Councilman pushes for sounds of music in downtown Albion

10 speakers will be mounted outside on Bank Street

Photos by Tom Rivers – Albion Town Councilman Jake Olles stands on East Bank Street where he wants 10 all-weather speakers to play music in the downtown.

ALBION – Jake Olles has been to Medina and heard the music being piped into the downtown with outdoor speakers.

“People say the music is great in Medina,” Olles said. “Why can’t we do it in Albion?”

Olles has spearheaded an effort to have outdoor music in the downtown. The Albion town councilman convinced the majority of the Town Board to purchase 10 speakers for the project. Olles estimated those speakers would cost about $700 for the 10. The money would come out of the town’s parks and recreation budget.

The Albion Village Board voted tonight to accept the speakers, but the board wants village electrician Rick Albright to recommend whether the speakers should be wireless or be wired through the existing light poles.

Olles has a 400-disc CD player secured from Empire Trading owner Jacob Atwell of Albion. Atwell offered to donate the player, which would likely be controlled in village hall. Olles believes community members would donate music for the project.

Some of the speakers would be aimed towards Main Street and West Bank Street, so the music could be heard near the Family Hardware and former Gus’s Soda Shop, according to the proposal from Albion Town Councilman Jake Olles.

The village would have to buy speaker wire for the speakers if village officials decide to use wire for the system. The village also would need to install the equipment.

Olles pushed for the outdoor music after seeing the success of the project in Medina. He also thinks the music would be a positive addition to a farmers’ market planned for Sundays this summer, as well as other downtown events in Albion.

“If we’re going to have a farmers’ market and a Christmas walk, it would be good to have some music,” Olles told the Village Board.

Mayor Dean Theodorakos and Village Board members praised Olles and the town for pushing the project.

“I certainly appreciate the town coming to us,” said Trustee Eileen Banker.

In other action tonight, the board voted to pursue a $100,000 bond to be paid back over five years. That money will be used for road and drainage projects. The village won’t know the interest rate until it goes on the market for the bond. The rates are low at about a .50 percent rate, said Linda Babcock, the village clerk-treasurer.