By Marcia Kuszmaul

Homer Independent Press

How to manage expiring leases for city-owned property, addition of a new minimum use fee to city water rates and renewal of employee health care insurance are three key issues the Homer City Council will discuss and act on at its upcoming Monday meeting, May 11.


The consideration of how to manage expiring leases on the Spit grew out of a suggestion Port Director Bryan Hawkins made to the Port and Harbor Advisory Commission at its March meeting to create 102 new parking spaces on two adjacent city-owned lots with expiring leases, including one anchored by La Baleine Cafe.


The Homer community came out in force to protest the prospect of a beloved Spit restaurant being paved over for a parking lot. Social media posts, personal phone calls to council members, dozens of written testimonies and a packed house at the April 13 city council meeting attested to residents’ outrage that the city would consider sacrificing a viable small business to accommodate more cars.


Council members generally were concerned as well about how leaseholders of city-owned property were being treated and agreed to take up the issues at its May 11 meeting.


An April 6 memo from City Manager Melissa Jacobsen presented several possible scenarios for discussion, including offering another one-year lease to current tenants to allow the city to further consider optimal future use, conduct a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the lease of the lot with either a maximum lease term of 10 years or an open-ended RFP  to allow for proposals for long-term or short-term leases, or let the current short-term leases expire and require the existing lessees to remove their structures from the lot.


These and other scenarios that have been generated since will be reviewed at the 4 p.m. worksession and 5 p.m. Committee of the Whole. These sessions are for discussion only. Council cannot vote or adopt any measures outside of a regular council meeting.


The Committee of the Whole will take up mid-biennium budget adjustments and the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) draft budget. At its last meeting, April 27, council directed the finance department to develop a water rate schedule that would include a new monthly minimum fee on ratepayers using less than 750 gallons a month.


The new rate schedule will be up for consideration in the 6 p.m. regular council meeting.


The rate model change was prompted by an analysis from Finance Director Elizabeth Fischer in February that illustrated the $2 million balance in the utility Capital Asset Repair and Maintenance Allowance (CARMA) is inadequate for the city’s aging utility infrastructure. To build up the fund, the proposed rate model will increase the city’s reserve requirement from 15% to 20%.


The council also will vote on whether to renew its employee health insurance contracts. At its last meeting, the council reviewed several options, including the current plan with current benefits that would increase premiums by 18.7%, and an alternative plan that would increase premiums by 4.6%, with tiers of lower premiums for higher deductibles and a slight reduction in preferred providers.


An employee committee has reviewed the options and provided their input for the final recommendation, which will be voted on during the regular meeting.


Other scheduled actions of note include:

• Introduction of an ordinance to fund the planning and design of the Woodard Canyon Trail above Karen Hornaday Park.

• A new memorandum for discussion from Councilmember Jason Davis on the potential of a seasonal sales tax for the City of Homer. Borough assembly member Kelly Cooper proposed a similar idea at the borough level last summer – with a higher sales tax rate in the tourism season and a lower rate in the “off season.” The seasonal rate would increase overall sales tax receipts while, at the same time, lower the total sales tax for year-round residents.

• Public hearing on adding a ballot measure to the Nov. 3 municipal election to continue the Homer Accelerated Roads and Trails (HART) Program and reauthorizing the 3/4% sales tax levy for up to 20 more years.
  
  

All city council meetings are open to the public at the Cowles Council Chambers of City Hall, 491 E. Pioneer Ave. Full information is available on the city web site for how to get agendas and supporting documents, submit written testimony and attend meetings in person, via Zoom or by phone. The regular meeting is broadcast live at 6 p.m. on KBBI public radio AM 890.