Elgin moving forward with Hemmens analysis

The city of Elgin is going to put out a call for architectural firms and firms that can provide an economic analysis of building an addition to the Hemmens Cultural Center.

The "request for quotation" will seek to narrow down the field of firms the city might want to work with, City Manager Sean Stegall said at a special city council committee of the whole meeting Saturday. The architectural proposals and economic analysis need to be done by separate firms to avoid conflicts of interest, he added.

Council members approved the move after hearing a presentation from a task force that recommends building an addition with a performance space that could hold up to 450 spectators, a box office connected to the outside of the building and administrative offices on the first floor.

The Hemmens has offices in the basement and a box office accessible from the inside only.

The Hemmens is "important to the community," Councilman Terry Gavin said.

"The option of doing nothing is not on the table. We have to do something," Gavin said. "The question is, 'To what degree and what is it going to cost?'"

The goal is to extend the functional life of the 1969-era building by 20 or 25 years while creating "a more appealing, more functional space," task force chairwoman Clare Ollayos said.

Councilman John Prigge called the proposed addition "a grandiose enhancement." He contended that a large number of task force members, which include the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, had a "vested interest in seeing this facility stay or grow."

Ideally, the city would partner with local individuals and corporations to share the financial burden, Ollayos said.

Having space for additional programming will increase the Hemmens' bottom line, Councilwoman Tish Powell said.

The Hemmens also needs modernizing with such features as high-definition projection, said Hemmens Director Butch Wilhelmi, also a member of the task force.

"It really would allows us to be viable and competitive with other venues," such as the Raue Center for the Arts in Crystal Lake, he said.

While weekends are booked at the Hemmens, it's impossible to conduct concurrent performances upstairs and downstairs because of the lack of adequate restrooms and soundproofing, Wilhelmi said.

Building the addition would solve that problem, he said, adding "the structure of the building itself is very sound."

What's not sound is the condition of the outside walkways, including pavers in disrepair at Civic Plaza, resident Jeanne Sigman said.

Sigman, who said she fell there in March, called it "a health and safety" issue.

Any outside repairs, which the city plans to address, need to be timed with possible construction at the Hemmens, lest the new work get damaged by heavy equipment, Mayor David Kaptain said.

The arts prompts people to spend money locally, Ollayos said, quoting Illinois Arts Alliance data showing that the average family spends $24.60 locally, in addition to the cost of tickets, when attending arts events.

The arts are about quality of life, task force member Chris Johnson said.

"People don't move to your community because the lights are timed on Randall Road," he said. "People move to your community because they see quality of life - and I believe arts and entertainment contributes to that."