Absolutely not. Well, maybe. OK fine, let’s send it to the Island County commissioners and let them figure it out.

That was the course of a turnaround discussion Wednesday by members of the Island County Council of Governments about a proposal to fund a Freeland incorporation feasibility study.

Despite just about every member giving reasons why it seemed a bad idea, the quorum of seven unanimously consented to move the proposal forward to the board for final consideration.

“It’s progress,” said Chet Ross, president of the Freeland Chamber of Commerce and a driving force behind the request.

Partnering with the Island County Economic Development Council, the chamber is seeking $70,000 to pay a private consulting firm to determine just what it would mean if Freeland became a city.

Ross and Ron Nelson, executive director of the EDC, presented the plan to a clearly wary council of governments. Nelson made an initial proposal last month, but it was soundly rejected.

Though the council’s May response was clear, Ross said before Wednesday’s meeting that he’d worked on a new presentation to satisfy concerns.

“My question still remains,” Island County Commissioner Jill Johnson said. “How can you make an economic feasibility study without knowing the boundaries?”

Coupeville Mayor Nancy Conard agreed, saying there are certain things that should be determined before moving forward.

“You can’t have an incorporation study until you know the details,” she said. “It’s like the sewers, people want to know what it’s going to cost.”

Similarly, Island County Commissioner Helen Price Johnson voiced concerns that launching an incorporation study now would “derail” the county’s current planning efforts.

Ross disagreed, saying he believes the two efforts could move along in harmony and without conflict, that they “would probably come together very nicely” by the time bother concluded.

Nelson agreed, saying the consultant hired to perform the study on behalf of the EDC and the Freeland chamber could work in concert with the county’s planning department to ensure the end products didn’t conflict.

“We’re asking for experts to help us get these answers so we can make an informed decision,” Nelson said.

“I know a very large business that’s interested in investing in Freeland, but it can’t because of a lack of infrastructure,” said Nelson, at the start of his presentation.

Nelson didn’t identify the business.

Johnson said she can understand the passion behind the incorporation effort, the desire for autonomy and self governance, but that the county has a “freight train moving to meet a June deadline,” which makes this a matter of timing.

Price Johnson agreed, saying a discussion for Freeland incorporation may be in the future but this is challenging time for the conversation.

Ross expressed frustration with the county’s reluctance to endorse the incorporation movement, saying officials over and over stall forward progress.

“We’ve been told by the county since 2007, every year, that timing is wrong,” Ross said. “The timing is always wrong.”

He noted in a later interview that it’s not just him driving incorporation; the chamber’s board of directors voted unanimously last year for him to propose the study.