City Council approved the $20 million library expansion project for the DeKalb Public Library at a regular meeting of the Council Monday night.

The library expansion project was originally a $24 million project involving an $8.5 million grant from the state and a $7.5 million bond issuance from the city of DeKalb. The original financing plan also required $1 million from library reserves along with $6 million in private donation and $1 million from TIF funds.

Assistant City Manager Rudy Espiritu said there was initially some concern with the high amount of funding needed from private donation, but the issue has been remedied.

“Reducing that amount from $24 million to $20 million reduces the amount of donations we need from $6 million to $2 million,” Espiritu said. “The library already has verbal pledges of approximately $650,000 and can expect more once the city moves forward with the bonds as well as TIF funding.”

First ward alderman David Jacobson expressed concern with using TIF funding inappropriately.

“I am very leery to use TIF in public buildings,” Jacobson said. “Now, not only are we using the original amount that we agreed on and discussed for the road closure, now we’re just going to take a million dollars extra and put it into the building.”

Fourth ward alderman Brendon Gallagher supported the project and its use of TIF funding.

“Let’s improve our downtown,” Gallagher said. “Let’s do something that’s not a prison. Let’s do a library. Now there you go, and that’s where I stand on this issue. I fully support this.”

Second ward alderman Tom Teresinski also supported the project and said it is a good allocation of city and TIF funds.

“I don’t know what sells houses better than schools,” Teresinski said. “And I don’t know what sells schools and education better than in sync with a library, so I support this.”

Ultimately, the council approved the development project and the allocation of $2 million from TIF with only Jacobson dissenting.

A public hearing took place during the council meeting to discuss the Irongate Annexation further. After several DeKalb citizens spoke about the development, the floor was opened to the council.

“I welcome the new development,” Gallagher said. “And I welcome that you want to spend money in our town and create jobs and do different things out there for the new high school….”

Teresinski expressed concern about the development but did not oppose it.

“There are definitely two sides,” Teresinski said. “It’s not an easy decision. There is a huge concern that we’ve heard two or three people speak to tonight, and I’ve heard it repeatedly from my constituents about concerns about why do this when we have so many open houses for sale and there are so many foreclosures.”

Teresinski said he has talked to commercial developers who said a major housing development could help draw them in when considering new locations.

“It would be a positive to have a major developer doing housing developments in the community as a check mark of what’s occurring in our community, and that would be a positive to a potential industrial/commercial developer that might be looking at us,” Teresinski said.

After public hearing, the agenda called for the council to vote on the development, but instead the vote was postponed until May 28.

The council also discussed a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign an agreement for federal participation that will connect the Kishwaukee River bike path, making it span further across DeKalb.

“This is awesome,” Gallagher said. “I like the idea you have. All you have to do is say ‘bike path’ to me, and I’m right behind you.”

Third ward alderman Kristen Lash also expressed support for the agreement.

“I’m very excited,” Lash said. “This is something that’s needed to be done for a very long time.”

The council also approved a special use permit allowing the Westminster Presbyterian Church Of DeKalb, 830 N. Annie Glidden Road, to erect otherwise prohibited signs along with approving an engineering agreement for sidewalk maintenance construction assistance.