Judge lifts ban of former Marysville festival volunteers

MARYSVILLE — Volunteers who had been banned from helping with the Marysville Strawberry Festival under what the state calls a “bizarre” and “onerous” agreement will be allowed to participate while the court considers whether to throw out the agreement entirely, a Snohomish County judge decided Tuesday.

Six former volunteers who helped with Maryfest, the nonprofit that puts on the annual festival, were banned for life from participating under the terms of the previously secret agreement, which came to light in court documents.

The agreement was reached between the former Maryfest board, now replaced by new leaders, and Mark Jensen, a Woodinville man who had served as vice president of the board and resigned in 2017. During Jensen’s involvement with Maryfest, a number of longtime volunteers left the organization, sponsors cut ties and Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring received numerous complaints about the running of the nonprofit, according to documents filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.

In the lawsuit filed April 13, the state Attorney General’s Office says the agreement should be thrown out because it is “blatantly illegal” and endangers the festival.

Judge Eric Lucas granted the state’s motion for a preliminary injunction, “ruling that the state and Maryfest will likely prevail at trial and that … allowing the agreement to stay in force in the meantime would cause harm,” attorney Gary Baker, representing Maryfest, said in an email.

Though Maryfest is listed as a defendant in the case, the current board supports the state’s request to have the agreement thrown out.

“The ‘Settlement Agreement’ is not, and never has been, in the best interests of Maryfest, Inc., the Marysville community, or the public generally,” Baker wrote in a response to the lawsuit.

Maryfest’s current leadership believes the agreement was not legally adopted, was a breach of fiduciary duties and “self-dealing by board members,” was a misuse of charitable funds and is unenforceable under “well-settled Washington law,” according to the response.

Jensen previously told The Herald that he was not legally represented during the creation and signing of the agreement, and that the document was drafted by the attorney for Maryfest at the time, Jared Karstetter. Baker asserts that Karstetter’s role is in question.

“Mayor Nehring says Karstetter announced that he was acting as Mark Jensen’s attorney,” Baker wrote in court documents. “However, Karstetter was also representing Maryfest, Inc. when the ‘Settlement Agreement’ was negotiated.”

Jensen told the newspaper last week that the Strawberry Festival’s leadership had problems years before he joined. He had been excited to help with the community event, and is “heartbroken” by the current situation. He claims volunteers who worked with him over the past few years, and became adept at organizing the event, are now being shunned by Maryfest.

The agreement also required $10,000 to be paid from Maryfest to Holiday Treasure Chest, another charitable organization in which Jensen is involved. The judge Tuesday ordered that money to be deposited into the registry of the court within 90 days, where it is to remain during the court proceedings. The state has asked that, along with declaring the agreement illegal, the court order the return of that money to Maryfest.

The next order of business for Maryfest is getting this year’s festival together, Baker said. The Marysville Strawberry Festival starts June 9.

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.