Rotary, library joining together to build pavilion
SAXONBURG — The Saxonburg Rotary Club and the South Butler Community Library are joining forces and funds for the construction of an outdoor pavilion at the library.
Library director Michelle Lesniak said the pavilion will be in the library’s backyard at 240 W. Main St. and be surrounded by green space maintained by Penn State Extension Master Gardeners.
It will be a place where children’s programs can be conducted year-round and where community members and organizations will be able to schedule use of the pavilion. It also will serve as a meeting place for Main Street shoppers to relax and meet with other community members.
Phillip Wain of the Saxonburg Rotary Club is in charge of the undertaking for the club and said the pavilion was chosen as the club’s major project for 2022.
“This is the one big project that we want to contribute to because of how it will affect the community,” Wain said. “It could be the center of the community. It can be a place for people to meet.”
Wain and Lesniak said construction is expected to cost $55,000. After construction is complete, the library will purchase tables, chairs, side awnings, display cases and other equipment for outdoor learning activities estimated to cost an additional $10,000.
The pavilion, similar in shape to a picnic shelter with a roof and open sides, will have a storage area to hold tables and chairs and other outdoor program materials. The outside walls can be used to create both educational displays and interactive activities. Side awnings are planned so the pavilion can be used in inclement weather and temperatures.
Lesniak said, “We plan to have solar panels on top as a demonstration project.” She added the structure is planned to also have electricity.
JD Miller Construction of Cabot has been contracted to do the work. Construction is expected to begin next month and be completed in October.
The Rotary Club will donate $35,000. The library will donate $10,000.
Right now, Lesniak said, the library is fundraising for $10,000 to $20,000 to complete the funding of the construction and $10,000 for the fixtures necessary to equip the pavilion to be an outdoor learning area and community gathering space.
Wain said the Rotary Club still is raising money through running a food stand during events such as Saxonburg’s monthly Mingle on Main and its upcoming Octoberfest.
“We sell hot sausage, hot dogs. The Octoberfest is a huge fundraiser,” Wain said.
In addition, Penn State Extension Master Gardner Kathy Allen announced that Armstrong Farms would make a $10,000 donation to the project.
It was Allen, who with fellow Master Gardener Bonnie Miller has maintained a pollinator and bird garden in the library’s backyard, who connected Lesniak with the Saxonburg Rotarians to work together on the project.
“The Master Gardeners were working in the gardens when they thought we should have something outdoors,” said Lesniak. “I said I wanted a gazebo.” But the idea of an outdoor learning/meeting space gradually took shape.
“Kathy planted a seed. As Master Gardener, she talked to the Rotary. I’m glad so many people are coming together to make this work,” said Lesniak.
Allen said after the pavilion is built the Master Gardeners intend to add two shade gardens and do landscaping around the structure.
“We’ll have four gardens to maintain but I’ll keep doing it as long as my bones don’t break,” said Allen, who is also one of the founders of the South Butler Community Library.
