Winfield Library going back to voters in February

Winfield Public Library officials say one key factor hasn't changed since last year when voters rejected a request to borrow $1.8 million to improve handicapped accessibility and alleviate crowding at the library:

The facility at 0S291 Winfield Road still doesn't meet Americans With Disability Act requirements.

"It isn't fair to have a library that isn't accessible by everyone," library Trustee Ida Lee said.

So instead of modifying the request, library officials are asking voters to reconsider.

This time, officials are hoping word-of-mouth about the need for improvements to the building makes the difference at the polls on Feb. 2.

Library board President Carol O'Connor said a large group of volunteers has been spreading the message that the main goal is to make the building accessible.

"There's just a lot of people who weren't aware of what the library was trying to do," O'Connor said. "When you tell people what it is, they are like, 'Oh, I am in favor of that.'"

The library, which opened in 1981, doesn't have an elevator. The restroom facilities also are difficult for people with disabilities to use.

Even the long outside ramp to the main level doesn't meet current standards because the slope is too steep, officials say.

"When they built the library, they just weren't thinking in terms of fair access for everyone," O'Connor said.

If voters approve the tax request, the owner of a $300,000 home would pay about $38 more per year to the library.

Officials said the 20-year bond issue would be set up so the amount homeowners pay the first year won't change in subsequent years - even if the value of their homes increase.

The construction plan calls for the creation of a new entrance on the building's lower level. The renovated space would have an elevator, staircase and handicapped-accessible bathrooms.

Some of the library's space needs also would be addressed.

The $1.8 million loan would pay for a roughly 1,300-square-foot addition on the north side of the library. It would help alleviate the overcrowded conditions of the existing building, officials said.

The total project would take about a year to complete.

For more information about the proposal, visit the library's Web site at winfield.lib.il.us/winfield/.