The Crystal Lake Park District’s executive director will be retiring after nearly 16 years of service, leaving the decision for his replacement up to the board.
Executive Director Jason Herbster said he will wrap up his career with the district on April 17. It’s the park board’s responsibility to appoint a new executive director, either internally or by bringing in an outside search firm.
Herbster was planning to retire last February, but stuck around to get the new park board acclimated. That new board, consisting of three new members, has made waves in the last nine months with a series of swift decisions that received plenty of community backlash.
“I know we’ve lost our focus here in the last six or seven months,” Herbster said. “The district will get back there. I know this isn’t probably the ideal time for me to be stepping away, but I feel like we’re in a good place. Certainly better than we were five months ago.”
Herbster looks to the silver linings brought out by the new majority board tension, like how the community has consistently attended meetings with passion for the park district. He also commended the city of Crystal Lake board for being supportive during the “turbulent times.”
Over the 15 years of working in the top position at the park district, Herbster is most proud of his “high-functioning team” that has increased programming, made improvements to Della Park and the Main Beach Pavilion and created Lakewood Meadows Park.
“It’s been an amazing 15 years, and I think we’ve made a lot of progress,” he said.
The park district has also cultivated partnerships with the school districts and the library to expand programs while increasing the efficiency of different government entities.
“I’ve been a big advocate of what I call not double-dipping the taxpayer,” he said.
Though it will happen after his retirement, Herbster is also looking forward to the completion of the new maintenance facility. The estimated cost for the first phase of the project is $4.3 million, according to park district documents.
His long-term hope is for the district to have its own recreation center, after current and previous boards decided to pass on the opportunity to create one at the shuttered Northwestern Medicine Health and Fitness Center twice.
Herbster has also served as a Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce ambassador and on the Crystal Lake Parks Initiative Foundation.
Herbster, a Cary resident, has been working with park districts for his entire career. It started in college when his father suggested he look into recreation. After his first class, Herbster “never looked back.” He went on to work for park districts in Glenview, Schaumburg, Palatine and Alsip before taking on Crystal Lake Park District’s top position in 2010.
“We’ve got a lot done here. The problem is there’s a lot more to do,” Herbster said. “It has been a great, great experience and a great community to work in.”