The Village of Niles Board of Trustees hired Northbrook-based Wiss, Janney, Elstner (WJE) Associates to repair the damage to the Leaning Tower of Niles.
Under the agreement with the Leaning Tower YMCA, the village is responsible for maintaining the tower. In Aug. 27, 2013, the Village Board contracted WJE Associates to conduct an engineering study. The company came back with the results in the end of 2013.
Under the contract approved by the board, WJE Associates will plan and manage the construction, sub-contracting the actual construction work to other parties. The village will pay the company $58,800 out of the proposed Gross Point/Touhy Tax Increment Financing district. If the TIF isn’t approved, the village’s General Fund will cover the costs.
The Leaning Tower of Niles has been a part of the village since 1934. Originally a centerpiece of Ilg Hot Air Ventilation Company’s employee park, it was donated to the current-day Leaning Tower YMCA in 1964. The donation came with a stipulation that the tower would remain standing until 2059. As the decades wore on, the YMCA has had trouble maintaining the structure. In 1995, the YMCA agreed to lease the tower to the Village of Niles for $1 a year. The lease will last until 2059. The village quickly launched a two-year project to repair the Leaning Tower and the surrounding plaza.
As previously reported by the Niles Herald-Spectator, the discussion of the latest round of repairs began in 2013. As part of its 2014 budget, Niles approved $40,000 for tower repairs and $35,000 to repair the Leaning Tower Fountain. But as the Department of Public Services soon realized that the damage to the tower may be more extensive than originally thought, and that $40,000 may not be enough. Before asking for more money, department director Scott Jochim wanted to determine exactly how much he would need.
According to the report prepared by WJE Associates in Dec 30, 2014, the Leaning Tower’s concrete walls and columns and flooring suffered extensive corrosion and freeze-thaw damage. There was also some damage to staircases and windows. The report estimated that repairs would cost a total of $570,000.
The repairs of Leaning tower proved to be a divisive issue. Trustee Chris Hanusiak has opposed spending any money on the tower at all. When Niles Herald-Spectator surveyed all trustees about the issue, said that he was skeptical about the tower’s value as a landmark – and said that the village shouldn’t spend any more money on it than it already did.
“The village administration wants to spend untold amounts to fix
the cement, repair or replace fountains and do other general work,” Hanusiak said at the time. “The [YMCA] spends zero dollars but reaps all the benefits.”
Trustee Rosemary Palicki supported spending money on repairing the tower until she found out that the village didn’t own it outright. She said that she had reservations about spending taxpayer money on private property that the YMCA could potentially demolish in the future.
“I hope we can [repair the tower], because it’s a symbol of Niles,” Palicki said at the time. “It’s part of our history. I think we need to know, realistically, whether it’s something we can afford to maintain.”
Other trustees said that they supported the repairs – though some, like Trustee George Alpogianis, said they would prefer to use grants or other alternative funding sources to do it.
During the April 28 meeting, the board considered a contract for actual repairs. WJE Associates would spend $24,000 on design, $2,400 on securing sub-contractors to handle the repairs and $32,000 on construction management . The costs of actual repairs would be determined once the sub-contractors are hired, so it remains to be seen whether they would fall in line with WJE’s earlier estimates.
The costs will be covered out of funds generated through proposed Gross Point/Touhy TIF, which, if approved, would include the so-called Touhy Triangle area bound by Touhy Avenue, Gross Point Road and Lehigh Avenue, as well as several blocks further west. Hanusiak asked Charles Ostman, the Niles director of community development, whether the village was allowed to draw on funds from a source that doesn’t even exist yet.
“It’s OK for us to charge on a TIF that hasn’t been created,” Ostman replied. “If the TIF fails to materialize, [the expense] will be absorbed by the General Fund.”
Palicki reiterated her earlier concerns.
“This is a property we don’t own,” she said. “I think there should be a public discussion on whether tax dollars should go into it.”
Trustee Joe LoVerde, who previously expressed strong support for tower repairs, arguing that this expense was no different than the village donating money to Niles Historical Society – something which the voters have no say in.
Mayor Andrew Przybylo said that while he would welcome the discussion on the tower’s long-term prospect, the agreement was designed to address a pressing issue.
“I would like to remind the board that we have a legal obligation as lessees to maintain [the tower],” he said. “We cold have a discussion and say we want to undo this lease. But until that happens, we have to protect the public from getting hurt.”
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Trustee John Jekot suggested that, on the long run, the village could take a cue from Glenview’s efforts to redevelop the former Glenview Naval Air Station – a project that incorporated the station’s control tower.
The board voted 4-2 to approve the agreement, with Hanusiak and Palicki voted against.
“‘No’ – not because I’m against the Leaning Tower, but because I’m against putting public money in private property without discussion,” said Palicki.
Igor Studenkov is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.