I am sure most Homer residents have heard something, perhaps just bits and pieces, about the proposed new City Hall and Town Square project. The purpose of this article is to provide you with some basic information. Much more detailed information will be provided over the course of the next few months.
Why is the city spending so much time and energy on this project? Where did the idea come from? The answer is that this project has been in the works for many years. It has simply gained momentum due to broad-based community support and the fact that a significant amount of funding has been secured. The City Hall and Town Square Project encompasses a combination of important and long-standing community and economic development goals.
The first goal is implementation of the adopted Town Center Plan. A primary purpose of the plan is to stimulate economic development by helping to create a dynamic and integrated downtown district. The Town Center will serve as a hub which will enhance and connect the existing business districts on Pioneer Avenue, the Sterling Highway, Main Street, and Old Town. A new City Hall and a town square are the identified "civic anchors" and the council has committed to get them built.
The second goal is to provide the college with an opportunity to purchase the existing City Hall. If the Kachemak Bay Campus can acquire the existing City Hall, it will be able to consolidate its campus in Homer and gain opportunities for future growth; something the city council supports. In FY 2007, the Legislature provided the college with $2.5 million to acquire and refurbish the building.
The third goal is to build a new City Hall and an integrated town square (public plaza). The existing City Hall has exceeded its useful life. The council chambers are too small, meeting and storage space are limited and working conditions are crowded. The new building will be designed to better serve the public and will be much more than a simple office building.
The council intends that the building be multi-functional in nature and serve as a community building. The town square will be approximately an acre in size and may include things like park benches, a bandstand and other amenities. The square is intended to be a lively place, surrounded by businesses, office space, residences, parks and trails; in short, a place where people will want to gather.
The City Hall/Town Square project is expected to cost approximately $10 million. The city council already has about $4 million of that identified. Most of the rest will have to be borrowed, most likely through the sale of bonds. Any new long-term debt will have to be approved by the voters.
The council hopes that some of the additional funding can be raised through grants, legislative appropriations, and private donations. Infrastructure costs (roads, water and sewer lines) can be addressed through agreements with the city's development partners and by using existing dedicated road, water and sewer funds.
Many residents have asked why the council is moving so fast. The primary answer is that construction costs are rising so rapidly and building will only get more expensive. Also, the purchasing power of the funding the college has is reduced for every year the college has to wait to refurbish and occupy City Hall. If all goes according to plan, the city council hopes to have all funding secured and a construction contract in place by April of this year.
You can obtain more information about this project by calling the City Manager's Office, attending meetings of the City Hall/Town Square Committee and/or the open house meetings conducted by the design team, or going to the project Web site (www.homertownsquare.com).
Walt Wrede is city manager for Homer.
