Albion opens much-anticipated spray park at Bullard

Provided photo: Mandy Gilmore and her 2-year-old daughter, Rosie Gaines, were the first ones to try the spray park today at Bullard Park. “We had so much fun,” Gilmore said. “She loved it.”

ALBION – The Village of Albion’s spray park is now open. The village was looking at a July 1 grand opening but moved that up with the current heat wave.

The site is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. There is a touch pad to activate the water at the splash park, which is located at Bullard Park on Route 31.

The village has been working on site for more than two years. It still needs to put in some sidewalks leading to the splash pad, and that could mean the site is off limits briefly.

The spray park has 18 spray elements. It is part of about $800,000 in upgrades to Bullard, Albion’s most popular park on Route 31. The improvements also include an amphitheater, utility building with bathrooms and a pavilion.

Photo by Tom Rivers: The splash pad is shown through a climbing wall at Pee Wee Park that is part of Bullard.

The village in December 2016 was awarded a $499,605 state grant for the Bullard projects. The village also received $97,500 from the county and $45,000 from the town of Albion, money that was through a revolving-loan fund by the Orleans Economic Development Agency.

The Albion DPW is providing $166,370 of in-kind services as part of Albion’s local share for the state grant. The DPW took down a pavilion and storage building in 2019 to make way for the new utility building. The DPW also ran a new sewer line across Route 31 near the Bullard entrance. That sewer line will service the park.

The DPW also ran 600 feet of waterline for the splash pad and utility building, several feet of sewer line, and did the electric service for the amphitheater.