Albion town approves $45K for Bullard Park accessibility
ALBION – The Village of Albion will getting more funds for Bullard Park after the Albion Town Board agreed to send $45,000 to the village for handicapped accessibility at the park.
The Town Board held a public hearing about the issue on Monday. Town Supervisor Richard Remley said the funds needed to go for handicapped accessibility or to assist low-income residents in a public project.
The village is working to upgrade the park this year. Remley said directing the funds there met the eligibility requirements for the funding, which came from the state initially for a revolving-loan fund at the Orleans Economic Development Agency.
The state is directing the agencies to close out the funds, with agreements for the money in place by March 31.
If a local project didn’t meet the state eligibility requirements, the funds would need to go back to the state.
The Town of Albion had $45,000 to work with because the town had projects that used the revolving-loan fund previously.
The Orleans County Legislature last Thursday approved divvying up $223,000 in funding for handicapped accessible projects at Bullard Park in Albion, a pedestrian bridge in Medina and a portion of a waterline in Holley.
Albion and Medina, which each have about 6,000 people, were approved for $97,500 each from the county through the revolving-loan fund. Holley, which has less than a third of the population of the villages of Albion and Medina received $28,000 from the county. That is equal to its percentage of population compared to the two villages.
(The Orleans Hub last week reported higher numbers from the county. Those numbers “were not to exceed” the amounts stated. The dollar amounts listed in the above paragraph are the solid figures, county officials said.)
Bullard Park will see major improvements this year with a new amphitheater, utility building, splash pad and other upgrades planned.
The village in December 2016 was awarded a $499,605 state grant for Bullard upgrades with the village providing $166,370 with in kind-services or funding.
The county and town funding won’t count towards the local share for the village.
Remley, the Albion town supervisor, said it will make the splash pad and amphitheater accessible to people in a wheelchair. The amphitheater, for example, is expected to have a cement sidewalk with a railing.
