VALPARAISO | After four years as the city's parks director, Steve Doniger is leaving to take the position of community services manager for the Madison, Wis., Parks and Recreation Department.

"First of all, I like cheese," Doniger joked when asked why he decided to accept what is an assistant director's position in Madison.

"I heard about the job about a month ago," Doniger said. "I'm very happy here, but I came to the conclusion that, after 14 years of being with the organization and serving the community, you have to move up to a bigger city to expand your knowledge and move on to other things. It's not that staying with one organization is a bad thing. It's just time to expand what I know about parks and recreation."

Doniger has been with the city's Parks Department since 1995 and became director in 2004 when John Seibert left the post to join Opportunity Enterprises. The Valparaiso Parks Department has 19 parks covering about 700 acres, while the Madison department has 260 parks with more than 6,000 acres.

"I'm a Midwest boy from a Midwest family, and what's appealing about Madison is that it's still in the Midwest," he said. "The city is pretty extraordinary, and it has an innovative approach and style of parks management that is nationally known. It's similar to Valparaiso in many ways. It's just a larger population than we have here."

Mayor Jon Costas said, "Steve's contributions to our city have been extraordinary, and we're grateful for his leadership. While he will leave behind big shoes to fill, he has succeeded in building an outstanding department that will continue to attract talented candidates."

Doniger's new job doesn't start until Feb. 6, and Costas said the city will be looking both internally and regionally for a replacement.

"We are getting input on what the process should be for selecting a new director," Costas said. "We do have time to make an appropriate decision. We need to look internally to see if anyone within the department is interested and ready to take on such a role and do it well.

"Then, the second thought is whether anybody in the region has interest. We've been very deliberate about hiring the members of our leadership team, and we look for team players. The bottom line is, Valparaiso has a legacy of an extensive park system and programs, so it is vitally important that we find someone who can not only maintain it but provide a high level of leadership."

Doniger said he will spend the next two months closing out 2008, planning for 2009 and laying out a future vision of the parks for the staff. He will leave any new initiatives to the incoming director and promised to be available to help in the transition.

"I'm nothing if not passionate about this community, and I'm looking forward to getting energized in another place," Doniger said. "Valparaiso is significant to me professionally and personally. My wife and I were married here, and we raised our family here, and there are memories I will treasure for the rest of my life."