Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves taps Dallas parks director to lead city parks department

Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves is hiring a new Parks and Recreation director who was previously the parks superintendent for Dallas, Texas.

Reeves said Tuesday that he was hiring Ben Heistein to be Pensacola's new Parks and Recreation director.

Heistein became the parks superintendent in Dallas in March. Before that he was parks manager from July 2021 through March, where he co-managed a $38 million budget with 397 parks and 158 miles of trails that totaled 20,118 acres. Heistein has also served as parks superintendent for Watsonville, California, according to his resume.

"We hear about issues and concerns of the Parks and Rec., and I think someone coming from an organization the size of the city of Dallas Parks and Recreation that has certainly managed these kinds of things before," Reeves said.

Reeves forced the former Parks and Recreation director Adrian Stills to resign earlier this year, saying he wanted to go in a "different direction" in the department. Since then, assistant Parks and Recreation Director Tonya Byrd has served as interim director.

Related: Pensacola senior officials forced to resign after D.C. Reeves seeks 'different direction'

Reeves said the decision to hire a person from the outside was not meant to be seen as a negative reflection on Byrd in any way.

"Tonya has done everything she's been asked to do, and she's done an amazing job as interim," Reeves said. "And I know she'll continue to do an amazing job as leadership within our Parks and Rec. Department."

Reeves said he wanted someone from outside the organization to come and bring new ideas.

"With the significant structure and auditing and all those things and the processes that he described in Dallas, I think it will be a really, really great learning experience for our current staff," Reeves said.

Heistein's selection as the new parks director must be approved by the City Council before he can start in the position.

The council is set to vote on Heistein's nomination at its regular meeting at City Hall on Nov. 9

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: D.C. Reeves taps Dallas parks director to lead the Pensacola's parks