Two organizations in Coupeville have different ideas for a prominent lot in town.

Council members discussed implementing a proposal process in a Feb. 8 town council meeting after local nonprofit Historic Whidbey suggested alternate uses for the Johnson lot in response to a request from the Island County Historical Society.

The Historical Society, which owns and operates the Island County Historical Museum, approached the council last month about leasing the Johnson lot, located between the Haller House and Cook’s Corner Park, to build an archival facility. Council members expressed interest in the idea and encouraged museum Executive Director Rick Castellano to develop the proposal further.

On Jan. 24, Historic Whidbey, the organization that owns and is working to preserve the historic Haller House, responded to the proposal with a letter to council members, stating that while the organization’s members recognize the museum’s need for an archival center, the Johnson lot would not be an appropriate location for such a facility because of its position at the entrance to the historic waterfront district.

“In the nearly 160 years since the first Euro-American building was constructed on Front Street, a structure on the Johnson lot only appeared in the last third of the 20th century,” the letter reads. “The demolition of that structure over ten years ago made it possible to reclaim the historic character of the viewshed leading into the historic district via Main Street, as well as the eastbound view entering on Coveland Street.”

The letter goes on to say that leaving a green space would be best, with possible uses for the public land including a welcome plaza for the historic district, a demonstration pioneer town garden, an interpretive native plant garden or a staging area for community events. Historic Whidbey does not wish to own or lease the land itself.

Historic Whidbey Executive Director Lynn Hyde said during the council meeting that she has spoken with Castellano about their organizations’ differing visions for the property and that Historic Whidbey is committed to working with the museum in determining the best use for the lot and finding a solution for the museum’s storage problem.

“We certainly, sincerely support the museum’s deep, legitimate need to have an archival facility,” Hyde said. “I think that (Castellano) is alone trying to solve this problem by himself, and I’d like to see not just our community but the whole Island County community taking a serious look at how we support the historical society in general. They are chronically underfunded and yet we entrust them with our community treasures to preserve for posterity and we need to all do a better job of supporting them.”

Council members all agreed that if they decide to do anything with the lot, the town needs to implement a structured process for receiving and reviewing proposals to preclude an influx of proposals from other entities.

“We just have to have a fair process for people,” said Councilmember Jackie Henderson, adding that the council’s inclination to step back and create a more formal proposal process does not mean its members don’t support the museum’s proposal or any other organizations’ ideas.

“I don’t want Rick to feel like we’re cutting him off at the knees, because I think he has a good proposal, and I hope that he would continue to go forward with developing it,” Henderson said. “I just want us to be a little more organized about how we go about deciding what we’re going to do with it.”

The council did not take any action or make a final decision about how to proceed with the issue during its Feb. 8 meeting, and council members reminded the public that no proposed uses are set in stone yet.