Lombard library on theater site? For now, no

When it comes to the Lombard's public library and the site of the former DuPage Theatre, library trustees have heard everything from tall tales to Veggie Tales.

But perhaps the most recurring frustration is the notion that Helen M. Plum Library trustees have no interest in moving downtown.

In fact, library board President Wayne Kankovsky said the issue isn't a lack of interest.

It's just that the village hasn't asked the library if it's still open to moving now that the DuPage Theatre building is gone.

Community fervor for building a bigger, better library on the old theater site resurfaced when the library board announced plans to seek private donations to fund a remodeling effort, but not a relocation.

"Right now, we have one option and that's right where we are," Kankovsky said. "Everything else has been speculation."

Back when the theater building still stood, the village asked the library if it could revamp the structure.

The library board hired an architect to investigate the potential. The investigation showed the old theater lacked the square footage, ceiling heights and adaptive potential to become a library. So the library told the village it wasn't interested.

Kankovsky said that only meant the library couldn't use the building. It never meant the library had decided it couldn't use the site. That potential still is undetermined.

"Who knows what could happen in the future," Kankovsky said. "But it's not our property. It's the village's property and it's their decision on how they want to proceed. We're not here to tell the village what to do."

Lombard Village Manager William Lichter said one of the reasons the village hasn't approached the library since the theater was demolished is because the village hasn't decided what it wants to have on the site.

"There's been absolutely no discussion at this point," Lichter said. "I'm sure there's people who think that would be a good site for a library. I'm sure there's other people who think it would be a good site for something else."

Lichter wouldn't say what he thinks the site would be good for.

"It's up to the trustees to decide," he said.

Village boards tend to prefer downtown developments that generate tax dollars. But Kankovsky had a different perspective.

"We're not a tax generator where we are now either," he said. "And how many taxes have been generated in the last 10 years from that theater spot?"