Members of the public attended Tuesday night’s Homer city council meeting and commented about the upcoming repaving project at the Homer Airport. Aleutian Airways is one of many businesses affected by the project. It recently began offering flights between Homer and Anchorage last fall. General manager Brian Whilden says the narrow runway that will be in place during the project is too small for the airline’s plane.
“For the safety risk factor of this, it would eliminate Aleutian Airways in flying to this community, which we have a significant investment here,” he said, “we flew all winter long with very light loads, knowing that the summer was coming”
Council members and Mayor Ken Castner also talked about their concerns around the project, which would ultimately narrow the usable runway from 150 feet to 100 feet. Mayor Castner says he tried to contact the Federal Aviation Administration, which funded the project, but received no response.
“I've left messages, and nobody's ever called back. I'm really, really distraught about this. I mean, there's nobody that will talk to you,” he said.
Residents also expressed mixed views around an ordinance that would reassign $118,000 to go towards a tractor and heavy-duty truck for maintaining trails year round.
Council Member Rachel Lord supported the ordinance, and the council unanimously passed it. She says the purchase would replace old equipment without spending additional funds.
“In situations where the staff has made concerted argument for and description of their needs and the change of needs, I just don't have the the reasons to be able to, to really say ‘no, I think actually the Parks folks actually need this other thing instead,’” she said.
The council opened another public hearing on the final assessment roll for a water special assessment district, where a resident expressed concerns around how properties are assessed. The council will consider a resolution around the roll at its next meeting.
The council also got an update from Anchorage accounting firm BDO on the city’s long awaited audit for the 2022 fiscal year. BDO’s assurance partner Bikky Shrestha summarized initial findings to the council.
While there were findings around not completing certain processes in a timely manner, the city expects to complete a corrective action plan and have final statements ready for approval by the next city council meeting.
Mayor Castner also summarized the city’s next steps in searching for a new city manager after terminating its contract with Rob Dumouchel and ratifying the decision through a resolution.
The council completed many procedural items through the meeting’s consent agenda as well. They introduced two ordinances, with one taking funds from the port reserves to replace a crane’s control systems and another cleaning up language regarding the city manager’s responsibilities.
They also approved a term contract with Stephanie Queen Consulting and awarded a $50,000 contract to Structured Communications Systems to do a cybersecurity risk assessment.
The council reappointed Douglas Baily, Lisa Asselin-Martin and Michael McKinney to the city’s Library Advisory Board. They also reappointed Holly Brennan and Nicole Arevalo to the Economic Development Advisory Commission, and renewed two liquor licenses.
They approved other actions allowing acting City Manager Melissa Jacobsen to get rid of a rescue truck, as well as apply for the Alaska Drinking Water Fund Loan through the Department of Environmental Conservation. The loan would go towards checking if the city’s water service contains lead and addressing any potential issues.
Finally, the council approved a resolution supporting Homer Electric Association’s grant application to rebuild electric facilities in south Kachemak Bay.
The Homer City Council will have their next meeting on April 8.
