Freeland Chamber of Commerce

Vision 2025 committee president Mike Dolan said the meetings are, "not to propose solutions, but to bring the community together to propose solutions."

The Vision 2025 committee, which is co-sponsored by the Freeland Chamber of Commerce and the Friends of Freeland, will repeat the Town Hall meetings next Wednesday, at 1 pm and 7 pm January 25th at Freeland Hall.

Participants had the chance to inspect more than a dozen poster presentations covering the issues and view three large models showing Freeland today and two views of how Freeland could look in 20 years. They also watched a movie showing what other small communities have done to both grow and improve the living conditions of their communities.

In a presentation specifically about Freeland, Dolan reminded the audience that, "We have a lot of beauty in our community, (but) we're attracting people to this place because it is beautiful." He noted how Freeland is has added about 100-thousand square-feet of retail space in the past few years with another 60-thousand, "on the books." He added that 200 homes are either under construction or permit within a two-mile radius of Freeland.

He noted that the area's growth is subtle and hard for residents to notice on a daily basis. He said, "it's not something that smacks you in the face."

In the movie, land use planner and author Ed McMahon, covered growth issues ranging from open spaces to historic building preservation to new building standards. He explained how some developers have actually increased their profits by adding open spaces to residential areas. McMahon added that some fast-food franchises have eventually been willing to alter their "cookie-cutter" designs to conform to the look and feel of the community.

Dolan told the audience, "with all this growth we have issues" and said that the idea of the meetings is to, "get people involved in looking at what we face (and that) the community needs to solve these issues" and not a group appointed by the Chamber or the Friends of Freeland.

He told them he hoped those who sign up will come back in a year or so and say, "This is what we've learned. This is what we want to do."

He added it's important for the community to look at controlling its own destiny if, "in the long run…we want to effect long-term change" in the community.

The Town Hall evening session became a forum on many of the issues facing the community, with members of the audience and the Vision 2025 committee updating each other on issues of growth, including planning designations, sewers and incorporation of Freeland into a city.

Along with the next Town Hall meetings, the discussions are already continuing online, through the Freeland Community Forum. Steve Shapiro, who helped organize the forum told the gathering the on-line discussion will be, "a conduit of communication," that he hopes, "keeps the dialogue alive."

He told the group the forum is for everybody and expects to see discussion groups form that advocate opposite sides of an issue. "Don't expect someone to advance an issue for you," he said, adding, "Get involved and advance it yourself."

Additional information about the Vision 2025 committee can also be found on-line at www.vision2025committee.com.

Click here.