Operations director heads north

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Ryan Heise soon will trade flip flops for a winter coat, but he doesn’t mind. 

Heise, who as served as Lakewood Ranch Town Hall’s director of operations since 2007, gave his resignation Aug. 24 to become the village administrator in Egg Harbor, Wisc.

His last day with the Lakewood Ranch Inter-District Authority will be Sept. 24.

“It’s time for a new chapter in my life,” Heise said in his resignation letter. “My employment in Lakewood Ranch has been both challenging and rewarding, and I work amongst the best group of employees and board members anyone could ever ask for.”

But Heise is excited for a new challenge. In his role with Egg Harbor, he’ll expand his duties from overseeing the operations of Lakewood Ranch community development districts, including everything from landscaping and lake maintenance contracts to street improvement projects, to overseeing the operation of a marina, managing village business and helping make sure growth and environmental preservation work hand-in-hand through planning and zoning processes, among other duties.

Heise said his role at Town Hall has prepared him well for his new job in Egg Harbor, even if he does not yet have specific experience for some of his future responsibilities.

“I’m so used to meeting with people, problem solving or telling people when things are out of our control,” Heise said. “I see myself networking more with the business community up there, less than with residents like here, and doing more inter-governmental relationships. I look forward to that very much.”

Town Hall Executive Director Eva Rey said Heise has matured in his role as operations manager and is ready for the challenge.

“I think he’ll be a great village administrator,” she said. “He’s got the people skills for it. He’s got some good management experience under his belt and it’s just the right size village for him to prove his executive potential.”

Heise moved to the Sarasota area in 2005, at which time he took a position with the Lakewood Ranch Inter-District Authority as a “sprinkler guy.” 

“It didn’t last long,” Heise said. 

Within about six months, he stepped into a newly created position of environmental manager, overseeing the communities' stormwater ponds and working to create a conservation maintenance program.

Heise left that position to work as the operations manager for Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch in its stewardship district for about one year, before returning to the IDA as operations director in 2007. 

“When I worked for SMR, they were leasing me to the CDDs to help them with their issues,” Heise said. “I’d sit at a table of developers complaining about the deficiencies of the CDDs and represent both sides.”

Under the leadership of Town Hall’s former executive director, Bob Fernandez, Heise began creating and implementing operations-related policies for Lakewood Ranch’s community development districts. And under current executive director Rey, who will be leaving the organization in September for a position in Viera, Heise has focused more on improving customer service and continuing efforts for preventative maintenance, such as installing carp and aeration devices in ponds to help control algae blooms and upgrading the community’s irrigation technology to promote water conservation.

Heise said he’s had a long-term goal of becoming a city administrator, or holding a similar role, and completed his master’s degree in public administration from South Dakota University last year with that objective in mind. He’d hoped to finish construction of the IDA’s new operations facility, which opened WHEN, among other projects before seeking employment opportunities in the Midwest.

He and his wife, Mary, also have been anxious to return north to be closer to their families, who live in Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinios. Their closest relatives will be just one town away, and the farthest just a few hours by car or a ferry across Lake Michigan.

“We’re looking to start a family ourselves,” Heise said.

Heise, an avid surfer, said he may be trading Florida’s sunny beaches and crashing waves for cooler weather, but he’s not giving up his passion. The waters in Door County, Wisc., can be surfed with a longboard, if the conditions are right.

He also hopes to do more fishing and boating.

“I dream of being a captain, doing charter fishing on the weekends,” Heise said. “I hope to get my captain’s license.”

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].