Plainfield Park Board OKs New Director

Starting Sept. 8, the Plainfield Park District will have a new leader.

With board members Peter Hurtado and Peter Steinys simply voting “present,” the remaining commissioners on Wednesday approved the hiring of Carlo Capalbo as the new executive director.

Capalbo, who has headed up the Worth Park District for the past seven years, will have a starting salary of $115,000, board president Mary Kay Ludemann said. She said because Capalbo’s three-year contract is still being finalized, she could not disclose further details of the pact.

Interim director Richard Grodsky will leave the park district the end of August, Ludemann said. Grodsky, the retired Elmhurst Park District executive director, took the job on a temporary basis after Garrett Peck’s resignation. Peck was hired last May and stepped down in January.

Prior to serving as executive director in Worth, Capalbo was the recreation supervisor for the Streamwood Park District, according to Ludemann.

While Steinys and Hurtado left Wednesday’s meeting almost immediately after it adjourned, Ludemann spoke to the press, addressing the commissioners’ apparent disagreement with the board’s choice in hiring Capalbo.

“They chose to leave the process,” Ludemann said, referring to the fact that Steinys and Hurtado both left a closed-session meeting regarding candidates for the job last month.

After that meeting, Steinys and Hurtado spoke to the Herald-News, saying a different candidate led a previous straw poll among commissioners before Capalbo became the favorite. They said they left the meeting after they claimed board attorney Matt Campbell attempted to steer the board toward another candidate.

“It was a starting point for discussion,” Ludemann said of the straw poll. “For whatever reason, they didn’t want to discuss ... They liked one person and that was it.”

During public comment on Wednesday, park district resident Jamey Alwood took Steinys and Hurtado to task over their comments about the closed-session meeting to the Herald-News — including releasing Capalbo’s name before the board voted to approve his hiring.

“You’ve now outed him to his current employers,” Allwood said, adding that the comments make it plain that he wasn’t their choice for the job.

“That’s not a good feeling,” he said, telling the commissioners, “Either resign or put your whole effort into this district.”

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Prior to Wednesday’s meeting, Steinys and Hurtado requested that an item be placed on Wednesday’s agenda directing legal firm Kavanagh, Grumley & Gorbold to replace Campbell by assigning a different attorney to represent the park district.

That measure was defeated by a 3-2 vote, with only Steinys and Hurtado voting yes.

Moving forward

Ludemann said Capalbo was one of seven candidates recommended to the park district by the Illinois Association of Park Districts and one of four finalists for the job.

“The decision was difficult,” she said. “He stood out as being a good fit for the Plainfield Park District.”

Ludemann said each finalist was asked to make a presentation outlining where they see the park district in five years.

She said Capalbo’s philosophy, management style and views on how to treat staff and communicate with the public stood out.

“He covered all the bases,” Ludemann said.

During the interview process, she said Capalbo did address the turmoil at the park district over the last year, which including controversies over staffing and ethics allegations involving the board.

“He’s aware of the issues,” Ludemann said. “Obviously, he wants to move into the future.”

Ludemann said Grodsky, who put together a comprehensive plan for the park district, is leaving Capalbo in a good position to move forward.

“He’s coming in with a really good foundation,” she said.

Ludemann, Newton and Silosky all bid farewell to Grodsky on Wednesday, expressing their gratitude to him for taking the reins after the Peck’s departure.

While applauding the board’s choice in Capalbo, Silosky told Grodsky, “We wish you could have stayed.”

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