Cook library board goes after new architect

Cook Memorial Public Library District officials are pursuing a new architect for their $12 million expansion plan.

The board decided this week to end negotiations with Engberg Anderson Design Partnership, a Milwaukee firm it's worked with previously, because the fee the agency wanted was too costly.

"We weren't able to agree on a fee structure that worked within our limited budget," board President Aaron Lawlor said.

Engberg Anderson had requested a percentage of the total cost of the project, a fee that could've been close to $1 million, Lawlor said.

The board voted unanimously Tuesday to end negotiations with Engberg Anderson, Lawlor said. It then cast a second, unanimous vote to begin talks with Gilfillan Callahan Architects, a Rolling Meadows firm that specializes in designing public buildings in the Chicago area.

The board hopes to vote on a contract with Gilfillan Callahan at its next meeting, set for Tuesday.

Officials want to open a new library in Vernon Hills and expand the main library in Libertyville.

The panel is considering two plans.

One is for the main library to be expanded by about 10,000 square feet, and the construction of a new 20,000-square-foot library on land on Aspen Drive south of Route 60. That property is owned by the village of Vernon Hills.

The other option includes the same expansion at the main library, but would put a new Vernon Hills library in a vacant retail space on the 700 block of Deerpath Drive.

The board intends to borrow the money and use annual budget surpluses to pay it back.