It’s been a tough year for the volunteers who serve as the Greenbank Farm Management Group.

But 2006 may have ended on a high note for the group and the Port of Coupeville, as the months-long battle for control of the farm’s operations draws to a close.

“We may finally be smoking the peace pipe,” said Port Director Jim Patton.

On Dec. 13, port commissioners sent a letter to Karen Hutchinson, newly-elected president of the Greenbank Farm Management Group, detailing the level of financial accountability the port wants to see in 2007.

The port expects to receive monthly reports of the expenses that cover managing, operating and maintaining the property assets at Greenbank Farm, the letter stated.

Under the terms of the farm group’s 2004 management agreement with the port, the Port of Coupeville pays $45,000 per year to the nonprofit organization to cover operational costs. The port owns and is responsible for the farm’s operations.

The farm management group traditionally folded money from the port into its general fund for disbursement purposes, right along with rental income from tenants, the Wine Shop and the Loganberry Festival.

The port, however, wants those funds accounted for separately. It also wants to be notified at least 45 days in advance of any events held on the property that the farm group manages — including the farm’s agricultural and recreational land.

“For example, the Boy Scouts have asked to camp at Greenbank Farm and we’ve reluctantly had to say no,” Patton said.

“It’s a bitter pill, but camping falls outside the zoning laws determined by the Island County commissioners,” he said.

Hutchinson said the farm management group can live with the new reporting requirements.

“We’re working on working together,” she said. “The gist is, we’ve always been happy to provide incremental reports.”

Problems first surfaced publicly on April 20, when former director Laura Blankenship resigned in a dispute with the farm management group, saying that the farm’s board had changed and the leadership wanted to play a more proactive role in daily operations at Greenbank Farm.

The following month, Blankenship was hired by the Port of Coupeville as an editor who would draft the port’s next comprehensive plan.

While fending off public displeasure at Blankenship’s departure, the farm management board then asked for negotiations to terminate its management agreement with the port.

Over the next several months, tensions rose as the farm management group changed course about renegotiating the lease.

The relationship between the farm group and the port hit another snag in early summer when the farm group signed a four-month, $10,000 contract with Paul Samuelson. Samuelson was hired as a community relations advisor and to look at fund-raising options.

Port commissioners suspected that the management fee was being used to pay for Samuelson’s services, plus new director Cheryl Sagmeister’s salary. Commissioners then ordered Patton to conduct a full audit in October.

The audit did not go well, however.

Patton said the farm group’s treasurer resigned, the board’s bookkeeper was fired and no records could be found to show how the port’s money was being spent.

In mid November, Hutchinson formally told the port the farm group would comply with the accounting operating procedures that had been requested by the port.

Commissioners now hope that information will show whether the fee the port pays should be raised or lowered when contract negotiations begin anew in April, 2008.

“The port and the Greenbank Farm Management Group each bring unique expertise and resources to the Greenbank Farm,” said Coupeville Port Commissioner Benye Weber.

“Together, we have contributed to bringing the farm to its current excellent and stable financial condition. Jointly we believe there is an opportunity to design a better division of responsibilities that capitalizes on the strengths of each organization by having the port become more involved in on-site operations,” she said.

Meanwhile, Hutchinson is looking forward to the new year. “2007 is the tenth anniversary marking the citizen’s action to save the farm,” she said. “The official celebration is in September but we have a full slate of events already scheduled.”

In February, vice-president Rob Hetler will lead a volunteer work party to resurrect the caretaker cottage, one of the farm’s original buildings. That work will be assisted by a $6,000 expenditure from the port to bring it up to code.

“We have a full calendar planned which exactly meets the vision of those who made the farm a reality all those years ago,” Hutchinson said.

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or jvanderford@southwhidbeyrecord.com.