Serving the public tends to be a thankless job, but a seat on the North Whidbey Parks and Recreation board is tougher than most.

It’s a position almost no one seems to want. During the past several years, only board President Sean Merrill has stuck out a four-year term, and he’s not planning to sit through another.

Some of the tough issues the board is facing include finding a qualified director who will work for a modest salary and coming up with a plan to build a reserve fund with an estimated half-million dollars in repairs needed at the pool in the next few years.

Then there’s dealing with a sometimes irate public. People who showed up at recent meetings were upset about the pool temperature, concerned about the subsidization of the swim team and not thrilled with the prospect of paying more to get into the pool.

Board members were interrupted by the audience, ranted at and even called names.

The district doesn’t have the resources of a larger organization, which would offer more administrative support such as an accountant, attorney or human resources director. Which leaves the volunteer board left to deal with fairly complex issues largely on its own.

“It is absolutely thankless,” said board member Donna Sue Holly. “People show up for a meeting and they want their three minutes. They say rude and uncivil things and wrong things.”

All five positions on the board are up for election, and all five seats are uncontested races. Holly and Wendy Shingleton are both running for four-year seats. Cecil Pierce, Shane Hoffmire and Richard Fort are running to finish out the unexpired terms of two-year seats.

Donna Sue Holly is a retired Naval intelligence officer who brings professional experience with budgets, problem solving, decision making and leadership. She’s a frequent user of the pool appointed to the board about a year ago.

“I’m running because the district is in trouble and it needs a board of commissioners willing to do the hard work and potentially unpopular things to get it back on track,” she said.

Wendy Shingleton is a business owner who formerly worked as an analyst for Hewlett-Packard Co. She, too, was appointed to fill a vacant seat. As a commissioner, she’d like to make sure the district is spending the right amount of money on needed maintenance and make sure taxpayer money is well spent. She’d like to find ways to increase revenue without asking for more tax dollars and establish better partnerships with resources and businesses in the community. Shingleton, a lifelong runner, said she would like to find ways to offer more running and walking programs.

Shane Hoffmire is running for the first time. His father, Steve Hoffmire, currently serves on the board, but isn’t running again. The younger Hoffmire works as a maintenance mechanic.

“The biggest reason I’m running is simple,” he said. “I often hear individuals, even former board members, who say the district and the pool are doomed. That is a reality I can’t accept. We live on an island surrounded by water.”

The district hasn’t put enough money aside for maintenance, and Hoffmire said he can draw on his professional experience to get the district back on track. Part of that is gaining the public’s trust and floating a levy to pay for needed repairs as well as add improvements such as a water slide and splash pad.

Hoffmire has been critical of the board. During a recent meeting he interrupted board proceedings multiple times, prompting the board president to tell him to be quiet or leave.

Cecil Pierce was recently appointed to fill a vacanct seat on the board. He has no political experience and wanted to get involved to serve his community. He works as an electronics technician and volunteers for a veteran’s organization.

Richard Fort, a retired doctor, also is running for the first time. Fort dislikes the district using taxpayer money to subsidize the swim team, writing multiple letters to the Whidbey News-Times on the matter.

“I would like to bring transparency to the pool budget,” he said. “I would like the public to know the actual cost versus user fee income for taxpayer-subsidized programs.”

He’d also like levy money set aside for preventive maintenance of the pool.

“The pool is in poor condition, with many needed repairs,” he said.