Kenai cyclists will be able to fill up their tires and make other minor bike repairs at the Kenai Community Library come summer following unanimous approval by the Kenai City Council last week. Council members voted during the body’s March 2 meeting to use $3,500 to put a new bike repair station at the library, which will become the third repair station in the area.

Of the $3,500 to be used for the project, $1,500 came from a donation from the Friends of the Kenai Community Library and two $1,000 grants came from the Derek Kaufman Fund, according to a Feb. 8 memo from Kenai Library Director Katja Wolfe to council members.

Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander told council members during the March 2 meeting that the Derek Kaufman Fund was started by a Hilcorp Alaska LLC with funds managed by the Alaska Community Foundation. The funds were provided to the library unsolicited to be used for general library support.

Wolfe said in the memo that the repair station will be installed on library property this summer and will include an air pump and tools to fix, maintain and adjust bikes. Additionally, the repair station will include hangar arms to hold bicycles above the ground, according to the legislation.

The ordinance approved by the city council cites the library’s proximity to local cycling routes and says that libraries are becoming popular locations for repair stations.

“The Kenai Community Library is located at a great mid-point for cyclists who utilize local bicycle routes and patrons who use their bicycles to get to and from the Library,” the ordinance says.

The Kenai City Council’s March 2 meeting can be viewed on the City of Kenai’s YouTube channel.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.