Editor,

I implore Marshall Bronson to undo this terrible wrong. A less than perfect plan is far better than no plan at all. Based on words shared at the last Port of Coupeville meeting, months of planning, negotiation and hard work on behalf of the port and the Greenbank Farm Management Group have been undone; not with a superior plan in the wings, or even a plan of somewhat equal value being proffered.

Actually there appears to be no plan at all. Using Marshall Bronson’s own words from the recent Whidbey Examiner article, “What the bigger picture looks like, he said, he doesn’t know” and “We’ll have to pencil it out.” Regarding current employees, Mr. Bronson stated they’d probably be paid less, it might not be all of them, and he thinks he could do with less employees.

Executive Director David Day, although touting the move as a bold move by Carr, goes on to state quite plainly that there is no plan or even framework in place. Mr. Day stated he’s looking into ideas on how to proceed and that he’s hopeful he’ll have something to present at next month’s meeting, finally stating that there’s a lot of stuff left up in the air.

The gravity and seriousness of this situation for the livelihood of so many, including business owners, students and employees has been swept aside. The impact on the community has been ignored. It has taken over a year to replace a mechanism very similar to one that was already up and running at the farm with some modifications. For this slow moving body, with their demonstrated limited skill set, to believe and expect us to believe that in five short months, starting from ground zero, they can craft, anticipate challenges, approve and implement a plan where the port seamlessly assumes management of the farm beginning the first of the year is either naïve or insulting. At this late stage in the process, this is beyond irresponsible. The people of Coupeville and Greenbank deserve far better from their elected officials, even if they don’t have to worry about re-election. These negotiations were entered into in good faith, please finish them in the same manner, as men of honor should.

Bill Larsen

Former port commissioner

Coupeville