Organizers of Naperville Salute would like to expand their Fourth of July festival from three days to four, and have the fireworks display moved closer to downtown.
Naperville Park Board members were briefed on the proposed changes at their meeting Thursday, and will vote on the requests at a later date.
Executive Director Brad Wilson said adding a fourth day to the Rotary Hill event, which celebrates military veterans and active service members, means it would start July 1 and run through July 4. In 2021, the first year it was held, it started July 2.
Naperville city and park district staff have no concerns about the additional day, Wilson said. However, the original three-year agreement between the park district and Naperville Responds For Veterans needs to be amended for it to happen, he said.
Organizers are also hoping to find a location for the July 4 fireworks display closer to downtown. Frontier Park, where it was held last year, is about six miles away from Rotary Hill.
“There is a desire by Naperville Responds For Veterans to bring the fireworks back closer to the event because it is logistically challenging for them to have two separate areas in the community they are running the logistics for,” Wilson said.
One option could be the varsity baseball/softball fields on the north side of Knoch Park, Wilson said. The synthetic turf field in the area would be closed off so it’s not damaged by foot traffic, he said.
Sportsman’s Park just to the west of Knoch is also under consideration.
In addition, the “fallout area” from the fireworks needs to be discussed by officials from the park district, city, Naperville Fire Department, Naperville School District 203 and the nearby Naperville Cemetery, Wilson said.
Moving the fireworks to Knoch Park would require looking at parking, traffic, bus shuttles and park impact, officials said.
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“It doesn’t seem the Knoch Park area is one we can easily get a lot of people to because you’ve got to figure out where we’re going to park them or where do we put all of the people who are going to view it versus where you’re going to shoot off the fireworks,” Board President Marie Todd said.
“(Frontier Park) worked so well because people could park along the parking lots along (Route) 59, in Frontier Park, they were spread out and you could see (fireworks) from quite a distance,” she said.
Park district website redesign
The Naperville Park District website will get a makeover this year, and public input is being sought on the redesign.
An online survey was launched Thursday through which residents can answer multiple-choice and open-ended questions. It will be available through April 7.
At Thursday’s meeting, Director of Marketing and Communications Sameera Luthman said about 100 people had already answered the questions on the first day it was available.
The plan, she said, is to present a bid proposal to the board in April for the redesign work.
Community survey launches in April
The park district will conduct a community interest and opinion survey in April as part of its work on a new strategic plan and master plan to guide the district for the next five years.
Randomly selected Naperville households will receive a copy of the survey by mail in early April and will be asked to complete it by mail, online or phone, according to a news release. The park district will eventually make the survey available to to everyone.
Evanston-based aQity Research and Insights has been commissioned to administer the survey.