Main Street Concept Meeting June 21
Wed Jun 14, 2006
Island County Dept. of Public Works has developed a final preferred concept for Freeland's Main Street (SR 525 to Scott Road). In April, Island County presented a draft preferred concept for the main street corridor study. Based on input from the public and stakeholders, a final preferred concept has been developed. Stop by anytime during the open house to see the final preferred concept.
Open House
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Trinity Lutheran Church
18341 State Route 525
Freeland, WA
Working Groups Rearranged
Mon Mar 6, 2006
For ease of access, the Community Working Groups have been rearranged to place those receiving the most posts near the top of the list.
Now that the Forum is getting substantial activity, it is important that we keep things as organized as is practical. So, whenever you have something to post, consider whether it should be placed in the Anything Re Freeland section or is it more appropriate for a particularly Working Group.
Sno-Isle Libraries - Freeland added to Working Groups
Mon Mar 6, 2006
At the request of Joanne Harmon, Sno-Isle Libraries - Freeland has been added as a topic of discussion. She is particularly interested in having a Citizens Advisory Committee to give input on long-range planning of library facilities. This is the place to volunteer for that committee or just to give input for their planning or for any issues you might have as a library user.
Volunteer Orientation Meeting a huge success
Thu Feb 9, 2006
Jan 07, 2006 Volunteer Orientation Meeting Report
Freeland Fire Station – Cameron Rd
Mike Dolan opened the meeting at 7:10PM to about 40 volunteers and new members of the Vision 2025 committee. It was standing room only for late comers. He introduced himself and thanked everyone for attending. The agenda was presented:
1) Understand why we are all here,
2) Understand how and where we are going and
3) Learn about setting expectations, goals, communications and group output.
Tonight is a time for people to meet other members of their committee, get to know one another a little bit and to start the discussion on each group's Issue so everyone in the group would start developing a common understanding of the Issue. This would be accomplished by starting with some basics of committee management, breaking into groups and closing with a full group recap and question session.
Mike explained that having signed up to work on developing a “Vision for Freeland” in specific Issue areas it was important to establish some guidelines for how each group would function. He then covered goal setting, communications, a group charter document and reports. One point was repeated several times, “It is critical that every member of a working group have a common starting point and understanding of their Issue before setting goals and working on a Vision for that Issue.”
During the breakout session he asked each group to introduce themselves, review business and personal experiences - note any experiences specific to the chosen working group, discuss commitment, time availability and enthusiasm for the issue. Then select a leader for the group, assign any other “positions” deemed appropriate (meeting facilitator, note taker, etc.) and establish the date and time for the next virtual or face-to-face communication.
The next time each group got together he proposed that they develop a Charter Document. He will send a template out so everyone has a common starting point. The Charter document is similar to a project control document in that it identifies:
Purpose/Objective (why we are dong this)
Background (where we are now, what has been done to date, impact to the community)
An Action Plan – Expectations and Goals for achieving our objective
Restrictions/Constraints (what we cannot do)
Who is assigned to do what and when it will be done
Schedule for meetings and targets for accomplishing specific objectives
Deliverables (white papers, status reports, presentations, etc.)
Final completion date
Key Contacts and Resources (library of documents available, Freeland committee members, seminars/conferences, other on/off island resources)
Ultimately, each group will develop a “Vision” for solving their Issue, but Mike stressed that the vision had to be realistic and needs to include:
A description of the vision for resolving the issue of ____________
An implementation plan to make it happen
A realistic schedule for implementation
Determine the probable costs involved
How it will be financed
These are critical as the community has made it clear that plans that aren’t realistic or can’t be implemented are not an answer. We have already seen 15 years worth of ideas and suggestions that have gone nowhere because they didn’t include implementation planning. This is one of the reasons for a charter document. If each group starts out with a common purpose and goal that was clearly defined and understood by the group, chances of a successful conclusion to the groups work go up substantially.
methods of communication were covered including posting the following items on the Vision 2025 website. Charlona Sawyer charlona@creativeadsolutions.net or by phone
at 222-3383 is the Vision 2025 Web Master.
Team Charter
Team Member Names
Meeting Schedule and Agendas
Meeting Minutes
Action Plans
Progress/Status Reports
Additional team information as required
By working with Steve Shapiro Shapiro@whidbey.com, we will also use the Freeland Community Forum at www.freelandcommunityforum.org for:
On-going discussions with team members
Reaching out to other teams, committee members, or the community
Distributing attachments for comment
And by this July/August we will put together an overall progress report and “2025 Issue Vision” prepared by each team. All the teams will present to each other their Vision and discuss interconnections and impacts and next steps for developing a community presentation.
