More than 10 years ago, the Port of Coupeville took out a bond to purchase the Greenbank Farm, which was a move that kept the historic property from being transformed into a housing development.

Since then, the port’s cash reserves have steadily decreased in paying off the debt until that pool of money dried up earlier in the year.

To help pay bonds and the management fee for the Greenbank Farm, port officials are now asking taxpayers to approve a levy increase of 6 cents per $1,000 assessed property value.

That increase would bring in approximately $150,000 per year. Revenue would cover the $100,000 to pay off the bonds and the nearly $50,000 that pays the annual fee of the Greenbank Farm Management Group, which oversees operations at the publicly owned farm.

Jim Patton, executive director for the Port of Coupeville, said there isn’t any elasticity in the port’s funds anymore. At the end of September the port had only $13,000 left and faced paying more unexpected costs that come when maintaining two historic properties.

“They’ve got two 100-year-old properties,” Tom Baenen, president of the Greenbank Farm Management Group, said, referring to the Greenbank Farm and the Coupeville Wharf. He described the port’s levy request as nominal and said it would pay for some deferred maintenance projects and provide seed money for future capital projects.

Some of the recent expenses that have cropped up at the farm include new grease traps for the septic system and hiring someone to manage that system, which is a new requirement set by changes in state regulations.

The wharf projects that have been delayed include making improvements to the fuel tanks which pose a potential hazard to the environment.

In addition to getting caught up with maintenance projects, the port would use money freed up by the levy increase to provide matching funds for any grants officials might pursue.

Patton said there are plans to eventually construct another building at the Greenbank Farm. That building would house a training center, office space and indoor space for a year-around farmers market. But for that to happen, the port would need to have some kind of matching money available before approaching the Legislature.

The levy increase, if approved by voters Nov. 4, would last until 2017, which is when the Port of Coupeville will pay off the $1.3 million bond for the 151-acre Greenbank Farm.

If the levy isn’t approved, Patton has steps lined up to make further cutbacks. Patton said that would entail continuing to defer maintenance projects and suspending work developing a master site plan for the Greenbank Farm.

For more information about the Port of Coupeville’s levy, visit www.portofcoupeville.org.