While the Freeland of 1974 was ill-prepared for incorporation, many South Whidbey residents believe the Freeland of today has the chops to stand alone.

An incorporation drive has brought the issue to the Board of Island County Commissioners. A public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland to give residents an opportunity to go on the record in support of or in opposition to the proposal.

A push to incorporate Freeland in 1974 was unsuccessful. Chet Ross, Freeland Chamber of Commerce president, said the current drive is different and the times are incomparable.

“That was obviously a different time. The population and growth weren’t there,” Ross said. “This is the second fastest growing area on the island.”

Nearly 200 new homes were built in the Freeland area last year and the same number are expected in 2007. Hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial space is being added. A 72-bed assisted living facility is under construction. Freeland is moving and shaking.

“It really is amazing what’s going on here,” Ross said. “You don’t see it when you’re driving through on Highway 525.”

The incorporation drive has been in the works actively since January of last year. It initially grew out of a long-term planning project that was undertaken after the county sponsored a study to designate Freeland a non-municipal rural growth area.

“It went to the Planning Department and it just kind of sat there,” Ross said.

The Freeland Chamber of Commerce and the Friends of Freeland put their heads together and came up the Vision 2025 Committee, out of which eight separate committees were borne.

“We had committees for affordable housing, parks, and one of them was incorporation,” Ross said.

Two well-attended town hall meetings were held to gauge community interest on the different issues.

“More than 200 people showed up each time,” Ross said. “We gave them questionnaires on each sub-group. Incorporation, believe it or not, held a lot of interest.”

The movement has been gaining momentum ever since. As the chamber president and others began researching incorporation and its entailments, what began as a few “frequently asked questions” quickly turned into a nine-page document that continues to grow.

One of the first questions to arise was why another layer of government was being added.

“We told them it’s not adding another layer of government, we’re replacing the county with the city government,” Ross said. If incorporated, Freeland will operate with a mayor and city council.

Taxes were also an issue. Preliminary data on the financial feasibility of incorporating Freeland show that costs to residents will not be greater than what is currently being paid to the county.

“We have determined that taxes won’t go up,” Ross said. “We have surpluses of $500,000 to $800,000 a year from taxes currently going to Coupeville.”

Sales tax receipts pumped back into the “city” would be substantial. The chamber president said in 2005 Langley had $29 million of revenue subject to sales tax. Freeland had $57 million.

“We have five banks here,” Ross said. “We’re the fastest growing commercial area in South Whidbey. Sales tax is extremely important to a city.”

Through questionnaires and e-mails, Ross has determined that two-thirds of those polled are in favor of incorporation. He formally submitted a letter of intent to the county March 9.

The proposed boundaries, totaling just under 3-square miles, will include approximately 3,000 residents out of an area with a population of 10,800. The boundaries were carefully set to include a mixture of rural and urban areas.

As per law, the three county commissioners will act as the boundary review board. Monday’s public meeting, the first of a series, will discuss the proposed boundaries, as well as other issues.

“This is just the beginning,” Ross said.

In order for the incorporation proposal to get on the ballot, 10 percent of the registered voters who voted in the last general election must sign a petition. Ross said the process is extensive, but not daunting.

“It goes back and forth between the county and the incorporation committee, but it’s fairly straightforward,” he said, adding that he has been satisfied with the incorporation drive’s progress thus far. “The only thing we can do is continue to put the information out there and see what happens.”

To learn more about Vision 2025 and the incorporation drive, visit www.vision

2025committee.com.