Freeland Chamber of Commerce

The Original Visioning Town Hall meetings were held in
February.

Mike Dolan, Chamber Secretary and Vision 2025 organizer, said, "We need to have a Town Hall meeting specifically focused on incorporation." He added he'd like to see it held in May or June so that the committee can, "find out what the big concerns are (and) what we don't have answers for."

The meeting will be at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland.

Dolan reemphasized that the committee is not advocating incorporation, but wants to thoroughly explore both sides of the issue.

Incorporation is one of a dozen issues volunteers have been exploring in order to build a consensus as to what Freeland will be like in the year 2025. Issues have ranged from housing to tourism; from parks to critical areas. "For a volunteer process, this is moving really fast," said Dolan. However, he adds that's a good thing because, "there are so many things that have to be dealt with."

However, Dolan said each issue rests on the question of local control and that local control is dramatically different from county control.

The people looking at the incorporation issue have examined the taxes already generated in what could be the city of Freeland. Dolan said they found the area has, "More than sufficient financial resources to have a financially viable city." The group has already identified a possible border for the city and is developing a list of "Frequently asked Questions" regarding why or why not incorporate.

In general, the group has identified boundaries for a city starting in the north at Honeymoon Lake over to SR 525, south along SR525 to Mutiny Bay Rd, south to include Mutiny Bay along Puget Sound, south to include Useless Bay & Deer Harbor, north along Thompson Rd and north up to Brainers Rd.

Dolan added that the group is working hard to keep the rest of community informed about the work being done. Regular updates are planned in the "South Whidbey Record," the "Whidbey Marketplace," this newsletter and online at the Freeland Community Forum--www.freelandcommunityforum.org and the Vision 2025 Committee's on website--www.vision2025committee.com.

Other committees have also been busy. The parks committee has catalogued public meeting places in and around Freeland, identified possible areas for small "pocket parks," and identified a need for some sort of community "town square" by the year 2025.

The trails committee has identified the top five trails needed to connect community walk ways while the tourism group has created an inventory of natural assets and recognized that Freeland is more car-friendly than casual tourist friendly. Dolan noted that tourism will be important to Freeland's future as, "another leg of our economic sustainability."

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