It’s been a little shocking to discover the depths of the Vashon Park District’s financial problems.

Several of the commissioners, as well as newly hired Executive Director Jan Milligan, say they’re confident the park district will get through this difficult stretch. Meanwhile, however, some of the Island contractors who worked long hours to help install the new fields complex north of town have yet to be paid for jobs they completed three to four months ago.

That’s a tough situation for these self-employed Islanders. And a surprising one. They no doubt thought a contract with a government agency on Vashon was one of their better gigs.

Milligan says they need to be patient. “We won’t stiff them,” she told The Beachcomber last week. We believe her. Even so, it’s understandable some would be upset; we don’t expect our local agencies to run out of cash, at least not on Vashon.

How did the park district get into this bind?

Obviously, the situation was born in large part of good intention. The Island has a serious shortage of sports fields. Soccer, in particular, is a popular sport on Vashon and a fantastic way for young people to get exercise. Frequently, however, practices and games have to be called off because of muddy, soggy, un-playable fields. Various teams, meanwhile, vie for time on the fields, with some getting short-changed.

It’s understandable our park district — governed by a set of commissioners with a passion for sports — wanted to redress this situation. And indeed, they secured a significant grant from the state that enabled them to move forward on the ambitious project — a new set of fields to accommodate a number of sports.

But when private fundraising for the project fell short, we believe the commissioners should have made a clarion call to the community. Do we want these fields? Are they truly a priority to the Island? If so, it was our moment of truth — time to step forward and walk our talk.

If that clarion call was made, we didn’t hear it. Instead, the commissioners decided to make up the difference with park district funds, pushing forward quietly but aggressively to keep the project on track and exhausting the district’s cash reserves in the process.

To some degree, they were successful. The basic infrastructure of the $1.7 million project is complete. But now, the park district has a serious cash flow problem and a handful of contractors have yet to be paid. Employees, meanwhile, haven’t gotten a raise in three years, unlike their counterparts at the Vashon fire department, some of whom will likely see raises of around 4 percent this year.

As they move forward, the commissioners and Milligan need to be clear and open with the community, letting us know what it is they’re up against, the choices they face and the costs of each potential decision. Those of us who care about the fields also need to step up and support this project. These fields, after all, belong to the community.