Residents enjoy music by Extended Play on Third Ave. and Main St
Haines residents passing by Third Ave. and Main St. Monday afternoon were serenaded by the bluegrass sounds of local band Extended Play, a solo ukulele performance by resident Lee Zion, and the steady drumbeat of the Deishu Dancers.
The event, Pazazz, was a community gathering and celebration of the parcel of greenspace downtown. It was put on by the Town Squares, an impromptu gathering of four residents, Ellen and Larry Larson, Mike Denker, and Carol Tuynman, who care about public space.
“We just thought it would be great to do a big energizing effort with the community, bringing people together, bringing the tourists in, and just having a fun, festive event in a place that’s easily accessible,” said Ellen Larson.
The idea for Town Squares came a few weeks prior, during a Zoom meeting about trails where the topic of central public spaces came up, Denker said.
The land used to be part of the elementary school. The school was eventually demolished, and in 2012 the Haines Borough set a 10-year building moratorium, and designated the plot in the interim as a “town square,” as envisioned by the Downtown Revitalization Committee.
Now that the 10 years is up, the future of the lot is uncertain. Nancy Berland, fiddler for Extended Play, said the event was “to celebrate the town square to keep it as a public space for the community, because there’s a decision on whether or not it wants to be sold to a private entity.”
There were a couple interested buyers, including Sabine Churchill, who sent a letter to the manager in November 2022 regarding her interest in either purchasing or leasing the plot for Gomi’s Garden, and educational commercial garden.
In March, the planning commission met to discuss the future of the town square, with some advocating for an urban park and others supporting the growth of commercial businesses. At its April meeting, the planning commission voted to postpone the sale of the plot indefinitely until they receive a well-defined proposal. That hasn’t happened yet.
“No one since the second meeting has come back to the planning commission with a proposal…no one is clamoring for it to be sold,” said borough manager Annette Kreitzer.
Some Pazzaz attendees like Thom Ely, advocated for the borough to officially designate the area as a town square.
When asked about the idea, Kreitzer said the decision should be made through the Comprehensive Plan process, which takes place every 10 years and is currently underway in Haines.
Other public spaces in the urban area of Haines include the playgrounds at Oslund Park and the fairgrounds, the Fort Seward Parade Grounds and Tlingit Park.
Ted Hart, who played trail songs that highlighted Deishu’s historical relation to the inland trail system, said “What we really need is the heart and soul of this town to keep people here, keep us strong, together, and united. Gatherings like this, places like this are important for the heart and soul of the community.”