Sidewalk slope causing headache for Cook Memorial board
The slope of a sidewalk at the recently renovated Cook Park Library in downtown Libertyville is causing a bit of friction between library leaders and the village’s building department.
Some measurements have shown a roughly 30-foot-long stretch of sidewalk on the south side of the building is slightly steeper than local building code allows, construction consultant Jim Johnson told the Cook Memorial Public Library District board Tuesday night. But other examinations have shown the sidewalk meets safety requirements, Johnson said.
The village’s building department wants the library board to tear out the sidewalk and lessen the slope, Johnson said. That could cost about $6,000, library board President Bonnie Quirke said.
But the library board members expressed reluctance to take on that financial burden Tuesday, especially because the village is set to pay for the removal of other parts of the sidewalk because of changes Libertyville officials want made to the parking lot there.
The building was expanded and renovated last year, and the work substantially concluded this past winter. The sidewalk work was part of that project.
After a frustration-tinged discussion between Johnson, architect Mike Padanc and the board members, the panel directed the consultants to meet with representatives of the building department about the code-related concerns.
Trustee Ann Oakley also suggested the building department workers come to a future board meeting to talk about the issue, but Johnson and Padanc wanted to meet with them first.