Naperville City Manager Peter Burchard stood before a nervous Library Board Wednesday night, telling members what this week’s City Council decision to cap spending on a third library at $15.8 million might mean for the proposed 73,000-square-foot facility on the city’s southwest side.
“It’s a good indication of their commitment to this project,” Burchard said. “They are serious about the $15.8 million.”
But board members were worried that the cap might leave them short for their ambitious plan. Concerns ranged from how the Library Board might be reimbursed for nearly $500,000 in development costs associated with a year’s worth of delays, to what cuts and compromises may be required if the library doesn’t receive the $18 million city officials promised earlier this year.
Library Board President Bruce Knopp expressed the greatest concern, that $15.8 million might not be enough, he said. The new budget doesn’t fit the original plans or the programming needs and services that south side residents require.
“We are very committed to building a 73,000-square-foot facility, and we will be going back to Council to get what we’ve needed from day one,” said Knopp.
Burchard suggested that the fastest route to a “great groundbreaking” would be to work with the allotted amount, which, after the land purchase is figured in, amounts to $17.1 million.
Library officials had hoped that the city’s third library could be open by as early as next year, but a series of delays and changes in plans have pushed back a possible opening until perhaps as late as 2003, officials said.
The City Council arrived at the $15.8 million figure after considering numbers as low as $14 million. That, Library Board members argued, indicated Councilmen may not yet have a clear understanding of the project.
Thinking that the City Council was planning to table library discussion during its Tuesday meeting, no Library Board members were present when the cap was announced.
“It shows we have a council that still doesn’t have a clear consensus of what we’re trying to do,” said Knopp.
The city has taken some of the frustration out of the planning process over the last few weeks by taking a more active role in the purchase of the land on 95th Street near Neuqua Valley High School from the Park District.
According to Burchard, the city officials are reviewing the idea of using some space in the new branch library to provide more accessible city services to the fast-growing southern portions of the city.
