Village dilemma: Should $36,000 be spent on survey or statue?

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Updated: March 24, 2012 8:53AM

River Forest is trying to figure out if it should — and can — take money that was raised by an ad hoc committee and give it to the Historic Preservation Commission.

The commission wants to pay consultants The Lakota Group $48,000 to conduct a survey to determine if a number of buildings in town have any historical significance and, thus, are worthy of preservation. It’s not clear if there’s broad support for the plan, though.

At issue is whether the village will liquidate about $36,000 that belongs to a citizen’s committee that was formed to restore the Cummins Monument as part of the village’s 125th Anniversary, in 2005.

The village has already agreed to give the Historic Preservation Commission $12,000 for the survey, but the commission is asking that the remaining $36,000 come from the coffers of the 125th Anniversary Committee.

Laurel McMahon chaired the anniversary committee and she said she likes the idea of using the committee’s money as a way to invest in historic architecture.

“I’m one member of what was a 27-member committee, though,” she pointed out.

McMahon also said that all of the anniversary committee members have not been consulted about the matter yet.

Therein lies one of the central issues. The village just started to reach out to many of the people who were part of the anniversary committee in an attempt to figure out how its members feel about using the money for the survey.

So far, little progress has been made in gathering any information about a general opinion.

What’s more, there are reports of backlash, as some anniversary committee members don’t want to see the remaining money they raised for the Cummins restoration fund the survey.

Village Administrator Eric Palm said he too had heard that some residents were not happy about the idea.

The Forest Leaves tried to contact a number of anniversary committee members, but none were available by press time.

Another major issue is who controls the money, which Village President John Rigas recently said is “in limbo.”

That’s the other task the village is undertaking: trying to figure out if it actually has the authority to give the Historic Preservation Commission the money.

At last week’s board meeting, when Historic Preservation Commission member Tom Zurowski petitioned the village to release the anniversary committee’s $36,000, no one on the council was sure if the village had the power to do so.

Little has changed since then, as the village is still trying to put all of the pieces together.

“I think it’s one of those things, where it’s like, let us do the research before we jump to any conclusions,” Rigas said.