Some Fox River Grove library trustees skeptical of Cary merger

Trustees of the Fox River Grove Memorial Library say there are great differences of opinion on the board regarding the idea of a merger with the Cary Area Public Library.

All seven trustees agreed at their board meeting on Tuesday that they didn’t want anything to move too fast, Trustee Amy Dawson said. “There might be a lot of benefits but there’s also a lot of worry. We don’t want to be impetuous,” she said.

The two library boards met twice since early April to discuss the possible merger, which would have to be approved via referendum questions by voters in both towns.

During joint discussions, trustees from the Cary library seemed open to the idea, many of them pointing to potential benefits like expanding catalogs and programming for all patrons. A few trustees from the Fox River Grove library, on the other hand, seemed skeptical.

The first step of a possible merger would be to hire a consultant to do a feasibility study. Earlier this month, Cary Library Director Diane McNulty presented two consultants’ proposals — at price tags of $15,000 and $17,900 — to both library boards.

Some in Fox River Grove don’t even want to go through with that first step, board secretary Lyn Kendeigh said. “We haven’t taken a vote yet, but if we did it would probably be 5-2 or 4-3,” she said.

Kendeigh said she’s on the fence about it. Although merging units of government can save money, she likes the library as it is now, she said. “I like the independence and autonomy of our library, I like the small-town feel. I like the fact that children can come in and feel so much at home,” she said. “I would also hate to waste money if nothing comes of it.”

If the board votes to move forward with a feasibility study, its results could prove useful even in the future, Dawson said.

Trustee Lori Baker was one of the most vocal skeptics of the merger idea at the meeting in early May. When reached via phone on Friday, Baker said she couldn’t discuss the issue at work.