Following the loss of both employees at the Homer Division of Motor Vehicles office, the office at 3798 Lake St. is now on an abbreviated schedule. 

The office is open today from 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., with a closure from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. for road tests, and will be open on a schedule to be announced for next week. Staff from the Soldotna DMV office have been commuting to Homer to open the office here. 

The DMV is in the process of recruiting and hiring new employees, said division operations manager Joanne Olsen, and hopes to have replacement staff working soon.

“I understand the closure has had a huge impact on the community,” Olsen said.

Last week on one day when the Homer DMV was open it served 160 people. The Soldotna office also has reported many Homer and lower Kenai Peninsula residents using that facility. 

Information on the Homer DMV is at online.dmv.alaska.gov/DMVWebCams/office/Homer.htm. When open, people can view a live webcam to see how many people are waiting and how the estimated wait will be to get served.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.