By Marcia Kuszmaul

Homer Independent Press

At its Monday meeting, the Homer City Council endorsed a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recommendation for a $492 million expansion of the Homer harbor. Designated “Alternative 2,” the proposal aligns with the city’s June, 2025 call for a project that alleviates overcrowding and navigational safety concerns.

The city’s preferred alternative would provide a new 37-acre mooring basin with slips for various-sized vessels, including large boats now moored along the east side of the existing harbor. Once vacated, the east side area would become slips for other vessels.


Alternative 2 would alleviate the current wait list for moorage. It does not address anticipated future demand, which was the objective of Alternative 3 with its larger 50-acre moorage basin.

Presenting the selection, Ronald McPherson, the project manager for engineering consultants HDR, emphasized that the Corps’ objective is to “make a functioning harbor.”  The design does not make any provision for expanded parking, new space for marine businesses or new city roads and utilities – all of which are considered local services and the responsibility of the city.

The harbor expansion project still has to win final approval from the Corps next year, and then funding must be found. Federal and state grants may be available to help pay the $132 million required in local matching funds. A public comment period on the draft plan will commence next month.

A draft rendering of the city council’s preferred plan for the Homer harbor expansion. Full details of the proposal and alternatives are available here. (Presented by Homer Harbor Expansion project)

The cost

The $492 million cost estimate requires a 90/10 split between federal and city funding sources ($397.5 million/$44.2 million) for general navigation features like dredging, breakwaters, and drains plus construction management and engineering design.

The estimate includes another $50.4 million cost to the city for anticipated local services like parking, Spit access and utilities.

“That 90/10 split is what is required at the time of construction,” McPherson said. “So that’s day zero, essentially.”

In addition, standard Corps practice requires the city to  pay another 10% of general navigation features in cash amortized over a 30-year period – totaling $38.3 million, which can be offset by credit for the value of lands, easements and relocations provided for the construction – resulting in an effective 80/20 split.

The estimate builds in a 35% contingency the Corps requires to account for inflation and unknowns and to forestall any additional Congressional appropriation.

Next steps

The council’s endorsement kicks off the next phase of the project – a draft feasibility report that will be posted for a 30-day public comment period in late May. The comprehensive report will provide  the rationale behind the Corps’ recommendations, including the environmental modeling, hydraulics and hydrology, economic development considerations and more.

McPherson acknowledged that the review process got compressed to stay on schedule because of recent changes in Corps procedures.

In March 2027, the Assistant Secretary of the Army will give thumbs up or down to recommending the project to Congress for authorization.

Moving forward, the Corps and city will work in parallel — with the Corps focused on design and construction and the city addressing local services.

The next steps with HDR would be to develop a financial plan for funding Homer’s share of the costs. “That’s a lot of money for Homer to come up with,” McPherson said. “How is that going to even be possible?”

A number of the 30+ community members in attendance wondered the same.

“I supported this from the beginning,” Brad Faulkner said. “But I gotta face reality. This is a town that can’t afford to have a swimming pool.”

Dave Mastolier spoke passionately in support of the expansion and the need to plan for and accommodate growth. He voiced concern that without growth the harbor “starts becoming something that only a smaller, wealthier group can fully participate in.”

Dave Mastolier speaks in favor of the Homer harbor expansion to ensure the opportunity for the next generation to have opportunities on the water at the Homer City Council meeting, April 13. (Photo by Marcia Kuszmaul/Homer Independent Press)


“The decision you make here will directly affect whether the next generation has real opportunities on the water,” he said. “Without expansion, access won’t be about skill or effort. It will be about who can afford the price of entry”.

Mayor Rachel Lord assured everyone that the council endorsement moves the study forward and does not commit the city.

Land for conservation

In other action, the council approved a long-anticipated purchase of 12.5 acres on Kachemak Drive near the Northern Enterprise Boat Yard from the Kenai Peninsula Borough (KPB) for green infrastructure and conservation of wetlands.

In 2023 the city received a $1,171,410 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant to acquire such properties and has since worked with the KPB and project partners—the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Kachemak Heritage Land Trust—to make the purchase.

For the $156,250 appraised value, the city will acquire five parcels approximately 2.5 acres each. NOAA grant funds will cover the purchase and associated due diligence documentation and review.

Speaking in favor of the acquisition, Willy Dunne described how several interested parties began working to set aside land in that area in 2021 for the Kachemak Sponge Project.

“They say that the wheels of government turn very slowly,” Dune said. “This has been over five years . . . to get this land protected for really important wetlands functions.”

The Borough Assembly is scheduled to authorize the sale in May. After the Assembly’s approval, NOAA will review to release federal funds, hopefully by the end of 2026.