A meeting of minds on library expansion
It's time for Round Two in the effort to expand Cook Memorial Public Library in Libertyville.
Maybe we shouldn't be using prizefight metaphors here.
But then again, the ultimatums and threats that have marked this project do rise a little bit above the usual bureaucratic arm wrestling.
The library, in need of more space, came up with a plan more than a year ago to make the Libertyville library one-third larger, while also building a new branch in Vernon Hills to replace a well-used one-room library in the village hall basement. The $14 million price tag would be split between the two, with no tax increase referendum planned.
While the Vernon Hills plan has gone smoothly, Libertyville and the library board butted heads.
They disagreed on the number of stories, with the library designing a two-story addition and the village board favoring a single story. They disagreed about design, with the library putting forward a cantilevered addition that preserved parking spaces while the village board criticized the "stilts" and Mayor Jeffrey Harger asked for a "Libertyville-type" facade.
Rebuffed, Library Director Dan Armstrong briefly threatened to throw most of the funds into the Vernon Hills site, leaving the 1970s-era Cook building with only an interior facelift. He backed down from that idea, but library officials continued pursuing the two-story plans in the face of strong disapproval by Harger and other village board members.
Recently, the library board threw in the towel.
They'll draw up new designs to suit the village, saying Harger and other village officials made it clear the second-story expansion would never get their approval.
New plans are in the works, with a review scheduled Aug. 5 during a meeting of the library board.
During this process, it's crucial that Harger and the village board make crystal clear what they require of the expansion. If no concrete guidelines are offered, it's up to the library board to seek them out. For the sake of library patrons and taxpayers, the village and library boards must avoid another false start that costs time and money.
We urge village officials to be a little more generous in meeting the library board halfway. A respectful process of compromise on this project is crucial for ending the sort of cantankerous bickering that has long plagued these two groups.
After all, there's a lot to gain. A downtown library is an asset for Libertyville, and a rarity in the suburbs. A chance for a major expansion without a tax-increase referendum is even more rare and a boon for residents. A solid, cooperative village-library relationship forged during this building project - now, that really would be going the distance.