Mayor details work needed at Libertyville library before it can open to the public
Questions about the anticipated reopening of Libertyville's historic library have prompted reaction from the town's mayor.
Cook Memorial Public Library District officials, including board President Bonnie Quirke, have expressed concern about whether the library will be granted a village occupancy permit in time for a planned Jan. 8 opening.
In response, Mayor Terry Weppler on Tuesday released a list of five safety-related projects remaining at the site, which is in Cook Park off Milwaukee Avenue.
Once the work is done, the village will give the library permission to open, Weppler insisted.
The items to be completed are:
Ÿ The installation of fire-rated doors at a handicapped exit area.
Ÿ The creation of a handicapped-accessible emergency exit in the northwest corner of the parking lot.
Ÿ The installation of curved handrails at an emergency exit door.
Ÿ The addition of a fire-sprinkler head in a loading dock.
Ÿ The installation of fences or barricades at any unsafe walkways.
Weppler believes construction crews “shouldn't have any trouble” finishing the work before Jan. 8. An inspection is needed but shouldn't delay the process, he said.
“I would think that they could get them all done quickly,” Weppler said in an e-mail. “Our staff is willing to work with the contractor to get this done so that they can open on time.”
The items are being addressed as requested, Cook Memorial Director Stephen Kershner said Tuesday. Some of the work, such as the sprinkler installation, already is done.
“They're all very doable things,” he said.
Kershner is optimistic the library will open as planned. Staffers have been working to get the building ready by stocking shelves and installing equipment, he said.
The Cook Park library has been closed for more than a year as crews renovated and expanded the facility. A temporary library was open elsewhere in Libertyville during that time.
The work is part of a $14 million construction project that also saw a new Cook Memorial library built in Vernon Hills.
An invitation-only tour of the Libertyville facility is scheduled for Jan. 7.