Then, later in the Fall we will have a second set of community Town Hall Meetings to present our unified approach and action plan for implementing the “Vision for Freeland”
This brought up a discussion of the groups having different degrees of interconnected-ness and why wait until summer to find out. Why not establish ongoing dialogs between each of the groups so each Vision is developed to take into account the linkages between the issues. Steve Shapiro pointed out that this is where the Freeland Community Forum plays such a big part in the communications process. By having everyone signed up as a member of the Forum, threaded conversations are automatically sent to each members inbox allowing connected discussions on multiple issues to occur – keeping everyone aligned. He urged everyone to go out to the Forum www.freelandcommunityforum.org and click on join to sign up. Additional working groups will be set up as soon as each group has defined its purpose. Steve is the Forum web master and can be reached at Shapiro@whidbey.com or by phone on 360-730-4266.
Before going to our breakout sessions we learned that access to other parts of the fire station had been closed off so we were only able to use the meeting room and hallway. We had about eight or nine of the twelve working groups separate into breakout sessions and meet for about half an hour. We reconvened at 8:25PM for a final chance at questions (several) and comments (several) but still lots of enthusiasm and energy for the work ahead.
Mike closed the meeting with thanks and again noted how impressive it was to see so many people willing to participate on a common community goal. With over 40 people in attendance and having received about 8 notices from those not able to attend, we had better than 25% of the people who attended the Town Hall meetings participating. Several people stayed to help restore the room to its normal classroom setting and chat about the future. All in all a very successful start!
Sincerely,
Mike Dolan, Chair
Freeland Vision 2025 Committee
www.vision2025committee.com
www.freelandcommunityforum.org
360-331-4845
Freeland Vision 2025 Website
Mon Jan 16, 2006
Check out the Freeland Vision 2025 website by clicking on the first link under Active Community Groups. Look to the left and up a little. Or add this URL to your browers Favorites:
www.vision2025committee.com
Potential Community Working Groups
Thu Dec 29, 2005
Areas have been created in the Community Working Groups section on the following topics which were discussed at the Town Hall meetings:
Critical Areas
Land Use Planning/Density
Affordable Housing
Community Schools
SR 525 Corridor
Downtown Revitalization
Incorporation
Look and Feel (Appearance)
Tourism
Technology
Infrastructure
If you are interested in any of these issues (particularly if you signed up to work on one them) you are encouraged to post your thoughts and/or to respond to the comments of others.
Let's get the conversations going!
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Not an Election Year to Sit on the Fence
Tue Jan 1, 2008
This year we Island County voters are faced with important choices for our future... in our community, the nation and in the world... the environment, jobs, education, healthcare, war & peace.
Learn more about those issues and your choices by checking out both of these local political party websites: http://islandcountygop.org/ and http://islandcountydemocrats.com/.
Compare what each is saying today; and will say over the course of this election year.
Get involved in your democracy.
Mike Shelton Resigns
Mon Jul 16, 2007
Apparently Mike Shelton has resigned from his commissioner's position. Brian posted a story on the Record Web site this morning: www.southwhidbeyrecord.com. :!:
WEBBS DEPT STORE IS NOT CLOSING, NOT MOVING!!!!!!!!!!
Mon Apr 24, 2006
WEBBS DEPT STORE IS NOT CLOSING, NOT MOVING!!!!!! It seems some individuals in our community are spreading rumors that we are closing our doors. We believe this is probably related to the sale of the building next door to ours. We are contacting groups in freeland to let them know that the individual(s) spreading these rumors are just clueless. We welcome anyone with any concerns or questions to come to the store during regular business hours, Monday thru Friday 10-6, Saturday 10-5, or Sunday 11-5, and speak directly with myself, Tricia Webb, or Pat Webb, owners of Webbs dept Store.
Direct message to individual(s) spreading these rumors: If you don't know what is going on, how do you say you represent the people and businesses of Freeland?
Re: 2 Killed, 2 Injured In Langley Crash
Tue Mar 14, 2006
Good evening,
I am trying to organize an effort to help the families of the car crash that occurred this previous Monday. We would like to find someone who is friends with the family to help coordinate this effort. You can find a link regarding this topic here:
http://www.mywhidbey.com/forums-t145.html
Please let me know if you can help. The sooner we move to action, the more effective our help can be.
