Cherry blossoms are symbols of the spring, a time of renewal and new beginnings. Just as the pink and white blossoms began to burst forth this year, a new beginning was in store for the island’s historic Mukai property and the local group that has been fighting to take control of it.

Four years of legal battles and more than a decade of drama over ownership of the Mukai House and Garden has ended in victory for the island nonprofit Friends of Mukai. Early last week, the State Court of Appeals ruled that the Friends organization is the lawful governing board of Island Landmarks, the property’s owner. The decision means that for the first time, the Friends group has control over the house and garden and can begin much-needed and long-awaited repair and restoration work.

The decision is the second victory for the group in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, the Friends group learned it would have access to the home after being barred from it for years.

“We’re so relieved, vindicated and just very pleased,” the Friends group’s attorney, Lynn Greiner said. “We got what we’ve been working for.”

The appeal decision upholds an April 2014 ruling by King County Superior Court Judge Monica Benton that the Friends of Mukai members’ ousting of the original Island Landmarks board in 2012 was legal. Texas resident, former islander and original Island Landmarks founder Mary Matthews is no longer legally affiliated with Island Landmarks or the historic Mukai property.

“The (court’s) decision is so well written, it covers every area and relies on evidence (Matthews) used,” Greiner said. “It’s the strong, air-tight decision we’ve been waiting for.”

She continued to say that the Court of Appeals opinion does not give Matthews “a leg to stand on.”

This opinion could be the saving grace for the Friends group in guaranteeing an end to the fight, as Greiner said she received an email this week from Matthews’ husband and attorney Nelson Happy, stating he would like to see what the state Supreme Court says.

Matthews and Happy have until May 4 to petition for a Supreme Court review.

“We’re confident the Court of Appeals was correct and we’ve got the property now, so we’re moving forward with restoration and development efforts,” Greiner said. “We’re full steam ahead.”

Greiner said the group has already started work with Tacoma-based Artifacts Consulting to draft a plan for the restoration and preservation of the building. With funds the group received from county grants and 4Culture, the county’s cultural services agency, work can begin in the next few weeks. The largest issues needing to be addressed are the home’s electrical system and crumbling concrete, especially around the chimney.

“(Artifacts Consulting has) called out about 10 different systems upgrades,” Greiner said. “We’re going to spend some money on these things and show we can do this and get a track record before doing any kind of fundraising.”

That track record is crucial given the history of the property and the money that had been raised by Island Landmarks in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but was not used to open the home to the public. Matthews created Island Landmarks in 1995 with the intention to promote historic preservation of the island’s heritage. The organization took interest in the Mukai property and raised enough money to buy it in 2000, but began to slide after the purchase and Matthews left the island to live in Texas in 2002.

“Island Landmarks struggled to manage grant money and to maintain the Farm and Garden, Court of Appeals Judge C.J. Spearman wrote in the court’s opinion. “The corporation experienced a high turnover of directors. By 2002, the nonprofit had only about 10 members.”

As Island Landmarks appeared to be neglecting the property, former Island Landmarks board member — now Friends of Mukai board member — Ellen Kritzman started a crusade to rescue the property in 2010.

“Matthews always played fast and loose with organizational stuff, but she maintained tight control of her board,” Kritzman said. “It was a fiscal disaster as an organization. There was nothing anyone could do and the board resigned (in the early 2000s).”

Kritzman said that with Matthews and Happy in Texas and only two of the five remaining board members living on the island, the historic home and garden had languished. She began meeting with the community and islander Glenda Pearson to generate interest in regaining control of Island Landmarks and rescuing the Mukai property.

Working with Greiner, Kritzman discovered that Island Landmarks’ bylaws would allow her to elect new directors and fire the existing five-person board.

“That’s what we did,” Kritzman said. “There were 11 or 12 of us in the early part of 2012 who agreed we’d be willing to be elected to the new board. (Island Landmarks) was a sham of an organization at that time.”

So as to not let the board know of the plans, Kritzman, and the new board that became Friends of Mukai, drafted an Island Landmarks membership form in May 2012 that would allow community members to declare interest in historic preservation on Vashon Island. The Court of Appeals opinion indicates that about 60 people completed the form and wrote $25 checks for Island Landmarks dues. Kritzman then deposited these checks as dues payments into the Island Landmarks bank account without informing Matthews, the opinion states.

With the new members involved, a special meeting was called and notice was sent out to each of the new members as well as the five last known board members, including Matthews.

“They had not had an annual meeting in years. Island Landmarks basically didn’t exist,” Kritzman said.

At that June 2012 special meeting, the new members voted out the old board.

Then came the court battle. Kritzman and her group, along with Greiner as their attorney, holding the name of Island Landmarks, brought a lawsuit to court in order to get a declaration that they were the rightful board, not Matthews’ group. It became a battle over the organization’s bylaws and procedures, with Matthews alleging that the special meeting did not follow the bylaws.

“The Matthews group … argued that the special meeting was invalid under the corporation’s bylaws because members could only call a special meeting through the corporation’s secretary,” the Court of Appeals opinion states.

But there was no secretary or treasurer at the time of the meeting, Kritzman’s group argued.

“We sent the special meeting notice, they didn’t show up,” Kritzman said.

Calls to Matthews and Happy for any comment on the proceedings or recent ruling were not returned.

The Friends of Mukai group was created out of Kritzman’s new Island Landmarks board. In April 2014, a judge ruled in favor of Friends of Mukai, but Matthews appealed, leading to the most recent ruling.

“It’s been a long, long journey,” Kritzman said.

The home is currently in foreclosure and more than $20,000 in property taxes is owed. Kritzman said the Friends group will begin talks with the county in the hopes of having the fees that were incurred under the previous board forgiven or reduced.

“We won the case,” Kritzman said. “It’s a little bittersweet … it took so much work. Bless the lawyers who gave us (their) services pro-bono, we could not have done it without them.”

Next month, the Friends of Mukai will accept an award from the Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation. The group is one of 12 statewide recipients of the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Historic Preservation.

The department’s website states that recipients “exemplify the spirit, motivation, and determination necessary to preserve” historic and heritage sites throughout the state.

State Historic Preservation Director Allyson Brooks said that Friends of Mukai was chosen for the award because of their refusal to give up.

“We gave them the award for their tenacity and perseverance in saving their island’s most important historic site,” she said. “They never gave up, it was amazing.”