In an eventful night, the Greenbank Farm Management Group accepted the resignation of farm Executive Director Laura Blankenship, decided to sell its wine shop, and voted to return most of its fiscal authority to the Port of Coupeville which owns the farm.

The decisions didn’t come easily Thursday evening, as dissent was frequently voiced by board members and a dozen community members waited out two executive sessions closed to the public.

The board turned down Blankenship’s offer to stay on the job until June 30 if certain conditions were met, instead opting for an April 30 resignation date.

Due to the closed-door, executive sessions it was not entirely clear why Blankenship was leaving. But in the public meeting board member Kathy Habel referred to “pretty sloppy bookkeeping,” though she didn’t blame Blankeship directly.

Blankenship in fact concurred that there are bookkeeping issues and she backed an idea to turn the monthly books over to Freeland accountant Chuck Edwards.

Access to the books on a daily basis was an issue, with the management group’s treasurer, Paula Willstatter, apparently denied such access by Blankenship.

“The treasurer needs full access to the books at all times,” board member Rob Hetler said. “If that can’t happen June 30 would not work out very well” as Blankenship’s resignation date.

Since Blankenship demanded in writing that staff under her “sole supervision” document daily financial transactions, and that was not agreed to by the board, she opted for the April 30 resignation.

“The board wanted more direct control of daily operations at the farm,” Blankenship said Friday morning. She said there were “personality conflicts” involved, and it came down to “micromanaging and personalities that led me to resign.”

She had managed the farm for over five years and saw it through its transition and expansion period.

“I’ve loved my job, and I didn’t think it was done,” Blankenship said.

Board members made a point of saying there were no financial improprieties, only that there were disagreements over access to the books and who was in charge.

The vote to put the wine shop up for sale was explained by board member Karen Hutchinson as a way to get the board out of the retail business and protect its non-profit status.

The initial motion stalled on a 3-3 tie vote, but an amended motion passed over the objections of Hetler and Molly McPherson.

“As a community gathering place it’s a shame for it to be gone,” said Hetler of the publicly owned wine shop. “This community wants to have this wine shop. People are not going to be happy.”

The community has a historic link to the wine shop. Its roots date back to the loganberry wine the farm was famous for before it was purchased as a public entity.

Board chairman Tom Baenen explained that the more wine the shop sold, the harder it was to retain a non-profit status. “If there’s $10,000 revenue on wine we need to raise $20,000 outside as a non-profit,” he said. “That’s a big thing.”

The farm will retain the right to the Whidbey’s wine labels, and a private owner will be sought to continue the wine operation so the tradition of wine sales at the farm is not lost.

The all-volunteer board also differed on a motion to “notify the Port of Coupeville of the board’s desire to terminate both its management agreement and lease of properties at the Greenbank Farm.”

The port purchased the farm but lost some control when Blankenship and the management group landed a $1.5 million economic development grant from the state. The grant resulted in a major new building, paved parking and numerous other upgrades, but was conditioned on a state-required, 10-year operating agreement between the management group and the port.

Now that the grant money is spent, the management group wants out of that agreement so it can focus on other things. As Blankenship surmised in a letter, the goal apparently is to “turn the farm general operations and its related revenues over to the port, while retaining responsibility and related revenues for farm activities more directly related to the (group’s) non-profit mission.”

Baenen’s original motion to turn major operations over to the port included the words “as soon as possible,” but those words were deleted at the urging of Hetler who said it was “very hasty.”

McPherson, an attorney in Coupeville, concurred with Hetler and cautioned against hurrying. “It causes me grave concern,” she said of giving more control to the port without a thorough public airing. She said a lot of people would like input before a decision is made, and she worried that the state might not approve of ending the management agreement.

“We need something in writing from the state,” McPherson said, “so they won’t sue over the money.”

But Hutchinson expressed confidence an agreement can be reached to satisfy both the port and the state. “This is a terrific group of port commissioners to work with,” she said. “We have the best collaborative relation with the port that we’ve had in years.”

Baenen said the port and management group have similar goals at the farm. “Do you think their desires are different than ours?” he asked McPherson.

McPherson replied she’s “actually not against” the proposal, and that the management group “should be out of property management.” But again, she urged a cautious approach.

“It’s inevitable, it’s the smart thing to do,” Baenen said.

When the motion to open discussions with the port came up to a vote, only McPherson voted against it.