Lewis County commissioners on Aug. 5 recognized dozens of volunteers who developed and opened the WSU Lewis County Master Recycler Composter "Tool Bucket Library" in Centralia.

The program, presented to the Board of County Commissioners during the meeting, grew from a series of repair fairs and a public-participation grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology, volunteers said. Melanie Case, sustainability coordinator with the Lewis County Department of Public Works, said the group received the competitive grant two years ago and established the library because “there was no tool library in Southwest Washington.”

The nut graf: The tool library is a volunteer-run lending operation that aims to reduce waste and make home-repair tools available to people who cannot or prefer not to own them. Volunteers described it as a community resource that supports reuse and repair through a lending catalog, repair fairs and a demonstration site at Floral Park.

Volunteer leader Lynn Ford, who introduced the project and who has served as a Master Recycler Composter since 2013, described the program’s scope: “We actually have over 900 tools that are in our current system,” she said, and added volunteers were still cataloguing more items. Ford outlined membership levels and fees, noting the library does not turn away people who cannot pay: community sponsorship is $150 per year, general public $45, and a reduced tier $25 for seniors, veterans, students and low-income members; a pay-what-you-can option is available.

Case said the project began with repair fairs in 2023 and that Department of Ecology staff encouraged the volunteers to apply for the public-participation grant. “One of the reasons why we got the grant is because there are no tool libraries,” she said. The library is housed at 104 East Floral Street in Centralia, in storage containers and sheds provided by the Lewis County Solid Waste Utility; volunteers said the site is adjacent to the group’s Floral Park demonstration area.

Volunteers described the library’s rules and limits: checkouts are processed online, members may borrow up to five tools per week with typical checkout periods of one week, and consumables (gas, saw blades, drill bits, line) are not provided. Ford said liability insurance is the program’s largest expense and that the insurance underwriters characterize tool libraries as a high-risk operation; the policy also reportedly disallows lending sports equipment. The library accepts most electric and some gas-powered tools but said it will not accept a battery-powered tool without the corresponding battery and charger because replacing those parts can cost more than the tool itself.

Volunteers said the library operates Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m., will host an open house Aug. 22 and runs repair fairs in Centralia (Sept. 27) and Morton (annually). The group said it hopes to find a single 2,000-square-foot workshop site to consolidate storage and makerspace equipment; currently larger tools are stored in volunteers’ garages and containers.

The commissioners presented plaques recognizing volunteers and organizers. The presentation included a roster of volunteers who were named during the meeting and thanked for their work.

Ending: Commissioners encouraged residents to attend the open house and the upcoming repair fair; volunteers said they will sign up members at the Centralia event.