Land Bank Rejects Funding Ultimatum from Coffelt Farm Stewards
But Remains Committed to Investing in Farm’s Future
At its monthly public meeting on Friday March 15th in Friday Harbor, the San Juan County Land Bank Commission denied a request for $1,225,000 in new and upgraded infrastructure at Coffelt Farm, a 189-acre county-owned agricultural preserve on Orcas Island. The lion’s share of the ask –- and what the Commissioners objected to unanimously -– consisted of $950,000 for a new 3,600-square-foot building with commercial kitchen, office, classroom space for 36 people, and three self-contained apartments with full kitchens.
The request for the pricey package was made three weeks earlier from the farm’s operator, the non-profit Coffelt Farm Stewards (CFS), in the form of an ultimatum: agree or else CFS would close its 501c3 organization and cease farm operations.
CFS stipulated the Land Bank had just one week to issue a letter of intent to fully fund the request, and one month to include the expenditure in an amended Land Bank budget.
Despite the short deadline, the Land Bank Commission responded with a letter of intent sent to CFS on March 1st, expressing the Land Bank’s commitment to invest in agricultural infrastructure for the farm – including new fencing, water system upgrades, and manure management facilities — along with a willingness to have conversations with CFS about how worker housing needs could be met. The letter stopped short of committing to the large multi-purpose building, though, noting the Commission would need time to investigate more cost-effective options, including utilizing existing structures, and finding additional sources of funding.
The Land Bank’s letter of intent and invitation for further discussions of options went unanswered by CFS. Presented only with an all-or-nothing ultimatum for consideration at the Commission meeting, the Commissioners ultimately denied the request in its entirety.
“The situation is truly unfortunate,” says Lincoln Bormann, SJC Land Bank Director. “The Land Bank has been willing to invest — and has invested — in infrastructure, particularly to improve agricultural operations and soil health, and we’ve shown we’re more than willing to discuss all manner of options with CFS. However, the CFS Board left no room for negotiation and instead created a ‘yes or no’ scenario.”
To date, the Land Bank has invested more than $1.4 million in acquisition costs and an estimated $240,000 in infrastructure and staff time at Coffelt Farm.
According to Bormann, when the Land Bank completed its purchase of the farm in 2011, it elected to have a newly formed non-profit, Coffelt Farm Stewards, manage the property. The farm’s prior owners, the Coffelts, donated all of their farm animals, equipment, and farm vehicles to CFS. Bormann says that he and the then Commissioners had envisioned that CFS, utilizing those assets along with an established customer base, extensive infrastructure such as barns, a farm foreman’s house, farmstand, compost facility, large market garden area, and expansive fields, plus having no lease payment, would be able to steward and sustain the farm, especially with a non-profit’s added ability to fundraise.
“Unfortunately, that hope hasn’t been realized,” says Bormann. He says that CFS has needed substantial cash infusions from its board members and has been on the brink of dissolution on several occasions.
Bormann says hope was renewed last July when a promising new CFS board signed a two-year rent-free lease, with the understanding both parties would work together toward a longer-term lease. The lease specified the property was offered “as is” and contained a provision for CFS to request capital expenditures by each September to enable the Land Bank to include items in its annual budget.
Bormann said no such request was made by CFS in 2018, and in fact the new CFS board continued to provide positive progress updates to the Commission until mid-February, when CFS issued an annual report describing dire circumstances at the farm. Representatives of the Land Bank met with CFS on February 22, 2019 to review the findings, and it was then that CFS issued its $1.225m list of infrastructure requirements along with the announcement that the Board had voted the prior day to disband CFS unless all demands were met.
Bormann says the Land Bank remains firmly committed to Coffelt Farm as a valuable public asset and will be immediately investigating options for its future management as well as following through on some of the needed improvements. “We envision a vibrant sustainable farm continuing to provide local food to the community and we’ll work diligently toward achieving this goal.” Bormann says once things settle down, he anticipates a robust community engagement process focused on the future vision for the farm, adding that the publicity surrounding this latest twist has spurred several people to come forth with creative ideas and alternative models for consideration. “We might end up with something better than we all could’ve imagined.”