There is the lengthy and interesting list of projects on the “to do” list at the Park District of Oak Park — remaking Ridgeland Common, building the new Gymnastics Center on Lake Street, forging an agreement with the elementary schools to share a headquarters on Madison Street. Those projects and others will be awaiting Jan Arnold when she arrives shortly as the park district’s new executive director.
More daunting perhaps for Arnold will be maintaining the “can do” approach that the now retiring Gary Balling has brought to this post over a dozen years. Balling, in a strong, thoughtful partnership with our elected park officials, has taught us some lessons in leadership. It doesn’t have to be loud. The top down model is obsolete. And anyone with passion for an issue, even if that passion starts as intense opposition, has a vital role in solving the problem.
Arnold is an Oak Parker who has been active as a park volunteer, as well as a Longfellow PTO volunteer, in recent years. She’s watched Balling at work as he has near-perfected the art of channeling the ideas and energy of citizens into problem-solving approaches to park district issues. She will benefit from the way Balling has worked with a changing but steady board that has understood as well as any in Oak Park the distinct but linked roles of elected officials and their appointed leaders. And she will have the opportunity to earn the respect of a park board staff that is as loyal and aligned with its longtime leader as is possible this side of a cult.
Readers of this page know well our admiration of Gary Balling. In his humble way, he is as strong a leader as we’ve seen at the helm of a public body in our 32 years of observing this village. He will be missed and we wish him all the best.