Roof holiday lighting could expand in downtown Libertyville
The holiday season would be brighter in downtown Libertyville with the proposed expansion of a roofline lighting program.
MainStreet Libertyville, a downtown preservation and promotional group, wants to extend the reach of the white LED bulbs to areas off Milwaukee Avenue. The proposal calls for lights on the rooflines of buildings along Cook Avenue and Church Street to the east and west, as well as the pass-throughs between buildings from parking areas in the rear.
Village officials last November approved the initial plan for buildings along Milwaukee Avenue from Broadway Avenue north to the railroad tracks. MainStreet was allowed to use eight village-owned decorative light poles, with the village picking up what was estimated as a nominal cost for electricity.
"Everybody really enjoys the lights," said Jeff Lovinger, chairman of the MainStreet board.
The organization makes the roofline lights available to building owners at no cost and has a contract with Holiday Cheer Decorations of Grayslake to install and maintain them. About 95 percent of property owners participated, Lovinger added. "The first one was about a $24,000 investment. This one is about a $12,000 investment," he said.
The original approval was for 60 days during the year and was timed with various annual events, such as the Libertyville Days festival or Libertyville High School homecoming and the holidays.
Pending approval, the expanded program would be put in place as soon as possible.
"We're trying to get it so they'll all be turned on through the holiday season," Lovinger said.
Village trustees are expected to vote on the request at their meeting Tuesday. The organization has approved $2,500 to cover any increase in village electricity costs to operate the lights every night from the time they are installed until Jan. 3.
After that, MainStreet and the village will evaluate the cost of operating the lights on a nightly basis throughout the year.
"Lots of people love them and it's added so much to the downtown," said Pam Hume, executive director of MainStreet. "Leaving them up and on all year just makes it inviting."
Lovinger said the program is an example of the more than 25-year-old group reinvesting its fundraising proceeds in the downtown. Other projects in the works include a MainStreet phone application and a matching funding program for businesses to install overhanging signs perpendicular to buildings.