Board Considers Moving Out During Cook Park Expansion

The Library Board, concerned with the safety of patrons, frequent disruptions of library service, and the level of noise during construction, has asked staff members to investigate relocating during construction of the Cook Park Library. If the library can find an affordable space in Libertyville, "we will be able to offer a safe and enjoyable library environment, while cutting construction costs and time by as much as six months."

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Property Title Transferred!

The property title for the Aspen Drive site was officially transferred from the Village of Vernon Hills to the Cook Memorial Public Library District.

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Board Action Moves Both Projects Forward

Construction Starting Soon At Aspen Drive Library
Last night, the Cook Memorial Public Library District Board unanimously approved awarding the Aspen Drive Library construction contract to EVS Construction of Aurora.

“EVS was the lowest responsible bidder for the job,” said Aaron Lawlor, Board President.

Out of fifteen bid submissions, EVS was the lowest bidder at $5,390,000. The construction contract will officially be awarded once the property title is transferred to the Library District,
which is scheduled to occur on December 12. At the closing, the title to the Aspen Drive property will be transferred from the Village of Vernon Hills to the Library District. Construction will start as soon as possible after the award of the contract.

“We’re excited and ready to get started,” said John Campbell, EVS Project Manager. “Right now, we are checking the weather to see when we can get started.”

Since 1996, EVS has established a reputation of delivering high-quality projects on time and within budget. The company specializes in municipal buildings and recently completed the New Yorkville Middle School and the East Aurora High School Freshman Center.

Funding for Cook Park Library Expansion Approved
In other action, the Library Board approved an ordinance to authorize the sale of an additional $7 million in debt certificates. Proceeds from this sale will be used to fund the Cook Park expansion project.

“We are still on track to seek construction bids for the Cook Park project this winter and start
construction in 2009,” said Library Director Dan Armstrong. “The coming year will certainly be one of great change and excitement!”

When completed, the Building a Better Future expansion plan will add 30,000 square feet of
library space to the district without raising taxes. The plan includes remodeling and adding
11,200 square feet to the Cook Park Library in Libertyville and creating a full-service, permanent library on Aspen Drive in Vernon Hills. Both projects will be completed simultaneously, with a total budget of approximately $14 million. Funding for the construction and operations costs are provided for in the district’s annual budgets and through the sale of debt certificates.

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Zoning Board Continuance for Cook Park Library

After a positive meeting with the Libertyville Zoning Board, the Library was granted a continuance and will appear before the Zoning Board again on January 12, 2009. The Zoning Board asked the Library's archictects to work with the Village staff and traffic engineers to respond to traffic flow concerns in the parking lot.

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Libertyville Village Board Approves Site Plan

Libertyville Appearance Review committee approved the Cook Park Library design. The project will now go before the Libertyville Zoning Board on November 24.

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Special Sneak Preview For Hawthorn Students

Hawthorn students were treated to a special sneak preview of the Cook Memorial Public Library District facility on Aspen Drive.

“Hawthorn teachers will be incorporating the building project into their math, science, and history lessons, so we are honored to help students with their studies by giving them a special sneak preview of the new library,” said Library Director Dan Armstrong.

First graders from Elementary North and Elementary South, as well as Middle South 7th graders, partnered with Cook to help plan the new library. To celebrate the partnership, the students watched a video rendering of the new building and offer suggestions to the project architects. After the presentation, the students walked to the library site and formed a human outline of the new library on the actual building site.

When completed, the new Aspen Drive library will offer a quiet Reading Room, space for meetings and group study, a high-tech teen area, and an exciting children’s space. Plans also call for a Reading Garden, which will feature a butterfly garden created by Hawthorn students.

The project, dubbed Building a Better Future, will also include expanding and renovating the Cook Park Library in Libertyville. Both projects will be completed without raising taxes.

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Aspen Drive Library Bids Received

Bids for the Aspen Drive project were received, and three of the bids were below budget. The Board of Trustees is reviewing the bid documentation and will announce a construction company soon. Construction on the Aspen Drive project is expected to start by the end of the year.

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District Expands Budget

Cook Memorial Public Library District Board members agreed to increase the library expansion budget to $14 million.

"The district is on sound financial footing to complete both projects," said Board President Aaron Lawlor. "Providing additional funds on the front end gives us the opportunity to build the best possible libraries."

With the increased budget, preliminary plans indicate that the Cook Memorial Public Library District will be able to offer expanded services at both facilities.

At the Cook Park Library, plans include bringing the Youth Services Department to street-level, sun-filled space and developing a quiet reading rooms and community meeting space. The plans include doubling public seating and increasing library materials from 250,000 to 400,000 volumes. In addition, small group study rooms and a large meeting room will be open to the public.

With the expanded budget, the new library on Aspen Drive will feature a 20,000 square foot new building. The new library will hold 120,000 volumes of materials, 80 public seats, small conference rooms, and a meeting room for public use.

“We want to give our community the best possible library facilities. We have the resources to expand the budget and bring even better library facilities to the district.” said Library Director Dan Armstrong.

The project budget can be expanded without asking taxpayers for a referendum or issuing additional debt certificates. The district finished the 2007 fiscal year with $2.2 million in special reserves and expects to finish the 2008 fiscal year with an additional $910,000 surplus. Together, the surpluses will create a reserve of more than $3 million. These funds, combines with the $12 million issued debt certificates, provide a total of $15 million in available funding.

By increasing the budget from $12 million to $14 million, the library will have a $1 million contingency fund while adding 11,200 square feet to the Cook Park Library and building a 20,000 square feet library in Vernon Hills.

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