Mount Prospect park director out after a year on the job

After just a year on the job, Dan Malartsik is out as executive director of the Mount Prospect Park District, with the park board citing management differences for his abrupt exit.

Malartsik's last day on the job was Wednesday, when he and the board finalized an agreement paying him $58,381 of severance for three months of salary, his remaining vacation and personal days, cellphone and vehicle stipends, and payment for a health insurance waiver.

In exchange, Malartsik agreed to voluntarily resign, the agreement says.

Malartsik's original three-year employment contract, signed in April 2017, allows him to get three months of severance if the district terminates his employment without cause. He was making a base salary of $130,200 when he left.

Park Board President Steve Kurka said in a written statement there were "material and irreconcilable differences in the beliefs of the park board and the executive director regarding management matters."

The board, Kurka added, "wishes Dan the best in his pursuit of other business opportunities."

Malartsik, who has spent more than two decades in the parks and recreation field, joined the district in June 2017 after serving as director of facilities and IT for the Park District of Highland Park. He replaced Greg Kuhs, who was executive director for four years.

For now, directors of the park district's five divisions - administration and human resources, community relations and marketing, recreation, golf operations, and parks and planning - will oversee day-to-day operations, according to Ruth Yueill, director of community relations and marketing.

No timeline has been set for finding a new executive director, Yueill said.

The district includes 32 parks and recreational facilities serving portions of Mount Prospect, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights and Elk Grove Village.