From gentle mists to powerful downpours, Le Roy town and village residents are in for some water fun come next year.
Town and Village boards hashed out the plan for a new spray park at Wildwood Park during a meeting earlier this month, Le Roy Town Supervisor Jim Farnholz says.
“We all decided on what we liked,” he said during an interview Tuesday with The Batavian. “It’s really something for the community and answers a lot of questions. Our real hope is to open by Memorial Day in 2022.”
Those answers include what to do with a defunct wading pool with several leaks. The spray park will be installed in that space for 2,000 square feet of misting stations, aqua arches, showers, spills, and water weaves of intertwining spouts from the base outward. Activities are geared for kids of all ages and sizes, and the park will be handicap accessible, he said.
A cooperative effort by both town and village boards, the project is estimated to cost $300,000 to be split by each municipality. The money is coming from the federal COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (See "Le Royans can move off the creek ..."). Based on each municipality’s assessed property value, these relief funds have a list of requirements for how the money can be spent, Farnholz said. Though the 100 or so pages of specifics were “one of the challenges for municipalities,” the town and village discovered that a spray park fit the scope of the funding.
“One of the very clear things was that it was designated for outdoor activities, parks, and green space,” he said.
The new park will have extended hours beyond when the swimming pool is open, will not require a lifeguard, and will provide benches, sidewalks, a flat surface, and an assortment of spray heights so that those in wheelchairs can enjoy it as well, he said. The idea was in discussion before the federal money was even received, he said.
The board members reviewed other spray parks in Genesee and Wyoming counties but landed on one in Brighton, Monroe County, as the best fit.
“We like it; it seemed to offer the most different kinds of … mister stations, a dump bucket, and little ones for smaller kids,” he said. “It addressed a lot of issues.”
Brighton’s spray park, amongst many others, was installed by Texas-based company Water Odyssey, he said. The town and village have agreed to move forward with the same company as “a lot of municipalities were very happy,” with it.
Town and village public works crews will perform the tear-out and site prep for the project to save some money, he said. Other work will include dealing with wastewater and electrical upgrades, he said.
“Once we decide on a specific plan, they can provide the site prep information,” he said. “I’m hoping for it to be in the next week or two.”
