthly meeting.

“The program has been growing for the past three or four years thanks to Elizabeth’s engagement … and with the advent of L.L. Bean [in Cazenovia] and the larger size of the program, we’re looking at more activities which will cause the program to grow even more,” Koennecke said. “We’re also trying to incorporate more community service activities so kids at a young age are used to giving back to the community. Were hoping we can put a little extra out there this year and use that as stepping stone for future years.”

The Joint Youth Recreation Program occurs every summer from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday at Lakeland Park. The program provides recreation for children residing in the Cazenovia Central School District (Cazenovia, Fenner, Nelson and the village of Cazenovia), including swimming, athletics, games, arts and crafts and educational programs. Every Friday there is a field trip.

The program this year will run July 7 through Aug. 14 and will cost $75 per child (with Friday field trips costing extra).

Last year, the JYRP offered planned activities such as Out of the Cage exotic pets, Talons: Birds of Prey and water slides by Air Time Inflatables. This year, the program hopes to offer new activities such as a circus camp provided by CirqueOvation, kayaking and paddle boarding opportunities by L.L. Bean and a community service project in which campers work with local senior citizens to build bluebird houses that will help protect native bluebird populations. This latter project would be a partnership between the recreation program, CRIS and the Cazenovia Preservation Foundation.

Other potential camp activities for this year include visits by local ceramics artists or musicians, or programs by Open Hand Puppet Theater or Allure Dance Studio, Digiacomo said.

In addition to new activities there will be a new face at the rec program this year, Digiacomo said. Marjorie Jones has been hired to be the elementary supervisor, who will supervise the younger campers in Lakeland Park. Digiacomo will still be director of the program, and Caroline Franz will direct the waterfront programs and activities, swim instruction and supervise the lifeguards.

The JYRP is looking to hire more counselors for the program as well. There are currently eight counselors who oversee 180 campers, putting each counselor in charge of about 15 children per day. Digiacomo said she would like to have enough staff to have two counselors responsible for small groups of 10 to 15 campers.

Digiacomo is currently looking for teens age 16 or over interesting in becoming camp counselors. She is also actively seeking business sponsors to help augment program funding and/or partner in a community service project, and is currently accepting donations of lightly used recreation equipment for the program.

For more information contact Elizabeth Digiacomo at 761-5536 or [email protected].

The JYRP has started accepting online registrations for the 2014 summer program at stadiumroar.com/CazenoviaYouthRecreation. More information about the rec program is also available online at facebook.com/cazrec.

Also at the meeting, the board:

—Rescheduled the board’s regular monthly meeting to occur at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, in the old meeting room on the second floor of the village municipal office building.

—Scheduled two public hearings, to begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 2, to consider a local law to authorize the village board to exceed the 2 percent tax levy cap for the village’s 2014-15 budget and fiscal year and to present the preliminary 2014-15 village budget.

—Agreed to participate in the Climate Smart Community Program in conjunction with the Central New York Regional Planning Board. The program would first survey all village energy usage then create a village climate action plan that would seek to reduce village gas emissions which could ultimately save the village money. The town of Cazenovia is currently participating in the same program.

—Heard from Trustee Amy Mann that the village has received the “Tree City USA” designation for the third consecutive year. The award will be presented to village representatives on March 27 in Albany.

—Heard from Mann, who is also the police commissioner, that she and Police Chief Michael Hayes are interviewing the final three candidates for the two full-time police officer positions currently vacant in the Cazenovia Police Department. They hope to hire candidates for those positions soon, she said.

—Approved a request from the Cazenovia College All Honors Program to use village sidewalks around the college block on Saturday, April 5, for a walk/run benefit to support CAVAC and the Griffith Family Foundation.

—Approved permits for the use of Lakeland Park and certain village streets for the annual July 4 Foot Race.

Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].