Clarification: This article has been updated to add a note clarifying that while Homer City Council Member Donna Aderhold is a member of the NZP4H Board of Directors, the nonprofit owner of the Homer Independent Press, she did not participate in the editing and writing of this article on the Homer City Council.

By Marcia Kuszmaul

Homer Independent News

Homer City Council member Brad Parsons thanked city staff for their hard work over the holiday break, acknowledging the council had six weeks off while staff did not. The result was a packed agenda for the council’s first meetings of the new year on Jan. 12.

Three issues provoked the most vigorous and lengthy discussions – revising street-width requirements, the harbor’s moorage rate schedule and possibly changing the date of city elections.

The sole topic of the council’s work session was an ordinance requiring a maximum 28-foot street width (two 10-foot lanes with 4-foot shoulders on either side) meant to improve public safety and provide more realistic standards in city code. While studies cited in support of the ordinance concluded that narrower streets reduce speeds and increase safety, council members, city staff and contractors questioned whether narrower streets were practical for an Alaska town that deals with snow plowing, water trucks and school buses.

Council member Jason Davis, a co-sponsor of the ordinance with council member Parsons, said several streets in Homer’s new residential areas already were built and striped to the 28-foot width so the ordinance would codify what is already being done.

City Engineer Leon Galbraith supported a more flexible substitute ordinance, pointing out professional engineers typically design on a case-by-case basis to minimum rather than maximum standards.

Speaking to street maintenance, Buck Jones of East End Road Services said school buses and commercial delivery trucks already have trouble negotiating some local streets and intersections. Mike Arno of Arno Construction said 10-foot lanes endanger people on sidewalks and can’t accommodate private trucks with trailer mirrors, especially when they pass on the street.

In the regular meeting, the council voted to accept an amended substitute ordinance that provides more design flexibility and also postponed a final vote until its Jan. 26 regular meeting. 

With the introduction of the ordinance to adopt the annual revised Port of Homer Terminal Tariff No.1, council member Shelly Erickson proposed adding a 10-day moorage option to the rate schedule. Port Director Brian Hawkins discussed in detail the interdependencies within the rate schedule that make it hard to change.

Council members agreed to ask the Port and Harbor Commission to review and evaluate specific aspects of the tariff for next year, including moorage rates.

During her report, City Manager Melissa Jacobsen noted that in the last election Kenai Peninsula Borough voters chose to change the borough election date to November to coincide with state and federal elections. That begs the question of whether Homer should do the same. 

Council members expressed a preference for keeping Homer’s traditional October date, but also discussed the impact of going it alone, including cost, risk of low voter turnout and logistical burdens. The council directed the city manager to forward an ordinance to change the city election date for council consideration and public comment.

At the top of the meeting, Mayor Rachel Lord read a proclamation in remembrance and recognition of Elaine Grabowski, who passed away Dec. 29, 2025.

“On behalf of the City of Homer,” Lord read, “I express our profound gratitude for her extraordinary contributions to the Homer Volunteer Fire Department (HVFD) and to our community as a whole.”

Noted contributions over decades included Grabowski’s service as one of the first female certified firefighters, emergency services coordinator, developer of a 20-year fire safety education program for area schools and, after retirement, a volunteer emergency medical technician.

HVFD Fire Chief Daniel Jager with other members of the fire department presented Grabowski’s retired fire helmet to her husband, Gary Kulesza.

“We’ve lost a lot of people this winter,” Lord reflected in closing. “Thank you to each and every one of you as you continue to give to the community and to support one another as family, friends and neighbors through hard times.”

Other actions of the council included a 5-to-1 vote to approve submitting comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management citing local concerns about planned oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Alaska and Cook Inlet. Council Member Erickson voted no and urged the council to consider the risk of unintentional consequences to the city.

Videos and full transcripts of city council meetings are available from the city council calendar. The next city council meetings will be Monday, Jan. 26.

Editor’s note: Homer City Council Member Donna Aderhold is a board member of NZP4H, the nonprofit corporation that owns the Homer Independent Press. Aderhold did not participate in the writing or editing of this or any article about the council.