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Residents can weigh in on new Fox River Valley library

Fox River Valley Public Library District residents have until Monday to provide feedback about the possibility of a new library on the west side of the river.

In the third phase of the district's "Designing Our Future" initiative, officials are asking library users in an online survey to prioritize services that could be included in the plans for a new facility, including study and meeting rooms, children's areas, teen zones, technology, a cafe, a drive-through service and quiet reading areas.

The survey, which covers the same concepts discussed at public forums last month, also asks residents to choose which of three designs would be most suitable for a new 75,000-square-foot building.

"Community input and respect for the taxpayer is driving this process," said Cris Cigler, the district's manager of public relations and outreach. "This online survey is an easy way for us to gather input from residents who couldn't make it to one of our public meetings."

The district's two existing libraries include the Dundee Library, a 25,000-square-foot facility in East Dundee, and the Randall Oaks Branch Library, which rents 5,000 square feet of space at a Dundee Township Park District recreation center in West Dundee.

Director Roxane Bennett said officials hope to build a new library on the district's west side and move out of the recreation center. Administrative offices would be moved to the new facility, and the Dundee Library would undergo a renovation.

Those improvements, however, may come at a cost to taxpayers. After cost estimates are available this spring, she said, the library board will consider expenses and resident feedback before deciding whether to place a referendum question on the fall 2016 ballot seeking voters permission to increase property taxes.

District officials have been seeking input from residents since last fall about ways to improve services for its more than 70,000 residents in East Dundee, West Dundee, Carpentersville, Gilberts, Sleepy Hollow and parts of Algonquin.

"We hope we've been listening well enough to what (residents) want," Bennett said.

This is the second of three design options for a potential new Fox River Valley Public Library District facility on the west side of the river. Courtesy of the Fox River Valley Public Library District
This is the third design option for a potential new Fox River Valley Public Library District facility on the west side of the river. Courtesy of the Fox River Valley Public Library District
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