UPDATE: City Recommends Purchase of Geneva Library

The Geneva City Council Committee of the Whole went into executive session around 7:14 p.m. Monday night.

The recommending body emerged at 7:26 p.m., opened a full City Council meeting and voted to buy the library.

A resolution to purchase the property from the Geneva Public Library District, 127 James St., was passed unanimously Monday night by the full City Council.

The purchase price will be the average of three appraisals, as agreed by both organizations, at a time to be named later. Most likely, it will be three to five years from now.

Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns said Monday's vote was the culmination of a discussion that began in 2006 to determine the city's future space needs. At that time, Craig Maladra—then of the Library Board, now an alderman—proposed what was called the "downtown shuffle."

Under that plan, the library would move to a new site, the city would buy the library and the City Hall would be used as a permanent home for the Geneva Cultural Arts Commission.

In those days, the plan was for the library to move to the Regional Office of Education—the former Sixth Street School building. Today, the library is the owner of the former Cetron building and surrounding parcels.

Why was a resolution necessary now?

"We felt it was important to demonstrate in good faith our very real intention, not only in purchasing the property but in the preservation of the property," Mayor Kevin Burns said.

Library Board Chairman Esther Barclay, who attended Monday's COW meeting, said the Library Board is poised to pass an almost identical resolution at its Thursday meeting.

"This is a statement of interest by the two taxing bodies," she said. "We are working together; we are trying to do what's right and in the best interests of the community."

A City Council subcommittee, which included Maladra, Fifth Ward Alderman Ralph Danitno and City Administrator Mary McKittrick on the city's side, helped shape the negotiations and the resolution.

"As far as I'm concerned (the downtown shuffle idea) has never gone away," Maladra said.

He said the motivating factors of the plan have not changed. Those include keeping a library presence in the downtown district, preserving the historic library and City Hall structures, establishing a cultural arts center and finding smart ways for government entities to work together in planning the city's future.

He also said Monday night's action was a way to "memorialize the agreement" without committing to a purchase contract. "Either side has the ability to say it's not going to happen," Maladra said.

For the swap to become reality, the first steps of a long chain of events would have to happen, including the following:

• The library successfully purchases the five parcels of the Cetron property.
• The Library District draws plans for a new library on that property.
• The Library Board calls for and successfully passes a referendum for building bonds to construct a new library.

"The vision only falls into place once the other factors fall into place," Burns said.

In other action, the Committee of the Whole recommended:

• Approval of the right of way and police services for the Geneva Library and Geneva History Center Ice Cream Social on July 14.
• A draft ordinance adopting prevailing wages.  The ordinance is required by state statute and sets wages paid for public works contracts on projects.
• A draft ordinance amending Title 10 (building regulations) adopting 2009 edition of the International Building Code.
• A draft resolution authorizing an execution of agreement with Hampton Lenzini and Renwick, Inc. in the amount of $86,000 for Eagle Brook Special Services Area wetland vegetation management. 
• Approval of Swedish Days liquor licenses for the beer gardens at the American Legion Post 75 at 22 S. Second St., the Dam Bar & Grille at 65 N. River Lane, Fiora's Restaurant at 317 S. Third St., the Gratto Italian Tapas at 207 S. Third St. and Chianti's at 220 Campbell St.
• Approval of a temporary food cart permit for Past Basket at 200 S. Third St.

Editor's note: There has been a correction to this story regarding the "in other action" bullet point on the draft ordinance adopting prevailing wages. This is established by the state and is not about city employee wages.