Executive Director Liza McElroy will retire from the Park District of Highland Park in February after a decade at the helm of the large park system that includes a fitness center, golf course, ice arena, aqua park, tennis and racquetball club and public swimming beach on Lake Michigan.
McElroy plans to retire in late February from her $198,000 post after nearly four decades in the field of public parks and recreation.
“Liza’s ability to develop strong working relationships within our community and the resulting improvements to our district’s delivery of recreation services and facilities leaves an indelible mark on Highland Park,” said Park Board President Brian Kaplan.
The park board plans to use the services of the Illinois Association of Park Districts to recruit and screen candidates for the position to start March 1. The park board is set to award a contract to the association Tuesday to conduct the search for a fee of $10,400.
McElroy had been with the Winnetka Park District for 28 years — nine years as director — when she was hired by the Park District of Highland Park in 2009. A year later, the park district became embroiled in a pension-spiking scandal involving the former executive director and two other park officials.
The community uproar that followed a Chicago Tribune investigation led to the resignation of three sitting park commissioners, including the board president.
During McElroy’s tenure, the park district completed a $14.5 million renovation at Rosewood Beach and developed a master plan known as GreenPrint 2024 to identify capital spending priorities. The first project, a $7 million renovation of the 1920s-era Sunset Valley Golf Course, was completed in late summer.
The district constructed a new Parks Operations and Golf Operation Center to achieve efficiencies and also completed improvements at the Deer Creek Racquet Club, the Hidden Creek Aqua Park and the Recreation Center of Highland Park.
Her tenure also included years of talks with the City of Highland Park over the future of the Highland Park Country Club. The park district is about to assume ownership of the 100-plus-acre golf course property and has begun planning for the conversion of the golf course to a nature preserve.