Many thanks,
Sebastián Schiavone
myWhidbey.com administrator
225 People Attended Town Hall Meetings
Fri Feb 3, 2006
Freeland is on its way to discovering its future. Our Town Hall meetings brought together citizens from our community and allowed them to voice their concerns and opinions on a series of issues facing us over the next 20 years. What we learn will guide all of us as we make decisions that affect our future.
Approximately 225 people attended the four sessions. The main areas of interest (questions) centered around managing commercial and residential development (working with the county and developers), planning for appropriate land use (implementing the Freeland Sub Area Plan), incorporation, infrastructure (sewers), planning/developing our downtown for improved walkability and a more pleasant shopping experience and how these issues are all connected. About 65 people signed up to work on developing answers to many of the issues presented at the meetings. Appearance, Downtown Revitalization, Affordable Housing Incorporation, and Walkability are the top five. We will be getting some pictures and text up on our web site as well www.vision2025committee.com. However, in almost all cases someone from the audience summarized the discussions by noting that without incorporation, we will never be able to implement a vision much less exert any control over the development process. This was always followed by most of the participants nodding their heads in agreement. Though we were not trying to elicit a specific response from the attending community members regarding incorporation, it is interesting to note that not one individual spoke openly against the idea and most said sooner rather than later.
Our next step is to bring all the new volunteers together to kick-off the working groups (Freeland Vision 2025 sub committees). If you would like to join one of the working groups, or know anyone who would like to participate on any of the issues presented at the Freeland Hall, please contact Mike Dolan at 331-4845 or mjdolan@whidbey.com.
In a final note, the Vision 2025 committee has received requests to hold several small group presentations using either the library or the Fire Hall (without all our props) over the next several weeks. If anyone wants to see the video and presentation, please give Mike Dolan a call on 331-4845 or mjdolan@whidbey.com.
Main Street Redevelopment
Thu Dec 29, 2005
Main Street Redevelopment
(excerpted from an article by Gayle Saran of the South Whidbey Record)
Recently, Island County and its consulting firm, Otak Inc., conducted a three-day series of workshops to gather ideas, input and suggestions on design solutions for Main Street from the intersection with Highway 525 to Scott Road. Otak held the Freeland meetings to generate a vision for Main Street and to develop a design the county can use if and when sewers are put in.
Small groups of business owners, property owners, local residents and government officials met with the consultants during the three-day process. The input offered will be compiled and presented to the community in a report due out in January 2006
During the meetings, Otak had easels with photos depicting different elements that could be used in the beautification of Main Street. Audience members were given paper dots -- red for "no" and green for "yes" -- to stick on the photos they liked. The improvement elements included different types of pavement, sidewalks, street furnishings, outdoor art, crosswalks and lighting, landscaping and trash bins.
“The future is happening now. The growth of the community proves it," said Mike Dolan, chairman of the Freeland Vision 2025 committee, a volunteer group headed by the Friends of Freeland and the Freeland Chamber of Commerce. “The citizens of Freeland need to start this type of planning now. Over the past several years, our community has experienced significant growth in both residential and business development. We need to start thinking about all aspects of our future, in fact, the county has encouraged us to move forward with community planning.”
While views differed, most people agreed that Freeland is not a tourist destination. Even though we have become the commercial and business center for South Whidbey, many people said they did not want Freeland to turn into a "strip mall". But they do want the business core to be more pedestrian-friendly. "Lighting needs to be considered. It will provide increased security, but do we want lighting in areas when we don't need it," said Geoff Tapert, owner of X-Sound Engineering and a member of the Freeland Vision 2025 Committee. “We should look at low-impact lighting like the kind used at Sun Mountain Lodge in Winthrop.”
Everyone attending the workshops agreed that sidewalks and landscaping in downtown Freeland are important and planning for future growth and traffic is vital, too. Fifteen years ago, consultants warned that traffic congestion would increase significantly at Main Street and East Harbor Road. According to recent traffic studies, that prediction has come true. Main Street showed 6,000 cars a day pass between East Harbor Road and Harbor Avenue.
Freeland has been selected by the county as the primary growth area on the South End. The Freeland Comprehensive Plan was completed in 2004 and is being reviewed by the county planning department. The county funded Comprehensive Sewer Plan for Freeland has been adopted. The Freeland Vision 2025 Committee is holding a series of Town Hall meetings in January to start discussions about our future.
Once again Freeland is planning for the future. Where will Freeland be in the next 20 years?
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