Library Hopes Public Wants Expansion

On Nov. 2, voters will decide whether to accept a tax increase to pay for a $35 million expansion of the St. Charles Public Library.

The Library Board will ask voters to OK a tax increase that amounts to $2.24 a month for a home with a market value of $100,000. For the owner of a $250,000 home, that's about $67 a year.

Library officials say they need to expand to keep up with growing demands from the public.

"We are working with a (library) committee and we are working very hard and showing people the needs, as well as the need in the future," said library director Diana Brown.

One St. Charles resident who uses the library facilities and spent time there on Aug. 17 said he thought the expansion was worthwhile.

"I'd love for this town to pass taxes for something that educates people," said Joe Neville, 45, of St. Charles. Neville is a homeowner who said he would support a tax increase for the library.

In the past, voters have turned down increases for schools, Neville said. He called such opposition "short-sighted."

However, one resident of rural St. Charles resident thinks the tax dollars could be put to a better purpose.

"There's no benefit to the community to expand the library when people don't go to it now," said Mike Kenyon, 56, who owns a downtown business.

Kenyon said he would prefer that any tax increases go to the schools.

Brown, the library director, said construction costs are down as much as 20 percent from recent years, making now an ideal time for a building expansion.

Use of checked-out materials has tripled over the last 20 years, according to library officials. Since 1999, the population within the boundaries of the library district has doubled–about 30,000 more residents. The current collection at the library is twice as much as the optimal capacity for the building.

If approved in November, the tax would go into affect in 2011. The library would be issued 20-year bonds at an interest of 4-4.45 percent, Brown said.

Almost $2o million of the additional funds would pay for an addition that would about double the size of the library. Another $12.6 million would go toward upgrading the existing building and another $2.5 million would fund parking improvements.