After referendum defeat, Roselle library board reviews its options
Roselle Public Library officials are looking to regroup after voters rejected a property tax increase to pay for a new building, though only by the narrowest of margins.
The library board asked to borrow $22 million to replace the 41-year-old library with a two-story, glass-clad building designed to help anchor a revitalized Main Street area. The margin of defeat was just 22 votes out of nearly 3,000 ballots cast in DuPage and Cook counties.
The final tally was 1,476 votes opposed and 1,454 votes in support, leaving library trustees to weigh their options. The DuPage County clerk's office sent certified results to the Illinois State Board of Elections on Tuesday.
"We were really pleased by the turnout numbers for this off-election, but disappointed to lose by such a small margin," library Executive Director Samantha Johnson said.
Out of suburban Cook and the five collar counties, DuPage saw the highest countywide voter turnout at 20.33%, election authorities said Tuesday. All told, 124,033 of DuPage County's 610,092 registered voters cast ballots in local elections on April 4.
Roselle library leaders have not yet decided whether they would go back to voters with a different plan. The next election is on March 19, 2024.
The library board and village officials have been working closely on plans for a re-imagined municipal campus. Library trustees had hoped to build an eye-catching, 32,250-square-foot facility facing a village square that would connect Prospect and Park streets with a series of gardens.
Had voters approved the request, the owner of a $267,000 home - the median value in the library district - would have paid approximately $180 more in annual property taxes to cover the cost.
"I wonder if it was the design that cost us in the end," Johnson said. "I don't know. I think based on what we heard, we heard more complaints, and we saw them on Facebook, and we heard them in our community sessions, people just questioning, 'How could you put something with so much glass up in this part of town? How much is that going to cost?'"
The library would have been able to add a second-floor teen department. Currently, teens have no library space to call their own. But some said the proposed building looked "too modern" or "too different" compared to municipal buildings with red brick exteriors.
"In the initial design, we took a lot of inspiration from the church next door to us, because we just think it's such a beautiful piece of architecture and it really is one of the oldest buildings in town," Johnson said.
The current library dates to 1982 and needs a new roof as well as extensive repairs, officials said. The last significant remodel was done in the 1990s.
"Although the voters did not approve the referendum, our goal is to continue providing a space where families, teens and adults can visit to meet friends, access hundreds of thousands of literary masterpieces, read hundreds of newspapers and journals for free, and host meetings within the limitations of our current facility," library board President Katie Smith said in a statement.
To address only the major repairs and build a small addition would cost the library district upward of $10 million, officials have said.
"I think we have to take that feedback about the glass design, especially, make some changes, see if that doesn't maybe reduce the price if it's at all possible," Johnson said. "I think the board needs to take the fact that a) we just didn't have the votes, but b) we did have a lot of votes in favor and balance that and if they do decide to try again in the near future, make changes according to what they heard from the voters in the community."