SUQUAMISH — Call it a “community summit” or a “mini-convention” but regardless of the label, members of local community groups are urging residents to come forth this weekend and talk about what kind of place they want Suquamish to become.

While residents come from various walks of life, agendas and even governments — the majority wants to learn how to work with each other and live harmoniously. To help achieve this lofty goal in what many consider a divided community, “Imagine Suquamish Day” has been slated from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 26 at the Suquamish United Church of Christ on Division Avenue. Locals are invited to attend the day-long workshop sponsored by Kitsap County, the Suquamish Tribe, Suquamish Olalla Neighbors, the Friends of Old Man House Park, the Suquamish Incorporation Project, Suquamish Congregational United Church of Christ and Suquamish resident Kevin McDonald.

The event’s purpose is to open the lines of communication between residents regarding their concerns and ideas for the community.

There is no set program, said facilitator Michael Lindfield, noting that the agenda will actually be created within the first 20 minutes of the meeting and based on what residents want to talk about. Throughout the day, discussion sessions will be held specifically on these topics.

There will not be any debating, Lindfield said.

“It’s not just for resolving conflict, it’s for bringing people together and allowing ideas,” he said. “Everybody has a voice.”

Members of the various sponsoring groups said they hope the meeting produces positive results but are also keeping their own priorities in mind.

Suquamish Tribal Spokesman Leonard Forsman said developing a vehicle for communication to discuss items that affect everyone — traffic, utilities, future planning — is important. However, the tribe is proceeding with caution.

“From (the tribe’s) perspective, we’re a little cautious,” Forsman said. “We have our own tribal lands, our individual trust lands, tribal members and their interests to protect. But we also want to be involved, and will be involved, in planning the future of Suquamish.”

Developing a structure that allows all groups to communicate will create a more cohesive community, he added.

“We look forward to trying to have a Suquamish that is vibrant and safe and a good place for people to live,” Forsman said. “Where our tribal members can thrive alongside the non-native members.”

McDonald said he believes there is already a vision established for the area and wants to know how this may differ from what he helped establish more than a decade ago.

McDonald was part of The Suquamish Community Council and the Suquamish Area Citizen Council in the 1990s that worked with the county to develop a sub-area project called the Suquamish Rural Village plan. He said that plan has already created a vision and mission statement for the area.

“When I saw (the Imagine Suquamish) group was getting together, I didn’t see inclusion of any of the people who had been involved in the group since 1992,” he said, noting that all the groups involved in this project recently came into the public eye.

Some of these new groups include the Suquamish Incorporation Project and Friends of Old Man House Park.

Matthew Cleverley, who leads the Friends and SIP, said Saturday’s workshop will give residents a good chance to actually sit down, face-to-face and talk about their concerns.

“I think that giving the community an opportunity to talk about issues in a constructive forum is a good thing,” he said.

Cleverley said the event will also establish a good avenue for the Suquamish Advisory Board, a group that was an outcome of the Suquamish Incorporation Project earlier this year. The board is working to create an organization that represents the various aspects of the community.

“I think the Suquamish Advisory Board is looking at this meeting as a way to get a handle on things,” Cleverley said. “People are interested in what the concerns (are) of the community. At the next meeting, we can go in and talk about things.”