Cazenovia Voices Coalition — Impact is Growing!

​Welcome to Cazenovia Voices Coalition
If you’re receiving this memo, it’s because you want to stay informed. For past memos go to www.arc-c.org/arc-c-blog. 

Folks are joining this growing coalition with concerns about Madison County’s plan to purchase Reisman & Sigety Halls for a Sheriff/emergency hub in the center of Cazenovia's school and business district.

Our goal: Ensure that residents have a real say in the future of our community. We’re tracking information, sharing updates, and pushing for transparency, because this deal advanced without public input, and it could permanently change public safety, our school zone, business district, historic village, and impacts on Central New York.
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Neighbors, thank you for your energy and persistence.

Your conversations are encouraging folks to reach out publicly for good information. Our mailing list continues to grow each day, residents are showing up at public meetings, people really care.

1. Petitions are making an impact!
In just 24 hours we have reached over 150 signatures. That is a promising number for the first day of a local petition. Now let’s get to 1,000 signatures this week. 

Petition to the NYS Attorney General: This petition asks the AG to pause their review of the sale due to a lack of formal community input and withholding of public information from January 2025.

Petition to the Village Board: This petition asks for our local board to uphold the existing education zoning, initiate a formal public planning process (last one was 2008), and ask the AG to pause review of the sale until the process is complete.

Our message remains clear: We are not against planning. We are against secret deals that erase community voice.

2. Public Gatherings
This week there were constructive meetings with the Town Supervisor and the Village Historic Preservation Board. Additionally local municipalities such as Nelson and Hamilton are hearing resident concerns.  In each case, folks questioned transparency and long-term impacts of Madison County’s purchase of property in the center of our walkable district as well as the reasoning for a Sheriff's hub in Cazenovia. The persistent message from leaders is that once the County owns these buildings, local residents will have no real say over their use.

What we’ve learned:

• From all municipalities: Meeting notes confirm there were no clear public agenda items or hearings with any municipality between November 2024 (when the Sheriff toured Reisman Hall) and July 2025, when the deal appeared on a County agenda. No public input was requested.
• Town Supervisor Reger listened during public office hours on Sunday and was forthcoming about knowing the County's intention to make the purchase. When residents stressed the lack of transparency, impact studies, or authentic planning process, he was not able to speak to those details.  He confirmed that Madison County hopes to use the vacated Sheriff's space in Wampsville for juvenile detention as a way to reduce sending young people away and as a revenue stream. He did agree that a public conversation might be helpful.

3. What’s happening now:

Mayor Wheeler and representatives of 9Fresh have circulated emails and text messages to individual allies urging them to dismiss community calls for a pause. If this information is so important, why isn’t it being shared publicly? Why are memos being circulated selectively rather than openly?

Our response: We don’t need behind-the-scenes messaging. We need a transparent, public process where all residents can ask questions, hear the facts, and contribute to decisions about our shared future.

4. Next steps:

Keep circulating petitions. Let’s get to 1,000 signatures this week. While the numbers count toward making an impact with leaders, the act of sharing them helps inform people who just don't know what's going on.

Share this memo with neighbors who may not yet know what’s at stake. Every day we hear from folks who are surprised and concerned.

Keep pressing our leaders to commit to open forums and legal zoning/planning process before any sale is finalized.

Disclaimer on this Email Group

This mailing list includes a wide range of people, including some directly involved in the Reisman/Sigety Hall deal. Please keep in mind:

• We use blind copy (bcc) to prevent addresses from being used for other purposes.
• If you prefer not to receive these updates, you may opt out at any time by emailing: [email protected] 
• If you are new to this group, complete information and previous posts (transcripts, etc) can be found at https://www.arc-c.org/arc-c-blog