Residents weigh in on Fox River Valley library projects

Plans for building a new library and renovating an existing one were met with opposition from several Fox River Valley Public Library District residents, who argued the more than $40 million price tag for the proposed projects is too high.

The anticipated costs include $9.5 million to renovate the Dundee Library in East Dundee, $1.7 million to acquire land for the site of a new West Dundee library, and roughly $30 million to build that 75,000-square-foot facility, Director Roxane Bennett said.

During a public hearing about the land purchase Tuesday, some residents said they saw value in the redevelopment projects, which library officials said would offer more space, resources and educational opportunities for their patrons.

“I think it would enhance our community, I think in the long-run, it'd improve our property values, and I think it'd provide our community with some much needed services,” East Dundee resident Mary Lynne Doherty said.

But West Dundee resident Julie Fox, a former library board member, said the district is asking for too much from its taxpayers.

“We'd all love to have more things, but we're all strapped. We are taxing our residents and our businesses out of this state,” she said. “We can't afford it.”

The library board will decide by August whether to place a question on the November ballot that would raise property taxes to support construction and maintenance costs. If approved, the district's tax rate would likely increase by 36 cents per $100 of taxable value, generating about $5.5 million in additional revenue each year, Bennett said earlier.

Several residents, including Billita Jacobsen of Carpentersville, said they support enhancing the library and its services, but they can't afford the recommended tax hike.

“I hope you will go to the taxpayers with the question and leave it up to them, but I have to say 'no,'” Jacobsen said. “It's just too much money.”

Earlier this year, the library board authorized the purchase of the 11-acre West Dundee property along Randall Road — a site some speakers suggested was too large for its intent. Board President Margaret Skold said the board won't make a final decision on the purchase until after the election, and the library district can't close on the land until at least January.

“We really do want to make the best possible decision we can for all the residents of our district,” she said.

Fox suggested the board work on a cheaper plan for improving the library facilities and services.

“You represent the people,” she said. “If the people are overwhelmingly opposed, then you need to go back and come up with a different plan — something our residents can afford.”