BAYVIEW - Bayview Water and Sewer District board members Chuck Murray and Kimberly Mattern have both drawn challengers for the May 19 election.

Sharon K. Meyer, a longtime district resident, is running against Mattern for a six-year term as a district board member in the No. 4 seat.

Meyer said she became interested in serving on the board after water rates were raised significantly in 2011, with what she felt was limited justification. Sewer rates also increased at that time.

Meyer, who has been attending the monthly board meetings regularly, said users were just told it was time for an increase.

She would like to see the board providing accurate information to the public regularly, be customer-service focused, and be more responsive to customer questions.

"We would have more openness," Meyer said, if she was elected. "We should know where our money is with the audits."

Meyer was an instructor at Spokane Community College for 40 years, and now teaches at North Idaho College in business and professional technology.

Mattern spent 34 years working for Avista Utilities.

"It's just a continuation of where I spent my whole career," Mattern said.

She retired to Bayview in June 2014, and was appointed to the board late last fall. She bought a vacation home in Bayview in 2000.

She started as a meter reader at Avista, worked at Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge dams as a hydro operator and finished in a management position where she oversaw the pre-schedule and real-time delivery of power.

Her top issue is to maintain clean and healthy water for users and continue the board's good service record.

"I'm just interested in the water and sewer system," Mattern said.

She said being a new resident has its advantages as a candidate.

"I have no allegiances here," she said. "There are no groups who I'm tied with."

Stephen May is challenging Murray - the two are neighbors - for a six-year term as the seat No. 5 board member.

May said he is running because he wants the district to have up-to-date and audited financials, open and transparent operations and excellent customer service.

May said he has seen the district fail to get its books audited and has fallen outside the rules and regulations the district should be meeting.

He said it has been way too difficult to get information about the district's financials.

People need to know where their money is going, he said.

"Right now it's been a black hole," May said.

He would like to see the district operating more like the Southside Water and Sewer District, in Sagle, which puts its financial information in the open for the public to review.

"We're not here to badmouth anybody," May said. "We're here to make things the best they can be, so this system is one we can rely on now and in the future."

May has built and operated several companies, all of which are customer-service related, he said.

May is semi-retired, but has owned and operated the Dirt Bike School for 34 years. He also is the CEO of Options & Solutions Inc., with services that include financial and stock market research.

Murray has been on the board for four years, following an appointment.

"I feel it's a service in the community," Murray said.

He is in the middle of a major project digitizing the water district's records dating back to the early 1970s.

He said it takes time to learn the job of serving on the board and learn the district's needs.

"I'm still learning," he said.

His primary issue is keeping the district operating within state statutes, he said.

Murray retired from the U.S. Navy in 1979, after nearly 20 years as a store keeper, managing budgets and supplies.

After the Navy he spent 20 years working for a computer company in Liberty Lake, he said.

Kimberly Mattern

Age: 58

Education: High school graduate, hydro substation and operator apprentice program (four years)/system operations apprentice program (six years)

Related Experience: 34 years with Avista Utilities

How long have you lived in the district: One year

Stephen May

Age: 58

Education: Couple years of college

Related Experience: Business owner

How long have you lived in the district: 13 years

Sharon Meyer

Age: 72

Education: Bachelor's degree in health sciences from Whitworth University.

Related Experience: Former secretary of Cape Horn Water Users Association.

How long have you lived in the district: 37 years

Chuck Murray

Age: 72

Education: High school graduate.

Related Experience: U.S. Navy as store keeper

How long have you lived in the district: Nearly 30 years