Burr Ridge Has 'Quite A Bit Of Cash' For Project: Official

BURR RIDGE, IL – A top Burr Ridge official reported Monday that $13 million was available for a new Village Hall.

But he stressed that the project would cost nowhere near that much.

"What I'm telling you is that you have quite a bit of cash," Village Administrator Evan Walter told the Village Board. "Please don't spend it all on this project. You're not going to do that. I know you won't."

The current Village Hall is under contract for $2.7 million with a preschool chain. Officials plan to build an addition to the next-door police station for the new Village Hall.

The original estimate was $5.8 million, which includes some work on the police station. But that amount is expected to rise with changes to the designs.

The $13 million number was made available to show the board that the village was in a good cash position, Walter said.

"If you were ever going to do a capital project like this, the time is right, period," he said.

Mayor Gary Grasso said Burr Ridge needs a Village Hall that is equal to the community's stature.

"Go see where these people work every day," the mayor said. "It's an embarrassment. We're going to be able to fix that and make it right."

Officials noted the village would undertake the project without going into debt or raising taxes.

"These kinds of headlines never become headlines," Grasso said. "These stories don't make the paper."

Burr Ridge is a rare debt-free town.