NORTHAMPTON — Fueled by residents upset with the last fall’s divisive discussion over municipal surveillance cameras downtown, a fledgling new group in the city will hold its first public forum Tuesday night in hopes of facilitating better dialogue in the city.

The focus of Tuesday’s forum hosted by Northampton Connects will be on how to ensure that downtown is safe, vibrant and welcoming for all.

“We welcome all points of view,” Ward 2 Councilor Dennis Bidwell said. “We need conversation.”

The forum will take place form 7 to 9 p.m. at JFK Middle School. It’s the first of many forums that the group’s organizers hope will encourage community conversations and understanding among residents with varied experiences and points of view.

The origin of Northampton Connects began last October at a meeting Bidwell held during his re-election campaign, where the issue of the debate over surveillance cameras came up.

Bidwell said that a number of people at that meeting lamented the polarized nature that the debate had taken in the community, and asked him to address it.

“I was challenged,” said Bidwell.

As such, Northampton Connects was created and a working group formed. Stan Schapiro, one of the key organizers, noted that the group contains people with a number of different opinions on the camera issue, and a variety of backgrounds. He also said that people have expressed concern about some of the nation’s polarization seeping into Northampton’s debate.

The focus of Tuesday’s dialogue will be on how a downtown that is open and welcoming to all can be maintained.

The forum will be facilitated by Paula Green, of Leverett, founder of the Karuna Center for Peacebuilding. It will begin with a 45-minute panel discussion featuring Peter Ives, former pastor of First Churches in Northampton; Booker Bush, a member of Northampton’s Human Rights Commission; Pastor Steph Smith of Cathedral in the Night; Jonathan Goldman, a Brandeis student, the youngest Democratic State Committee member and co-founder of The Right to Immigration Institute; Rabbi Justin David of Congregation B’nai Israel; Nancy Cowen, owner of Happy Valley Gifts; and Judy Herrell, owner of Herrell’s Ice Cream.

People will then break into small groups and discuss the issues raised at the panel, before reconvening as a whole to share highlights.

Schapiro and Bidwell acknowledged that concern has been raised about the location and time of the forum, with both saying that an effort was made to find an available space downtown.

“We just could not find a suitable location,” Schapiro said.

However, it was also noted that there are plans to hold future forums at different places and times.

Following the forum, the group will decide the topic for its next forum, which may or may not be on downtown issues depending on the outcome of the first forum.

Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com