A commissioner’s seat is open on the board of the North Whidbey Park and Recreation District, though Director Jim Shulock said he hopes to have the position filled at the next regular meeting on Feb. 19.

Even though the board has received three promising applications since P&R got the word out on Jan. 8, it’s not too late to apply for an appointment to the volunteer position, Shulock said.

The commissioner’s seat up for grabs is the one vacated by Eric Gerber, who recently was elected to the Oak Harbor City Council. The problem was that P&R’s monthly board meetings take place at the exact same time as council meetings.

The board of commissioners oversees but does not directly dictate the work done by Shulock, who is responsible for the day-to-say operations of the district. Neither is Shulock directly answerable to the board; rather, the board is responsible for general functions such as approving the yearly budget, setting district policy and keeping in touch with constituents, or as Shulock put it, “what the public wants.”

“I run the district,” said Shulock bluntly, though he added: “I do it with the good graces of the board.”

Shulock said that any future board members should know that they are part of a governing body of elected officials, and therefore, he said, “you’re going to come under the scrutiny of the public.”

Board member, he said, “should be responsible enough to keep the district’s best interest in mind.”

Of course, Shulock also keeps his finger on the pulse of the community.

“I try and keep things working, and moving towards what the public wants,” he said.

Among the things owned and operated by the district are the John Vanderzicht Memorial Pool, which Shulock said is the reason the district was formed in the first place. The pool staff provides a wide range of community services, such as swimming and diving lessons, and aerobics.

“We’re the only pool in town,” Shulock said. “We provide good services, and we’re pretty inexpensive.”

The district also owns Clover Valley Park with its two softball fields, and Hillcrest Village Park. Both the Babe Ruth softball league and the Northwest Aquatic Club are under the district’s auspices.

Shulock said his district is not associated with either Island County or Oak Harbor city government, that it has its own identity, though there often is cooperation among the municipalities. For instance, last summer life guards from the district’s pool pulled duty at Oak Harbor’s city beach lagoon, providing the service on the cheap for the city.

“We’re basically in a gray area between city government and county government,” Shulock said. “We work heavily with the county and the city in doing what the public needs.”

Shulock said that since he took over as director two years back, he’s been able to accomplish quite a bit, even though he considers himself “a penny-pinching miser son-of-a-gun.” Some of those accomplishments include the pool’s new spa, revamped lighting, new paint job and filters for the pool.

The district is also currently developing a small plot of land at Hillcrest that will some day be a walking park for the public.

As for future developments in the district, Shulock said he wants to focus on the projects at hand. “I don’t see us acquiring more land. I see us developing what we have,” he said.