Next Stage of New Library Concepts Discussed at June Board Meeting

Below are links to the Plainfield Public Library District’s meeting of June 17th, 2015. Total run time is 1½ hours, with no actions taken following closed session. (FYI--I was given heads up when recording that there would not likely be any action items to follow the closed session, so I stopped recording and left as closed session started.)

PPL June 17th meeting, part 1 of 4 (30 mins)
PPL June 17th meeting, part 2 of 4 (30 mins)
PPL June 17th meeting, part 3 of 4 (30 mins)
PPL June 17th meeting, part 4 of 4 (15 secs)

Trustee Samantha Hurtado was absent.

My take:

Of the draft designs that don’t incorporate the existing structure, two floated to the top of general approval, having undergone review and comment by the board and by citizens in a couple of public meetings. Nagle Hartray Architects will fine tune those for further consideration, but also suggested really taking another hard look at a design that would mean an addition to the existing library, not a new separate building, because of some of what’s already been heard from the public. People will want to see how such an addition would look and function and what the advantages and disadvantages, in cost and other aspects (program use, parking, operational efficiency, maintenance, security, etc.), would be to building an addition vs. building a new structure. The question of ”what would it mean to add onto the existing library vs. building new?” requires answers.

Also, the board agreed that all feedback thus far has put away the idea of any site that isn’t downtown, where the existing library is, and that includes the proposed Greenfield site (on Wood Farm Road, north of Lockport and south of Van Dyke, immediately west of the railroad line). So, the Greenfield site is off the table. Any expansion will be downtown, where the library is now.

The next meetings regarding the expansion are the evening of Thursday, July 9th (I believe, it’s not yet on the schedule, so do check at link given below to be sure) and the morning of Saturday, July 11th (the same meeting content, just at two times over a few days to try and accommodate as many residents as possible). Then the next regular board meeting is Wednesday, July 15th.

Please be active and involved on this important issue for Plainfield. What does the Plainfield Public Library mean to you, to your family, to your home here in Plainfield? Contribute to the dialog and ask questions and talk about this with neighbors. The Plainfield Public Library is here to serve all of us and uses our money to do that. The staff and board of the library are eager and open to hearing the answer to their core question: What do YOU want of and for a library in the Plainfield Public Library District? Eventually, you will be asked to vote on this and no matter how you vote, do that with as much info and forethought as you can.

If you go to the main page of the PPL’s website, you will find a link specifically for the expansion project on the left, under Quick Links—but, click here and you’ll go right to it. On that expansion page, you’ll find survey and email registration links, plus the current concept drawings, etc.

You can see meeting agendas and, as they become available, minutes for the board’s meetings on the library’s website: Plainfield Public Library, board page.

As always, should you have any questions regarding this content, please feel free to contact me at radical4plainfield@gmail.com or via regular mail at Polito, PO Box 1071, Plainfield, IL 60544.