CAZENOVIA — During the Sept. 5 Village of Cazenovia Board of Trustees meeting, Lauren Lines, executive director of the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association (CACDA), announced two upcoming public information/input sessions focused on the repurposing of the Cazenovia College campus.
The sessions will be held on Oct. 11 from noon to 2 p.m. and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Hampton Inn & Suites Cazenovia.
Both events will include presentations by seven or eight local working groups that have been looking into different ideas for the future use of the campus.
“[These groups] don’t have the funding, but they have, I think, some pretty interesting and creative ideas that could just use more vetting,” said Lines.
The working groups are exploring such uses as a high-tech workforce development center, a site for training/workforce development in the historic preservation trades, and a charter school for neuro-diverse students.
“They are all at the stage of looking at similar examples elsewhere and how they [run] and how they’re funded, and [they’re] compiling all that information,” said Lines. “They are all very conceptual ideas. All the groups seem to [really want] more public input on the ideas. There is so much expertise out there in our community, and I think the public is also interested to know what conversations are going on, and people might be interested in getting involved.”
The working groups will answer questions following their presentations and have tables set up for further conversations with interested community members.
Lines said she also invited the entities that are interested in purchasing the campus and are currently in the due diligence stage.
“Some want to be more public than others, but so far two have said [they’d] love to get public feedback and see if the community is interested in their ideas,” she said.
Mayor Kurt Wheeler commented that there are three or four interested entities that he believes would each bring their own unique set of advantages to the local community.
“Each of them, I think, is in the process of doing their financial analysis, their vetting of, ‘OK, do we have funding lined up? Who would we actually have for tenants and users?’” Wheeler said. “Again, the good news is there are some very viable interested parties, so we hope something will come to fruition in the near future.”
According to Wheeler, the three criteria he and other community leaders are looking for in a new campus tenant/owner are job creation, economic activity, and neighborhood compatibility.
The New York State Police, which is currently leasing a large portion of the campus for use as a new NYS Police Basic School Auxiliary Academy, will also attend the Oct. 11 sessions to deliver a short presentation and answer questions.
During her report, Lines also informed the board that she is working through the contracts for a $44,000 Empire State Development grant and a $166,000 U.S. Economic Development Administration grant. CACDA was awarded both grants on behalf of the village for the purpose of strategic planning for the campus.
The funding for the planning process also includes an additional $40,000 in matching funds from the town and village.
Lines said she is also planning to prepare a request for proposal for a consultant to assist with the strategic planning process.
Although the scope of the planning work has not been finalized, it will include feasibility studies and needs assessments for proposed future uses of the campus, as well as a parking study.
“Any day, one of these [interested] parties could end up buying the campus, so it makes the planning process really challenging,” said Lines. “But we are just kind of moving it forward because maybe they all fall through.”
She added that the strategic planning process could also be useful if a buyer does emerge but doesn’t have plans for the entire campus.
“These funds could still be used to help figure out whatever users would be compatible, so I think it will be worthwhile,” she said.
Later in the discussion, Wheeler reported that the offer submitted for the campus by Cazenovia Community Vision, LLC was not accepted.
The entity was formed by investors seeking to gain local control of the real estate to then be able to work collaboratively with local government, CACDA, and other agencies to find the most suitable use for it.
The group has now gone dormant but, according to Wheeler, is “still in the wings.”
“Their only interest is to help do what is best for the community,” Wheeler said. “I think some of the same folks are also connected to other parties who are interested [in the campus]. Again, they just want to use their resources to help move the process forward for the community.”
NYS Police
Wheeler also provided a few updates on the NYS Police’s presence on campus.
According to the mayor, a crew has been on campus since Aug. 1 preparing for the arrival of the academy’s first class. All the staff should arrive by about Oct. 1. The class’s approximately 225 cadets will move in on Oct. 15 and begin training on Oct. 16.
The trainees will be required to remain on campus from Sunday evening through Friday afternoon each week during the program.
