If you drive through Rippey, you’ll notice the shelter house construction project on the public library’s front lawn. The Rippey Public Library Board of Trustees began discussing and planning the construction of a shelter house in the fall of 2025.
Through generous memorial donations to the Rippey Public Library and with the Gillett Trust fund, this project has become a reality. The Gillett Trust fund was made available to the library in the 1980’s after Jerry Gillett, of Rippey, left his estate to various non profit organizations in Grand Junction and Rippey. Ultimately, the funding for the library shelter house was made possible by generous community donors.
The project also could not have been completed without hard-working volunteers. All construction work to date has been completed by local volunteers. The library would like to extend a special thank you to Mark Devilbiss for helping coordinate the build. Rippey Public Library hopes that this shelter house can be an asset to community functions and gatherings for years to come.
The shelter house will continue to be worked on by volunteers and, when finished, will include a covered roof and an outlet. The next phase of the project will focus on future site improvements.
Attached are pictures of community volunteers during the initial build day in July.
