The City of Homer secured funding for the second year of a study looking into the feasibility of expanding its harbor.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the state capital budget on June 28 that put nearly $288,523 towards the study to pay for additional costs. This amount is on top of $750,000 the state already contributed to the project.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is leading the three-year study that looks at the current conditions of the city’s harbor and explores potential options to expand it. The cost of the project is split between the federal, state and city government, with the federal government paying for half, and the other half split between the two other agencies. It also slowed down this year after the corps announced increased costs and a lack of federal funding.
Homer City Council Member Rachel Lord said they also secured $800,000 through the corps’ work plan for the second year of the project. The remaining federal money is earmarked in the presidential budget, and she anticipates the funding will stay through the budget process.
“Where we stand right now is a fully funded project to go through the completion of the general investigation,” she said.
In the meantime, the corps has worked through the slowdown doing environmental fieldwork. The city also contracted engineering company HDR to study ocean conditions around the harbor.
Jennifer Carroll is the special projects coordinator for the city. She said that the city expects to receive federal funds by the end of the month, where they can bring the project up to pace after the slowdown.
“The city has been moving forward with contracting for some geotechnical work that is also designed to understand what the sea floor looks like, where we'll be proposing different designs of the harbor,” she said.
Part of the study is looking into whether expanding the harbor is a good option at all. At the end of the process, the corps may determine the best choice is to take no action. Lord says the city will still get valuable information about the conditions around the harbor, as well as the needs of the local ship fleet.
“We're going to have to figure out how to meet those needs somehow so it's all going to be able to feed into really great movements for the community one way or the other."
While the study is underway, Lord wants the city to work with the community to understand what other services they can provide on the harbor.
Carroll said in an email the corps expects to begin designing proposed expansions in the fall. The team will hold a public meeting in the winter to get feedback on the designs.
The public can also provide feedback on the project’s website at any time.
