When most people in Ocean Pines rate the current board of  directors’ performance as between fair and poor, it’s no wonder candidates aren’t lining up to vie for one of the three seats up for election this year.

That’s according to the results of the community survey conducted last summer by the Communications Advisory Committee. The poll, which elicited a respectable 15 percent rate of response out of the 8,452 property owners who received the questionnaire, found that 38 percent of the respondents believed the board was doing just a “fair” job and 29 percent ranked its performance as “poor.”

That take on a board that has dealt with — and cleared up — some serious problems this past year, suggests that serving as a director truly is a thankless job that probably isn’t worth pursuing.

Another notable aspect of  the survey’s results, however, is how many people apparently don’t care one way or the other, especially in the lower age brackets.

Just 10 percent of the respondents were under 55 years of age, which means either these people are too busy with home or business obligations to bother with a survey — or to run for office — or they’re not as involved in the community as are older people who might have more free time.

Either way, it’s not conducive to building a bulging ballot for this year’s board contest.

Add this to the apparent absence of enthusiasm to serve on the candidate Search Committee, and what you have is a typical small town situation, in which it’s easier to complain about the job others are doing than it is to try to do something about it.