Carol Stream library director tries to find use for land

When the Carol Stream Public Library purchased a 7.5-acre property in 2002, officials intended to use it to build a new library. But voters rejected those plans in three separate referendums.

So the question facing library officials is: what to do with the land now?

On Wednesday, library board members voted 6-0 to allow Library Director Ann Kennedy to begin discussions with the park district about possible uses for the property, located at 480 N. Kuhn Road.

Those discussions could lead to an intergovernmental agreement between the library and park district.

It’s not clear exactly what the land could be used for, but some ideas floated include public garden space or a soccer practice field.

The property includes a house once owned by longtime Carol Stream residents Richard and Betty Lou Kammes.

The house was built in the late 1800s, and had multiple additions throughout the years.

Midwest Environmental Services inspected the house for toxic substances two weeks ago and did detect something in the linoleum floor in the basement, Kennedy said. An official report is expected in about a month.

The same firm completed an inspection of the entire property after the library purchased the land, and found contamination near a bus barn where gasoline tanks had been buried.

But the Environmental Protection Agency issued a “no further remediation” letter, which indicated “there may be something there, but it doesn’t meet the standards of having to be tested,” Board President Robert Douglas said.