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Libertyville festival aims to help Brainerd
Updated: September 24, 2012 6:50AM
The festival will feature fine wines, craft beers, cigars, food and live entertainment from area musicians. Local home brewers will also compete in the second annual Besley’s Homebrew Competition for amateur brewers. Tickets for the event are $30 in advance, $40 at the door. Individuals who purchase tickets get a souvenir glass and up to 10 free taste samplings. For $10, persons can also get a designated driver.
Proceeds from the event will go to support Brainerd Community Center Inc., a non-profit organization that is attempting to raise funds to preserve the former Brainerd building as a community center.
The village has a long-term lease agreement with Community High School District 128, which owns the Brainerd property. The Brainerd group has been raising funds to make future lease payments on the property. The Brainerd organization has until Dec. 1, 2014 to make the first lease payment of $250,000. If the group is unable to raise funds to make the required lease payments, the school district would have the option to terminate the lease with the village and could demolish the structures on the property.
Fund-raising efforts have been slow and the group so far has only raised a fraction of the amount needed to make the lease payments.
During last week’s village board meeting, Libertyville Mayor Terry Weppler said the Brainerd Community Center group has asked the village about the possibility of placing an advisory referendum on the ballot regarding Brainerd.
Weppler emphasized the referendum would be strictly advisory and would not be binding on the village or involve the issuance of bonds. He said the goal would be to gauge the degree of community support for earmarking public funds toward the Brainerd project. The board agreed to work with the Brainerd group on potential language for a referendum.
For more information about the event, visit www.savebrainerd.org.
