By Danny YadronThe Daily Northwestern
The victories earned by Friends of the Civic Center during the April 17 election have not translated into momentum for their cause.
Friends members have not received any response from city officials to their call for meetings to discuss plans for renovating the building, at 2100 Ridge Ave.
“They’re not interested in discussing (plans) aggressively,” Friends founding member John Kennedy said.
Evanston voters overwhelmingly supported the Friends’ referendum asking if the Evanston City Council should remain in the existing building. They narrowly voted not to support a competing referendum placed on the ballot by the council, which estimated the cost of renovating the current building at $31 million.
Aldermen have consistently supported moving to a new site and selling 2100 Ridge Ave. to developers. But a new location has not been found. In a council meeting six days after the election, several Friends’ members implored the council to take action. But aldermen have not responded, group members said.
Ald. Elizabeth Tisdahl (7th) said she had received an e-mail from a member of the group and responded. Kennedy said he had no knowledge of the exchange. Tisdahl said she was not opposed to the idea, but she said Friends members should re-evaluate their approach.
“Usually things don’t succeed when one group sets (a meeting) up and hires the people to run it and just tells the city staff to show up,” she said. “I’m interested in whether they’re interested in a more collaborative process.”
Kennedy said he hopes city officials will take a strong role in the proposed meetings or so-called “charrettes.”
“Clearly, we would like to see the involvement on the city staff. They know the building and they know the issue much better than we do,” Kennedy said.
At this point, the city being involved is not likely, Ald. Anjana Hansen (9th) said.
“The council’s position is the same as it was before the referendum and the charrette were proposed,” Hansen said. “Given the consensus on the council that we’re leaving the building, doing a charrette would give the public the impression that we’re staying in (2100 Ridge Ave.). That’s not the case.”
The Civic Center Committee might discuss the proposal at its next meeting, which has yet to be scheduled, Hansen said. But for now, the committee is focused on exploring the space plan for a new Civic Center submitted by a firm hired by the council last month.
Friends of the Civic Center has considered attracting council members to the proposed meetings by offering to hold discussions about destroying the current building despite the group’s stance, member Elliott Dudnik said.
“If you’re a true believer you can’t suggest such a thing,” said Dudnik, Weinberg ’83. “I think it’s something worth exploring.”
Nevertheless, Dudnik said he believes maintaining the current building is feasible and cost effective.
As a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Dudnik has twice used the current Civic Center as a project for his architecture class. Many students developed solid plans for renovating the building, he said.
In the meantime, however, both sides remain at a stalemate.
“We don’t know what the hell to do,” said group member Brian Becharas.
Reach Danny Yadron at [email protected].
