By Kate Hill

Staff Writer

On May 7, Village of Cazenovia Mayor Kurt Wheeler provided his weekly update on the community’s COVID-19 response efforts.

Wheeler reported that according to the Madison County Department of Health no new cases have been reported in the Town and Village of Cazenovia since April 4 and there is only one active case in the entire Cazenovia Central School District area.

“The Cazenovia area continues to be very fortunate in terms of the medical impact of the coronavirus . . .” said Wheeler. “Our job is to continue good practices to

maintain that trend. As the weather improves and we are able to do more outside, it will be tempting to let down our guard, but let’s continue with our good practices of social distancing, masks in confined spaces and hand washing. These good habits will set us up for success as we begin to re-open our economy.”

Wheeler also announced that the “Restart Cazenovia” advisory group has started meeting.

The goal of the committee — which includes representatives from the Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce, Cazenovia Area Community Development Association, Cazenovia College, and local businesses — is to proactively plan ways to support the business community and re-energize the local economy as COVID-19 restrictions begin to be lifted.

“[The group] began meeting this week to develop and share best practices as we look forward to a renewed economic activity here and across the state,” Wheeler said. “Supporting our local economy will be critical for both the families and municipalities in our area.”

The village has scheduled its close out meeting for the current fiscal year for Thursday, May 28 at 5 p.m.

According to the mayor, the village will end the year in good shape since the impact of the virus only became significant at the end of the budget cycle.

“[However,] municipalities across New York face a challenging year ahead . . . with sharp contractions in both sales tax and state aid expected,” he said.

To prevent spread of the coronavirus, the village offices are closed to the public. Staff will be on duty to respond to citizens’ needs during regular business hours. Call 315-655-3041 or email [email protected] (cc: [email protected]).