An effort to find a safe exercise space for two rambunctious huskies led an Oak Harbor resident to public office.

Commissioners for the North Whidbey Park and Recreation District voted to appoint Michael J. Fraasch to the position vacated by Cecil Pierce, who stepped down earlier this year after being seriously injured in a motorcycle-versus-car accident.

Fraasch will be sworn in at the regular meeting Sept. 22.

Fraasch said he’s been in the Navy for 19 years and is set to retire. He’s studying organizational leadership in college and hopes to get a job on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island when he retires.

His reason for applying to become a commissioner is simple.

“I want to make a difference in the community,” he said. “I think I have a lot to offer.”

Many park commissioners past and present have been involved with the swimming pool in one way or another. Fraasch, however, comes with a different perspective.

He and other dog owners were concerned by the state of the Clover Valley Off-Leash Dog Park on Ault Field Road, which is owned and run by the park district. They took it upon themselves to clean up trash and dog poop, fix fences and do other repairs.

The dog owners voiced their concerns to the park commissioners. Fraasch was appointed to a subcommittee for the off-leash park and ended up securing a budget for the two-acre doggy area.

“It still needs a lot of work, but we’re getting there,” he said.

The next year will likely be challenging for the commissioners.

Director Steve McCaslin notes that the district’s maintenance-and-operations levy will be on the ballot some time next year.

The passage of the levy is crucial to the continued operation of the pool and other programs. About 58 percent of the district’s budget comes from the property-tax levy.

McCaslin said a subcommittee is working on developing a proposal for the levy, which will be presented to the commissioners.