Published: October 04, 2009 10:48 pm      

Windfall library project seeks input from community

The renovation is expected to cost about $300,000

WINDFALL — The Tipton County Public Library has almost finalized plans for the renovation project at the Windfall branch. All that is left is input from county residents for the design of the building’s facade.

The project will be a complete overhaul of the 99-year-old bank-turned-library, which served 13,000 patrons last year, on Ind. 213 in the northeast corner of Tipton County.

The environmentally focused plans will open up about 30 percent more useable space in the library, allowing for more programs and amenities, library staff and the project’s architect said.

Linda Joines, the director of Tipton County Public Library, said the renovation, which is expected to cost about $300,000, has been in the works for about two years. The library conducted a capital campaign to pay for the project without having to take out a loan, Joines said.

There will not be any new construction for the project. Along with updating the building’s look inside and outside, renovations will overhaul lighting, carpeting, insulation, and heating and cooling systems, all of which will be replaced with materials that are certified through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED.

Other plans include a sliding wall that will open for more space, and the library will expand its computer area.

Joines said the library hopes to achieve Silver LEED status, which the U.S. Green Building Council bestows.

LEED projects are becoming more common for the architecture firm that designed the Windfall renovation, Anderson-based krM Architecture+, which also designed the Howard County Library’s Main Branch renovation.

Winifrid Williams, an architect for the firm, said the company tries to at least go a little green with all its projects.

“[LEED] means that a good portion of the whole construction and the material that we’re putting into the building and how it will function will be sustainable,” Williams said. “During construction, there’s usually a plan that they put together to try to reduce waste and keep construction workers healthier.”

Renda Hurst, the assistant director for Tipton County Public Library, said the libraries felt going green with the Windfall renovation was the responsible thing to do.

“As a library, we feel it’s our place to be good citizens and good stewards of what we have,” Hurst said. “We want this to be a learning center for others.”

The environment is one topic the library has offered as a suggestion for its facade design contest.

Plans for the building’s exterior have left the outer wall a blank canvas for Tipton County residents to suggest ideas.

Other suggestions the library offers are the library itself and the history of Windfall.

“We want something that says, ‘Hey, look at that building. This is our building,’” Joines said.

Entrants have until Dec. 1 to submit their drawings. Submittals must be on an 11-inch by 17-inch sheet mounted on a foam board and a description of the design’s meaning. Entrees also need to include an envelope taped to the back of the board with their name and a signed and dated form waiving property rights for the drawing.

Complete packets of contest information are available at the main branch of the library in Tipton.

The renovation itself should begin some time in November, Joines said. The library board will award a contract to one of its bidders at its Oct. 12 meeting.

The construction should last four to six months.

“We’re hoping the snow doesn’t start to fly before we can get everything into storage,” Hurst said.

Staff at the Windfall branch, which has four part-time employees, said they were looking forward to the renovation even though that meant they had to move to the Tipton branch while it goes on.

Branch employees Kristal Tucker and Melanie Yundt both said they were most looking forward to having space for children’s programs.

“I think it’s very exciting,” Yundt said. “We will just be able to better serve the public with our facility.”

• Daniel Human is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He can be reached at (765) 454-8570 or at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.