Submitted Photo – This artist rendering of the new outdoor technology patio by KSA Architects shows the scope of the project which was made possible by a technology grant for $700,000.
MARK MCGEE
Staff Writer
The sun is shining. The temperatures are getting warmer. It’s time for everyone to be thinking of what they would like to do in the great outdoors.
The Shelbyville-Bedford County Library will soon be offering a new option for those wanting to read in the fresh air. Construction is to start soon on a new technology patio for patrons with an expected completion time of July of this year.
“It is going to be a tech space,” library director Margaret Petty said. “The patio covering is going to have solar panels.
“There will be a fence around it. We want it to be user friendly. We may also add some charging stations like we have out front in seating areas away from the patio.”
Meeting rooms are popular at the library. Petty is planning for those wanting to have meetings in an outdoor space to use the patio.
The patio is financed through a federal grant for $700,000 called the Connected Communities Facilities Grant. It is a 10 percent matching grant, which means the total will be $630,000. The remaining amount is being raised through various organizations and individual donors.
“We have had quite a bit of the matching money come in already,” Petty said. “The 10 percent is promised. We just don’t have it all yet. Amy Mitchell from the library foundation gave us $20,000 last week. We are going through First Bank for our line of credit.”
Four bids were submitted for the project with Brad Slater Construction from Leoma, Tennessee being rewarded the contract with a low bid of $430,814.
Library director Margaret Petty said all four bids were below the amount set aside in the grant. Jeff Sweeney, director of construction for Bedford County, and Mark Hawley of KSA Architects recommended the Slater bid.
“Jeff is a go-between for us and the contractor to make sure everything is as it should be,” Petty said.
Work is slated to begin as soon as the contract is signed.
The annual Friends of the Library Authors luncheon is scheduled for October at the Fly Arts Center.
“Hopefully, people who have not seen the patio before the luncheon will have an opportunity to come over,” Petty said. “We will be working with the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce for a ribbon cutting.”
The ground breaking for the patio was held in July of last year as part of the celebration of 10 years of the library at this location.
“We applied for this grant in June of 2024,” Petty said. “In October of that year we were awarded the grant. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for the library.”