CAZENOVIA — During its Sept. 28 work session, the Cazenovia Town Board continued its ongoing discussions on the future of the town offices, which have been housed in the historic Gothic Cottage at 7 Albany St. for over half a century.
The town began exploring the options of either renovating the Gothic Cottage or relocating the town offices over a decade ago.
At the work session, Supervisor Bill Zupan commented that in planning for the future of the town hall, he believes the board should consider the space’s ability to accommodate a possible consolidation of the town and village at some point down the road.
On Oct.4, Zupan clarified that his intention was not to suggest that the village will be forced to dissolve anytime soon, but rather to highlight one more thing the town should think about when evaluating its options.
“If we are going to remodel or build a new town hall, we should be prepared for more workers in the building,” he said. “. . . Maybe the village can get enough tax revenue to survive another 150 years, but in the back of my mind, [consolidation] was something we just needed to consider.”
The supervisor added that the town hired another part-time clerk this year because of its workload, and it needs to be prepared to potentially hire more people in the future.
“When we are spending $2 million to $2.5 million, we have to try to look at everything we can,” he said.
During the work session, the board ultimately decided to focus its efforts on exploring offsite options for the town offices.
Although no formal vote was held, each of the five board members was asked to state where they stood on the question of whether to remain in the Gothic Cottage or pursue an alternative location.
At the time, three board members — Zupan and Councilors Pat Race and Kyle Reger — opted for investigating options for moving, while Councilors Jimmy Golub and Kelli Johnson were in favor of staying.
The week after the meeting, Zupan explained that rather than build onto the Gothic Cottage to meet the needs of the town offices, he believes it might be best at this point for the town to put money into the building to preserve its historic integrity and for the space to be repurposed for a-low impact use, such as housing nonprofits.
He also acknowledged that if relocating the town hall doesn’t work out for some reason, remaining in the Gothic Cottage could end up being the best option.
“[Maybe] we circle back and add onto the Gothic Cottage,” he said. “Right now, we are exploring building new and seeing what the cost is and if we feel it serves the purpose of providing good service to our constituents. . . If we build new, then we are going to have to figure out what we do with the Gothic Cottage and preserve its integrity.”
Race, who has been clear about his position on the town offices since the start of the discussions years ago, said he believes moving to a new location is the best functional, fiscal, and long-term option.
“The Gothic Cottage is a 200+/- year old house that was never intended to be a public office space,” he said. “And, if we put an addition on the house — to the tune of million(s) of dollars for a new meeting room — the ‘core’ of the office will still be a 200+/- year old house. I don’t believe this is a viable way to go. That being said, I love the Gothic Cottage and fully appreciate its historical value and importance to the community. I am not opposed to the town retaining ownership and stewardship of the building and figuring out a way to repurpose its use. This would be a good thing for the true — in my opinion — preservation of the Gothic Cottage.”
Reger said his decision to support exploring potential offsite locations is the result of careful consideration and numerous consultations.
“As we look towards the future, the town needs to have the flexibility to accommodate the potential growth of staffing and space requirements,” he said. “I would like to ensure the town provides a safe, efficient work environment for all staff, the various boards, and volunteers that serve our community. Creating a municipal space with upgraded amenities, with a focus on health and safety, will promote greater public engagement and will aid in retaining/attracting valued staff members. Regardless of the outcome of the exploration process, I would like to see the preservation and protection of the magnificent, historic home that is the Gothic Cottage.”
Golub, like Zupan, noted that the board’s decision to pursue options for moving does not necessarily mean staying at the Gothic Cottage is off the table.
“But it’s certainly a blow for those of us that want to stay,” Golub said. “I disagree with this but respect the reasons. . . I believe the Gothic Cottage is ‘on brand’ for Cazenovia. We can address the weaknesses and concerns and at the same refurbish the building, leaving this historic building as a legacy to future Cazenovians.”
Johnson remarked that as the newest member of the board, she is still trying to understand the requirements of the project and is looking forward to a documented process addressing some of the concerns that have been shared, such as storage, safety, and workflow.
“I firmly believe our community, which is consistently recognized for its sense of place, deserves more than a ‘big box’ town hall,” Johnson said. “Given an opportunity to envision how the business of the town hall may look over the next 50 years, we are capable of creating something that is ‘on brand’ with Cazenovia, much like our public library, which is a wonderful model of adaptive reuse.”
During the board’s Oct. 3 regular monthly meeting, Cazenovia resident Anne Ferguson offered her input on the town’s consideration of the future of its offices.
Ferguson began her statement by remarking on the idea that a potential village/town consolidation should be considered when evaluating the town’s options.
She said she believes this “new requirement” is a responsible addition to the criteria for the town hall.
“I think you guys would be remiss if you didn’t consider that possibility for the next 25 years,” she said. “But it is a game changer. This is a requirement that was not stated for [any] of the plans that have been developed over the last 12 years, so this is a new project in that sense.”
Ferguson then offered three recommendations to the board.
She first encouraged the board to document its objectives and requirements for the town offices and adopt a formal and objective process for evaluating the options.
She stated that although the board members might think they agree on all the requirements, she believes that if they were each given a sheet of paper and asked to write down 10 requirements of the project, their lists would all be different.
“Similarly, what are the agreed-upon assumptions?” she asked. “Are we assuming that a consolidated government would not be accommodated with both the village and town’s existing buildings? If so, that’s one of the things that there should be consensus on, and it should be known as such before we start looking at plans.”
Ferguson next suggested that the board consider applying now for a grant to complete preservation work on the Gothic Cottage.
“All of the windows and the plaster work can be done regardless of whether we stay or leave,” she said. “Call it Phase I. Work with [the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association] now to apply for a grant for the preservation work that would be required under any scenario. It doesn’t have to be the Big Bang; we can do it in pieces.”
She also said that even if the town applied now, it would be two years before the funds would be received.
Lastly, Ferguson encouraged the board to hire a consultant now to determine the best and most feasible uses for both the Gothic Cottage and the Village Municipal Building (90 Albany St.) if the town offices end up moving offsite.
“If we are talking about the potential for consolidation down the road, then there will potentially be two empty buildings requiring plans,” she said.
The next town board meeting will be held on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, at the Cazenovia Town Office.
The Cazenovia Town Board typically meets on the second Monday of every month at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit towncazenovia.digitaltowpath.org or call the town office at 315-655-9213.
