Kent Memorial Library secures funds for expansion

KENT — The Connecticut Bond Commission voted to allocate $2 million in funding to support the renovation and expansion of the Kent Memorial Library at its Oct. 22 meeting.

Libraries have become “critically important infrastructure”, said State Rep. Maria Horn (D-64) just before the vote was passed, especially in small towns “where there are fewer places to meet communally.”

“I’m really pleased to see this grant helping one of my little towns,” Horn said, who is a member of the group as co-chair of the Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee.

Library Director Sarah Marshall said the primary motivation behind the expansion plan is “more space for more people.” The new construction will connect the existing library building to the old town firehouse, which sits on the library’s property, and then “renovate everything together to create one big building.”

Marshall said the addition will primarily provide event space, but will also establish quiet workspaces for the town’s growing remote workforce. The new design will also focus on making the building more sustainable.

Marshall is glad that the process, which began with an application to the State Library for a grant in the summer of 2023, is making headway with the approval of the bond allocation.

“We’re hoping – hoping – to break ground late spring,” she said, but acknowledged that several factors could contribute to delays.

“With all the changes ahead, we have no idea what kind of supply chain issues we’re going to face,” she said, noting the possibility of new tariffs on products from abroad.

A lot of the newest HVAC technology comes from foreign manufacturers, she explained, “and we have to be aware of the fact that all of those prices might be about to go up rapidly.”