“I think the instructors will be visible and be making a contribution to the local economy, but the cadets will probably get some food or whatever they need on the way into town and fuel up the car on the way out, but it won’t be like they are just wandering around the village,” said Wheeler.
The state police are hoping to fit three 28-week training cycles within their current two-year lease, which has no option for renewal.
“They really initially wanted . . . options to renew, but that obviously makes it very difficult for the bondholders to market the campus if you have this open-ended lease,” explained Wheeler.
Wheeler concluded the college campus discussion by addressing a resident’s concern regarding newly posted signs around the campus that convey the message “Keep out.”
Wheeler responded by expressing that he understands that the state police will require some restrictions because they will be actively training on the campus, but he is not happy with the current signage, which essentially creates a “no go” zone in the center of the village.
According to Wheeler, the state police made assurances during the lease negotiations that those types of signs would not be put up.
The college’s legal council is now pursuing the issue, and Wheeler is personally engaging the state police to encourage the use of a little “softer” signage that might say something like “No public access during training hours.”
“I hope we can come up with a mutually agreeable solution,” said Wheeler.
National Grid Smart Meter Deployment
The meeting began with a presentation on National Grid’s ongoing meter replacement program in the Central New York region.
Melissa Piper, a member of National Grid’s Advanced Metering Infrastructure team, explained that National Grid is in the process of replacing its customers’ existing utility meters with new, highly sophisticated “smart meters.”
According to Piper, the company last replaced its meters 20 years ago.
Most customers currently have automated meter reading (AMR), which enables their meters to be read remotely from company vehicles equipped with AMR receivers as they drive by the person’s home or business.
Piper said the new smart meter module looks very similar to the previous model, but it transmits all collected data on a network, eliminating the need for utility workers to drive by the meter’s location.
“The data is encrypted, so there is security,” she said.
According to the National Grid website, the smart meter is designed to improve service and reliability, while also giving customers more control over their energy usage, faster, near real-time energy readings, and an overall faster response.
“It is able to read your energy consumption in 15-minute intervals, and that helps us better manage the distribution system [and] allows customers to create an account online so that they can see their energy use in near real-time,” said Piper, who added that the meter also contains a chip that enables the use of a mobile app.
Prior to installation, customers are sent a series of National Grid communications.
About two months before they are targeted to get a new meter, the customer will receive a letter in the mail, and then about 30 days out, they will receive a brochure with additional information, Piper said.
Typically, electric smart meter installation takes just minutes to complete, involves only a brief interruption in power, and does not require the property owner to be at home if the meter is accessible and located on the outside of the home.
Installation appointments can be made for customers with medical needs or other special circumstances.
Once the new meter is installed, the data will be available for online viewing within approximately 24 to 48 hours, according to the National Grid website.
In response to Wheeler’s request that she address potential concerns regarding the safety of the smart meter technology, Piper explained that any radio frequency (RF) emissions that come from the meters are lower than those from commonly used household items such as cell phones, baby monitors, and microwaves. She added that the RF level decreases significantly as a person moves away from the meter.
Wheeler noted that most electric meters are located outside of people’s homes.
If a customer decides they do not want a new smart meter installed, they can choose to have a conventional “non-communicating” meter installed instead for a monthly fee. Because that type of meter does not transmit data automatically, it will need to be read manually by a utility representative.
Currently, National Grid is focused on installing electric smart meters. Smart gas modules are expected to be installed at least a year after the electric meters, according to Piper, and the replacement should cause no disruption in service.
To learn more about National Grid smart meters, visit nationalgridus.com/Upstate-NY-Home/Smart-Meters/.
Questions can be directed to National Grid Lead Program Coordinator Travis Glazier at 315-980-8825 or [email protected]. Glazier is the account manager for Cazenovia and Madison County.
The Village of Cazenovia Board of Trustees typically meets on the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Village Municipal Building, 90 Albany St.
