Naperville rec center back in play?

Apparently undeterred by previous failures to garner public support for an indoor recreation center, some Naperville Park District leaders seem ready to try again.

Commissioners tonight will consider forming an advisory group to study the need for indoor recreation space -- and possibly other issues facing the district.

Just last year, the park board put plans on hold for a $35 million recreation center in Frontier Park after backlash from some community members over its cost and the amenities it would or would not include.

That controversy and the divisions it caused on the park board played a key role in the resignation of Executive Director Barbara Heller, who had been hired in part to get such a facility built.

The district spent nearly a year searching for her replacement before choosing Daniel Betts of Denver to fill the post. He's scheduled to start work next month and soon could find a proposed rec center at the top of his to-do list, too.

The latest draft of the district's Open Space and Recreation Master Plan identifies lack of indoor programmable space controlled by the district as one of the major issues facing the park system. It also calls for forming an advisory group to study the perceived deficiencies.

"We need indoor space," Commissioner Marie Todd said Wednesday. "That clearly comes across in any of our needs assessments in our evaluation of facilities. We cannot continue to provide the programs that we need for the public without additional indoor space."

The study should not be limited to building a recreation center, Commissioner Andrew Schaffner said. It also could include a field house, additional meeting rooms or even buying small buildings to house fitness classes.

Commissioner Ron Ory went a step further, saying the district needs an advisory group to help create a comprehensive strategic plan.

"I don't think we ought to be limiting ourselves to indoor advice," he said. "We ought to be looking at the big picture and not treat each thing in isolation."

But getting more input on an indoor recreation center can't hurt, Commissioner Charlie Brown said.

"It's worth looking into," he said. "I don't know if it's worth looking into spending the amount of money we were looking into spending before."

In 2006, the park district formed a group called the Futures Committee to provide input on a variety of planning issues, but Schaffner said the group was too secretive, a trait he doesn't want to see repeated if a new panel is formed.

He said members should come from a variety of groups and interests, be approved by the board and have limited terms.

"We need to follow the city's example in how it handles advisory committees," Schaffner said via e-mail. "We need to open up the process, let in the sunshine and make it as accessible as possible to our residents."

Board President Kristen Jungles and commissioners Mary Wright and Suzanne Hart could not be reached for comment.

The park board meets at 7 p.m. today at its administration building, 320 W. Jackson Ave.