February 20, 2014 • The Whidbey Examiner
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Port commissioners laying groundwork for Greenbank change By Nathan Whalen Staff Reporter
Nathan Whalen photo
Pati and Paul Schmakeit are the new owners of Coupeville’s Back to the Island.
New owners takes on Back to the Island By Nathan Whalen Staff Reporter
There’s a new face running one of the businesses on Coupeville’s historic Front Street. Pati Schmakeit recently bought Back to the Island, a small boutique located next door to the Penn Cove Gallery. Back to the Island sells clothes and novelties popular with tourists and neighbors alike. She had a casual journey to becoming a business owner. She said she was visiting with her son, who graduated from Coupeville High School in 2013, when he said, “we need to buy a business.” Former Back to the Island owner Deb Crocker was her neighbor and asked her if she was interested in selling one of her businesses to give her a call. That call came in December and she took over Back to the Island
in January. “It was really serendipitous,” Schmakeit said of her new business. While she plans to continue selling Back to the Island’s current line of products, she is planning several additions, notably licensed sportswear. She hopes to start selling Huskies and Cougars merchandise and, once she gets the licensing, Seahawks and Mariners items too. She will also continue looking for novelty items to also sell at Back to the Island. Prior to that, she spent six years working in social services and enjoyed a career in the Air Force where she was a lieutenant colonel and served as an intelligence officer. She and her husband, Paul, moved to Whidbey Island 15 years ago and spent eight years in Oak Harbor before moving to Coupeville. “It’s a fun community with good people,” Paul said.
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Schmakeit’s purchase of Back to the Island is the latest of a series of changes that have taken place in Coupeville’s downtown business district. The Windjammer Gallery closed its doors at the end of 2013 and in its place is Vail Wine Ship, which moved from its former spot in Mariners Court. The Oystercatcher recently welcomed new owners and Eagles Song Health and Wellsness moved to a new spot in Freeland. Back to the Island is currently operation under its winter hours. It’s open from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Hours will expand in the summer.
Commissioners for the Port of Coupeville are starting work to determine how the Greenbank Farm will be operated. The current contract with the Greenbank Farm Management Group expires in mid2015 and port commissioners are looking at the best way to prepare for that deadline. The three-member elected board will meet in March to discuss parameters they would like to include in the request for proposal used to advertise for potential entities interested in managing the Greenbank Farm. “There are a lot of questions that need to be addressed,” said Port of Coupeville executive director Tim McDonald. Once those parameters are established, then the public will have a chance to comment on them in April. Commissioner Mike Diamanti said the upcoming comment period should focus on items to include in a potential contract and not denigrate the current management group currently running the farm. The issue surrounding the future of the
Washington State Parks schedule free days Washington State Parks will offer free days where visitors won’t have to display a Discover Pass when visiting a state park. The next free day is March 19. Other free days are April 19, April 22, May 11, June 7 and 8, June 14, Aug. 25, Sept. 27 and Nov. 11. The free days are consistent with legislation that created the Discover Pass, which is a $30 annual or $10 per
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day permit that allows visitors into state parks along with lands managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Natural Resources. The legislation stated that the park system
could designate up to 12 free days throughout the year. Visitors will still need a Discover Pass when they visit department of natural resources and fish and wildlife lands.
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5595 South Harbor Ave. Freeland, WA. 98249 | P.O. BOX 789 Freeland, WA. 98249
Greenbank Farm has been controversial for more than a year. At the beginning of 2013, a volunteer group tasked with providing recommendations on transitioning the farm once the management group contract expires presented a report, which said the contract should not be extended. The report suggested that the port not assume management of the farm, but send out an RFP to find a suitable entity to oversee the farm. The volunteer group also recommended the port should also explore the conditional sale of the farm with restrictive covenants. The commissioners for the Port of Coupeville later in 2013 ended up extending the Greenbank Farm Management Group contract by more than a year. The arrangement had to be maintained to fulfill requirements of a state contract that provided more than $1 million for construction projects at the farm. That contract stated the management group had to run the farm for 10 years. The commissioners for the Port of Coupeville will meet at 10 a.m., Wednesday, March 12, in Room 116 at the Island County Administration Building.
Tickets $20; available at bayleaf, Coupeville Chamber of Commerce, Aqua Gifts & Far From Normal Sponsored by
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