Plainfield Library Tries Again At Referendum

After a limiting rate increase failed by more than 6,000 votes last March, the Plainfield Public Library District is once again seeking an increase to fund what officials say are long-overdue improvements.

The library board has placed a $25 million building bond and operating rate question on the ballot for the April 4 consolidated election.

If it passes, the library's limiting tax rate of 0.2021 would increase just more than 17 cents per $100 of home value to a total rate of 0.3775. The limiting rate increase would cover the cost of the building bonds, according to the library district.

A successful referendum means taxes would increase by $10.67 per month, or $128.04 per year, for the owner of a $237,000 home, said Library Interim Director Lisa Pappas.

The increase would pay for a 23,000-square-foot one-story addition to the north side of the existing 27,ooo-square-foot split-level library on Illinois Street. According to the library website, that means “a building renovation to meet 21st Century standards.”

“The revised plan is the most efficient and cost-effective means of addressing the concerns of the community, which we learned about after the 2016 referenda failed,” Pappas said. “The overwhelming feedback we received was ‘make it smaller, keep the costs lower and stay downtown.'"

The increase would also pay for expanded library hours (year-round Sunday hours), ground-floor entry to the Youth Services department, meeting/collaboration spaces, a drive-up to return items, more all-ages programming, much-needed additional space for the library’s collection, quiet study spaces and an energy-efficient building to help save on utilities and repairs, according to the library.

An increase in space for the library's collection as well as events, programs and services is long overdue, according to library board president Carl F. Gilmore. The library district previously tried to pass referenda in 1993 and 2009 in an attempt to maintain its level of service.

"The situation has only gotten worse," Gilmore said. "Our population has increased," creating even more demand for service.

"In order to continue to provide the incredible array of programs that we've developed over the last 15 years, we need more space," Gilmore said.

If the referendum fails, the library district said it could mean more operating budget cuts, reduction in hours, loss of the only study room and no increased quiet space, computer lab, meeting areas and access for people with disabilities.

Information on the library’s future and an info sheet on the proposed expansion are posted on the library’s website. Pappas said she plans to post a “frequently asked questions” document on the site later this week.

Pappas has been serving in the interim role since the departure of former Library Director Julie Milavec, who accepted a position in Downers Grove after the 2016 referenda failure.

“I felt stymied here in Plainfield so I was seeking a new challenge,” Milavec said at the time.

Gilmore said wariness over the national and state economies may have played into the failure of the past few referenda.

"We went through the worst recession since the Great Depression and I think people are a little gun-shy on increasing expenses," he said. "We are trying to educate the public that the better local services are, the better we're able to attract not only new residents but also businesses."