Thirty-seven residents turned out Oct. 28 for the second, library-sponsored forum on strengthening community.

Their ideas for improving the town included: Working toward food independence, building a community or youth center, holding more open-ended community discussions, reaching out to retirees arriving in the community involvement and acquiring research on the town’s demographics.

At the third meeting set for 7 p.m. Nov. 17, ideas from the first two meetings will be arranged into categories assigned to work groups under headings such as “resources,” “commerce,” and “communication.”

Meetings of those groups may be held at different places around town to broaden the scope of participation, said Haines librarian Patricia Brown.

The meetings are being held as part of a “Community in Transition” grant, and are aimed at connecting citizens who have similar goals and enhancing civil discourse.

“The end-product is for people to find people with similar visions and be able to draw on each other as resources. Often people feel they’re working on things alone. By working together, people are more likely to see things through and have projects completed.”

Residents last week were asked what single thing they would do to improve the community.

Debra Schnabel said she’d like to see factual information about the town. “How many people here raise their own food? How many of our kids have to leave town to work? We all talk from a position of knowing the community, but I don’t think we truly know. We know our heart and our feelings, but I think we’d benefit from knowing who we are in a scientific way.”

Four residents voiced support for raising food locally, including developing greenhouses or large tracts of land for gardens.

Art Jess said he moved his family to Haines in 1970 partly because he could support his family from nature here. “We need to raise our potential for raising our own food. The closer we can get to independence, the better off we’re going to be.”

Annette Smith suggested the foundation of the barracks could become a greenhouse. “The Fort is a community asset that’s not appreciated enough. If these places were developed, that would anchor this community in many, many ways.”

A recreation center would help young retirees become engaged in the community while fostering health and boosting the local economy, said Ned Rozbicki. “If we could keep seasonal people here just a few months more, it would make a huge difference.” Jolanta Ryan spoke in support of a youth center and Bill Kurz said he had a set of plans for a community center.

Several speakers addressed the manner of community discourse. Mayor Jan Hill said she’d like to see more open-ended meetings, with more participation. “As a community, these kinds of meetings are essential to our success.” Assemblyman Steve Vick said the borough’s public process doesn’t provide for expression of emotions and broader questions on issues.

Comments aimed at youth included ones from Dan Henry that local youths have functional homes and safe places. Janet Kurz said she wanted to see the elimination of youth drug use.

Other comments were in support of a community newspaper run by non-profits, continued development of hydroelectric sources, maintaining the town’s retail sector, participation in the Haines Borough comprehensive plan revision and providing jobs for young people.

Leonard Dubber said he was surprised by the migration of young people to Haines, people he sees at his laundromat. “We get to see the number of young families moving to Haines. It’s very interesting. They choose Haines. They don’t even have jobs.”

The grant-funded project has a September deadline.