Newest Naperville parks board member: We need indoor rec space

As the newest Naperville Park District commissioner, Gerry Heide hopes to address both indoor and outdoor space constraints and mend fences along the way.

Not one to rush into decisions, Heide, 44, says he has research to do before determining how those goals can best be achieved.

In the meantime, he's looking at the broader picture - "maintaining the current standard of excellence relative to existing properties and creating benchmarks there."

Heide, a Naperville resident since 1971, was appointed to the board earlier this month to replace commissioner Charlie Brown, who resigned in June. He ran unsuccessfully for the board in 2007 and plans to run again in April.

With a graduate degree in business and work experience in sales and marketing, Heide says he works well with others and can look at issues objectively.

"One of the key things of any public official is judgment and the ability to look at issues through the eyes of the constituents rather than just saying we need such and such a facility because we're lacking there relative to other communities," he said.

Eager to get to work, he already has been meeting one-on-one with park district staff and other commissioners whose dedication, he says, impresses him.

But he'll also have to contend with the park district board's notoriety for its inability to get along and its revolving door of executive directors.

Getting a new director in place was on his list of priorities when he was named to the board, a goal that can be checked off now that the district has hired Bolingbrook police Chief Ray McGury to fill the role.

But Heide still would like to look at ways to improve communication, such as informal monthly meetings at which residents can ask questions and have their issues addressed. While he recognizes past efforts to gather residents haven't always netted a great turnout, he says it's important to "have a two-way flow of information and people are satisfied they're getting their questions asked and we're disseminating information they have a right to know."

He'll be looking for their feedback on several of the issues the park district faces, including a lack of indoor recreation space. Last year, a proposed $35 million facility was put on hold after criticism from the community about its cost and the amenities it would and would not include.

"We're definitely going to have to do something there and it's too early to say what," Heide said. "But we're lacking terribly relatively speaking when it comes to indoor space. If we can get buy-in from the community on something that's going to come out favorably I'm all for doing it."