Commissioners Present: Benye Weber, Ann McDonald and Marshall Bronson

Others Present: Jim Patton (Executive Director), Donna Keeler (Master Site Plan Coordinator) and Coupeville Residents: Linda Devitt, Vern & Martha Olsen and Bruce Bryson.

Call to Order: The special meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Commissioner Weber in the Service Alternatives Building, #20 NW First Street, in Coupeville, WA, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Purpose of the Meeting: Weber stated that the purpose of the meeting was to provide a briefing to the public on the draft Master Site Plan for the Greenbank Farm. The Comprehensive Plan 2007-2026, adopted by the Board on May 9, 2007, identified the Master Site Plan as one of the Port's most important projects for the immediate future. This draft plan has taken more than one year to complete and represents the input of many contributing volunteers. The Board wishes to incorporate the views of the public to the maximum extent possible before adopting the plan.

The public was invited to attend this special meeting but public input was limited to questions, comments and suggestions for the Master Site Plan.

Welcome and Introductions: Weber introduced herself, her fellow Commissioners, Bronson and McDonald, Executive Director, Jim Patton, and Master Site Plan Coordinator, Donna Keeler. She welcomed the public and thanked them all for coming to the meeting.

Presentation of the draft Master Site Plan (MSP): Patton provided a one-hour PowerPoint presentation on the draft MSP (on file at the Port office and on the website at www.portofcoupeville.org).

Questions, Comments and Suggestions (public participation):

Vern Olsen said that he was most impressed with the detail and product of the Master Site Plan. He accepted that the Port had much to manage at the Greenbank Farm. Weber responded that the whole community within the Port district felt very passionate about the farm. Olsen said that in regard to the improvements proposed in the plan he is against any additional paving and would restrict hard surfaces to permeable, low impact techniques. He agreed that Barn A needs to be refurbished and insulated to save energy and its historic appearance is very important and should be preserved when improvements are made.

Linda Devitt said that she was amazed at the amount of work that had gone into the preparation of the MSP. She was concerned, however with funding the proposed multi-purpose building and did not understand where the source would be. She did not want money from Coupeville used to pay for constructing another building at the Greenbank Farm. Outside funding is a must!

She asked: "Realistically, how is the farm going to become self-sufficient?" Bronson said that the farm is, in fact, operating at a self-sufficient level, with the help of the management fee that the Port contributes. The problem for the Port is that it must also contribute about one-third of its income to repay the bonds with which the farm was purchased in 1997. This leaves the Port unable to keep up with necessary maintenance at both the Coupeville Wharf and the farm. There is little to no money available for making improvements at either site.

Olsen pointed out that public parks rarely ever pay for themselves. Nevertheless, he said, our Whidbey Island residents need our parks and we need the Greenbank Farm. He went on to praise President Teddy Roosevelt, the Great Conservationist, for creating the country's national parks.

Bruce Bryson said that the Master Site Plan process, including all the initiatives laid out in the plan, is an important step in reaching the point where the farm can generate more revenue.

Weber explained the process by which the Board of Commissioners attempted to raise money for the multi-purpose building through a capital grant from the state government. The Board argued that the building would generate important economic development for our district as well as enough revenue to defray the expense of paying off the bonds. She said that Senator Haugen and Representatives Smith and Bailey supported the Port's request in budget negotiations and were as disappointed as we were when no money was made available for capital improvements in District 10. They urged the Port to apply again in the next two-year budget cycle - and, meanwhile, will be watching for any economic stimulus money that might become available. Weber said that it is important for the Port to be ready to proceed if money is found.

Devitt commented on the proposed new commercial kitchen at the farm and strongly suggested that public access to the kitchen facilities be carefully controlled to permit utilization on a fair and equitable basis. Olsen agreed.

There were no additional comments. On behalf of the Board, Weber thanked everyone for coming.

ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Weber adjourned the meeting at 8:15 p.m.