Familiar face takes reins of Roselle Park District

Heidi Lapin is excited about her new role as director of the Roselle Park District.

Lapin, who had been serving as acting director since former Director Tom Kruse resigned in June, was formally named to her new post a couple of weeks ago. She had been the park district's superintendent of recreation since 2004.

She said she's looking forward to overseeing all recreational aspects of the park district, as well as the parks and facilities.

"I think it's a great time for the district, a great challenge," Lapin said. "I think the staff here has revitalized the district in the last couple years. I'm looking forward to trying to continue to revitalize the park district and making the park district a place that residents are proud of."

Lapin said one of her biggest goals is to take care of what the park district already has.

"Obviously, that's becoming more and more difficult with the economy, and figuring out how to do more with less," she said. "I think that will be a big challenge."

Despite some potential hurdles, Lapin's glad she's familiar with the district.

"It's kind of nice because I do know the district and community, so there's not much of a learning curve there," she said.

Lapin also said the park district, which serves about 21,000 people, has experienced a lot of recent growth.

"We're starting to run out of space, and how we go about this challenge in the future is definitely on our minds," Lapin said.

Lapin, who lives in Chicago, is especially excited to work with the park district's "phenomenal" staff.

"Our board and our staff truly care about our community," she said. "I'm surrounded by good people."

Kruse, the former director, resigned less than a week after opening Kemmerling Park and Pool, a $5.1 million project. He was a former Naperville Park District commissioner with decades of work experience in parks and recreation and was hired in November 2003.