The legal battle over the Mukai Farm and Garden continues, as Texas resident Mary Matthews works to prevent a group of Vashon activists who recently won in court from taking control of the historic property.
Last week Matthews came to Vashon and quietly held an open house at the property, much to the chagrin of the group of islanders who have for weeks hoped she would transfer the property to them.
“We are not going away,” said Glenda Pearson, a Friends of Mukai board member who expressed frustration last week over the prolonged dispute. “We’ve said that from the beginning. … The end game is to save the property. That’s all we really want.”
The Friends of Mukai celebrated a major legal victory last month, when King County Superior Court Judge Monica Benton ruled that the group of islanders had legal control of Island Landmarks, the nonprofit that owns the house.
The ruling left Matthews, who has been highly criticized during her time at the helm of the nonprofit, and other former board members no longer affiliated with the organization or the property. However, Matthews’ party — which includes former board members Nelson Happy, Owen Ryan and Ken and Ellen De Frang — recently appealed that decision. They also argued for a stay, a legal action that would allow them to retain control of Island Landmarks during the appeal, which could take six to nine months.
As control of the property was in question last week, Matthews quietly began an open house there, putting a sign up in front of the house. A flyer read that the garden would be open Monday through Sunday and that the farmhouse would also be open with a slideshow and exhibit Friday through Sunday. The flier went on to say that the property will be open at least 10 days each month from June through October. One criticism of Matthews and her former board has been that the site has not been regularly opened to the public, as promised when the property was purchased years ago.
In a court brief filed last Thursday, the Friends of Mukai, who opposed the stay, called the open house posturing on the part of Matthews’ group. The weeklong event was apparently not advertised other than on a sandwich board placed outside the property, at the end of 107th Avenue.
“The Court may and should conclude that the defendants developed this new interest in opening the property simply to counter the pending motion,” the court brief reads. “If the Court issues a stay, the defendants will no doubt return to their long pattern of ignoring the property.”
On Thursday, Matthews was at the farmhouse but declined to comment to The Beachcomber. Her lawyers have also repeatedly declined to comment on the case. On Friday, Matthews was there but said she wasn’t quite ready to open the farmhouse for the open house.
On Friday evening, however, the Friends of Mukai learned that Judge Benton did not grant the stay, and a group of three board members went to the house to talk to Matthews.
“We wanted to see what her position was, whether she was going to leave or intended to stay,” said Bruce Haulman, one of the board members who went over. Matthews was at the house but didn’t answer the door when they knocked, so they left.
Matthews later described in a written statement to the appeals court that she was afraid last week that the Friends of Mukai would disrupt the open house, that she believed the property had been vandalized recently and that she was “very fearful that a mob would show up, break in, and take me off the property… .”
She hired a security guard to be at the site for several days, and when the Friends of Mukai board members showed up on Friday, she “feared for her safety and called police,” she wrote.
On Saturday a new flier put up at the house said the open house was canceled due to actions taken by the Vashon group. A note at the end of a long explanation also warned that The Beachcomber has “consistently printed lies, slander and misinformation about this issue.”
Haulman, however, painted a less hostile picture of the Friends group. He said they simply wanted to talk to Matthews on Friday and gauge her reaction. They originally considered attempting to take control of the property, but decided they didn’t want to create a scene. Their lawyers also recommended against it, he said.
“Our attorneys are advising us to be real cautious,” he said. “Rather than us being heavy handed, we’re just sitting back and letting the legal system do what it’s supposed to do.”
The case took another legal turn on Monday, when Matthews’ group filed an emergency motion for a stay in appeals court. The Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay, meaning Matthews could maintain control of Island Landmarks and the property until the court has an opportunity to decide who has control during the duration of the appeal. Legal arguments over that issue will take place via phone in about two weeks.
“I’m not that surprised, but I’m disappointed,” said Lynn Greiner, a Friends of Mukai board member and attorney, of the temporary stay. “It’s only for a couple weeks, and we’ll have a chance to respond.”
Greiner and other board members said they still feel confident they will prevail in time, especially with what they called a strong ruling in Superior Court. They’ve argued in court that they’d like to gain access to the property as soon as possible to start needed repairs and begin a study on how best to preserve the house.
Pearson noted that while Matthews has said she can’t afford to do work at the house, the group has grant funding in hand and the support of several government agencies and historical preservation organizations.
“They will not work with her again,” she said of Matthews. “There are all kinds of resources now for legitimate nonprofits to move forward with historical projects.”
