This is the second in a series of Sun Day reports on the Huntley Area Library District’s proposed expansion program.
After months of planning and community and board meetings at the Huntley Area Public Library District, it is now official – the Library District is going out to the voters this spring to fund an expansion project.
The latest issue of the monthly library newsletter contained a major four-page section that included the following language:
On the April 2 state election ballot, the following question will be asked: “Shall bonds of the Huntley Area Public Library District, Kane and McHenry Counties, Illinois, in the amount of $12,900,000, be issued for the purpose of remodeling the existing library building and building an addition thereto, and furnishing necessary equipment and acquiring library materials and electronic data storage and retrieval facilities in connection therewith?”
Similar proposals for a tax increase to support expansion in 2005 and 2008 were defeated. This is the first time the district is proposing the issuance of bonds.
The current proposal includes construction of new space on the east and north sides of the present building, and remodeling of current spaces. The trailers attached to the east side of the main building will be removed because they have reached the end of their useful lives, officials say. They will be replaced by enlarged adult fiction and non-fiction areas, a new children’s library, and programming rooms.
This time, the library district has launched an expanded effort to communicate its needs and the reasons for a bond issue. For several months before this official announcement, district officials have created and held meetings with focus groups in various parts of the district, invited residents to attend monthly board meetings, and published extensive information in a monthly newsletter about their stated needs.
In the next few weeks, four community meetings will be held at the library building at 11000 Ruth Road, near the intersection with Main Street, across from the Huntley village hall.
The first one will take place at 10 a.m. on Monday, February 11. Succeeding ones will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 28; at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5; and at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 22.
These meetings will include a short presentation by Frank Novak, library director, a question-answer session, and tours of all areas of the current building.
A focus group has been formed in Sun City, along with others in other areas of the community. When this action was discussed at a Sun City community board of directors meeting last spring, it was informally suggested that a focus group of residents opposed to the referendum might be started.
In addition, the library is offering to send representatives to “coffee or tea” meetings in area homes, where residents can invite friends and neighbors to learn more about the library’s building program. To arrange a date, residents are asked to contact Leigh Ann Porsch at 847-669-5386, ext. 235, or email laporsch@huntleylibrary.org.
One fact that library officials say they are frequently asked is: Is the library part of the Village of Huntley, and does it get money from the village or any other taxing body?
The answer is, the library is a separate independent taxing body and is not part of the village. Huntley’s village population is about 28,000, and the Library District serves a population of about 40,000 in all of Huntley, parts of Lake in the Hills, Algonquin, Hampshire, and parts of rural Kane and McHenry counties.
According to a recent mail survey of residents, 1,600 responses were received. Results were published in a recent issue of the newsletter. A total of 36% of the respondents gave the library an overall grade of A, 35% gave it a B, 19% gave it a C, and 10% gave it a lower grade or said they didn’t know.
In another question, 39% said they were very confident in the district’s handling of money wisely, 29% said they were somewhat confident, 6% said not very confident, 5% said not confident at all, and 18% said they didn’t know or were unsure. Asked how often they visited the library, 25% said weekly, 29% said monthly, 30% said less than once a month, and 1% said they visited daily. Respondents said they placed highest priority on a children’s library with larger capacity, fiction and non-fiction areas, and technology space and digital creation area.
The estimated annual tax impact of the proposed bond sale, on a $231,000 home (the median home value in the library district) would be $57.32, according to library officials.
Succeeding Sun Day reports will provide additional details about the library’s expansion plans, along with a projected floor plan of a new library facility.
