Two commissioners stepped down from the North Whidbey Pool, Park and Recreation District board last week as a proposition to redesignate to a metropolitan district heads to the August ballot.

James Marrow, Position 5 commissioner and chairperson, and John Chargualaf, Position 2 commissioner, make three recent premature departures from the board. Melissa Hartmann replaced Marsha Smith, Position 4, in April.

Currently, each of these terms expire next year, though, should the metropolitan district pass, each position must run for reelection and begin new terms.

According to Brit Kraner, Position 1 commissioner and head of the levy committee, that’s where the heart of the two recent resignations lies. Board members felt they would not be able to campaign for the ballot measure as freely as they would like if they remain as elected officials.

State law broadly prohibits the use of public facilities to support or oppose a ballot proposition, although public officials can make statements about ballot measures in a press conference or in response to a specific inquiry, according to Municipal Research and Service Center.

Marrow intends for the metropolitan district to pass, he said, but it will require intense campaigning.

“I look forward to the campaign,” he said. “The last major campaign I was in, I lost 30 pounds of weight.”

The wording on the August ballot for the redesignation isn’t as clear as it should be, and it’s too late to change it, Kraner said, so it will take some extra work educating the public.

The language originally read as if the Oak Harbor City Council and Island County commissioners supported the formation of a metropolitan district as opposed to supporting the decision to appear on the ballot. Additionally, the new district requires a 50% vote plus one to approve a levy of $0.25 per $1,000 of property tax, not $0.75 per $1,000, as it was originally stated.

The district held a special meeting on Monday to nominate new candidates, kicking off a 15-day period where current commissioners can nominate more candidates and candidates can apply on their own. After that, the board meets and interviews the candidates for selection.

“Our seats are a completely different makeup than the board has been,” Kraner said. “We’re all fresh. We are all brand new commissioners willing to dig in.”

Former commissioners, such as Patricia Hardin, are considering returning to the board, Kraner said, and those who do not return still offer their education and experience.

“I think the district is going to just grow and grow and grow,” she said. “There’s a lot of new ideas being tossed around, and new programs coming out all the time. Our program committee has been turning out new programs at a rate that’s almost alarming, and they’ve been doing a really great job.”

Kraner said she’s optimistic about the district’s future.

“I do think that we are going to be successful in establishing the new metropolitan district, and I think the future looks really great.”

Chargualaf did not return a request for comment.