Barrington library sets referendum open house

When voters head to the polls Nov. 4, Barrington Area Library District officials want to make sure they know everything there is to know about the library's expansion referendum.

To do that, the library has planned two open houses on the $34.3 million, 53,000-square-foot expansion request.

"There is nothing we want to surprise the voters with," said library Executive Director Detlev Pansch.

The open houses are 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 1, and Thursday, Oct. 9, at the library, 505 N. Northwest Hwy.

The library board voted last month to seek ballot approval for the addition, and for the tax increase to fund it.

The expansion would allow the library to offer more books, CDs, DVDs and services. If approved, it would include a children's pavilion, meeting rooms, quiet adult areas, outdoor programing space, a 24-hour service window, cafe and two-story parking deck.

Pansch said the plans resulted from a three-year study of library use, patron expectations and satisfaction, population projections and building needs.

The owner of a home worth $500,000 would pay about $85 to $90 more in library taxes if the referendum is OK'd. After the first year of the increase, officials said the rate would decrease gradually over 20 years while bonds are paid off.

The plan also includes environmentally friendly features like green roofs, rain gardens and "geo-exchange" wells to heat and cool the library.

In 2004, library district voters rejected a property tax increase for a $28 million, 43,000-square-feet expansion.

The library serves all or part of Algonquin, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Deer Park, Fox River Grove, Hoffman Estates, Kildeer, Lake Barrington, Lake Zurich, North Barrington, Palatine, Port Barrington, South Barrington and Tower Lakes.