Tension permeated discussion on the upcoming roadway and water system improvements project on West Bunnell Avenue and Ohlson Lane during the Homer City Council’s regular meeting last Monday, April 14, as several Old Town Homer businesses expressed their dismay with the project’s timing.

The project in question involves replacement of the water main — a 59-year-old cast iron pipe that is “near the end of its service life and prone to failure” — construction of a stormwater system in conjunction with a new street curb along a portion of the designated roadway, and road reconstruction. Construction is slated to begin in mid-May and run until November.

About a dozen business owners from Bunnell Avenue and Ohlson Lane attended the meeting and provided public comment on the project, largely speaking against the planned construction period, which coincides with Homer’s peak tourist season.

Property manager Connie Woolfolk, who represents several vacation rental owners with businesses on Bunnell and Ohlson, said that these businesses would be “profoundly impacted” by the construction schedule and asked the council to delay the project until late August or early September.

“The last time the Charles Way project happened, that was basically under the front door of one of the rentals,” she said. “I ended up having to reimburse half of those people’s stays because of the noise and construction that went on.”

Scott Livingston, co-owner of Wild Honey Bistro on Bunnell Avenue, said he thought that none of the businesses in the project corridor opposed the revitalization plans, but that area business owners “have not been given time to prepare and put our businesses into a position that we can survive a summer of high construction.”

Several others also commented on an apparent lack of notice about the planned construction.

Livingston said that the city had held a meeting on the project with area stakeholders in July 2022 and that at that time, the residents were “excited that there was this type of investment” but also expressed concerns about mitigation for the businesses in the corridor.

“The city at that time said, ‘We understand, we will come back to you with responses to your feedback and a plan for mitigation.’ None of the businesses in that quarter received that follow-up meeting,” he said.

He asked the council to put a pause on the project so that the business owners could get that follow-up meeting and subsequently move forward together with the city “in a way that will bring revitalization.”

“I am afraid that (with) the current plan, you may get a revitalized street and an empty Old Town, because this represents an existential threat to several of the businesses in the area if it’s carried out in the way that it’s being done right now,” he said.

According to an Oct. 15 memorandum from Public Works Director Daniel Kort, the Ohlson Lane/Bunnell Avenue Road Reconstruction Project began with a design and study by Nelson Engineering in 2023 — which the council authorized a task order for in June 2022. Council introduced an ordinance to appropriate HART funds in November 2024, which was postponed and eventually passed on Jan. 28. Invitations to bid on the project were advertised at the end of February and in early March; the bidding period closed on April 8.

City attorney Michael Gatti called the planned improvements to Bunnell Avenue and Ohlson Lane a “public health project” and said that if the current water main system failed, the city would have to conduct emergency repairs with little to no notice given to anyone residing or working in the impacted area. At that point, City Manager Melissa Jacobsen added, the city would be required to pay the costs of the repairs as grant funding allocated by the state would not cover it.

“When you think about the water main infrastructure, it’s not really an optional project,” said Mayor Rachel Lord.

The council passed Resolution 25-031 last Monday, awarding the project contract to East Road Services, Inc. for approximately $2,064,000 — nearly $500,000 below the latest engineer estimate received by the city. Total project funding adds up to more than $2.9 million, which means that with East Road Services’ bid and including expenditures for project design completion and expected bidding and construction assistance services, an approximately $740,000 contingency remains.

Project timing is also critical due to funding received from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The city previously received loans amounting to $491,400 from the Alaska Drinking Water Fund and $324,000 from the Alaska Clean Water Fund for the water main replacement and storm drain construction, respectively. Both loans come with 100% principal forgiveness subsidies, which means that they essentially operate as grants and the city is not obligated to pay back the loan amounts.

However, the city clerk’s office confirmed Monday, April 21, that the loan forgiveness is set to expire on June 30. If the project is delayed and the funds are not put to use, the city will then be obligated to pay back $815,400 to ADEC.

Kort clarified during the meeting that the project is not required to be specifically completed by June 30, and couldn’t be completed by that time anyway.

“But it does add complications the more we kick this can down the road,” he said. “As we move into the later part of the construction season … it’ll mean a more compact construction schedule, and there may be times they have to work on weekends. If we close the gap of the construction window, there are other compromises that have to be made.”

Kort added that the longer construction window allows for better collaboration with the contractor, more flexibility in the schedule and a higher likelihood that the contractors would be able to work around special events, such as weddings, held for clients by business owners in the impacted area.

“Unfortunately, the tourist season perfectly aligns with the construction season. It’s just the nature of working in a winter climate,” he said.

Council member Donna Aderhold expressed frustration with the position that the council had been put in due to communication breakdowns between the city and business owners, and that she was “extremely aware of the fact that people’s jobs and livelihoods are at stake right now.” Ultimately, however, discussion on postponing the project or further engagement with the public at this point was “water under the bridge.”

“We have allocated money for this project. We have put an RFP out on the streets. We have had qualified bidders provide us with bids, and now we have a resolution in front of us to award the contract. That’s all that this is, is awarding a contract,” she said.

Lord said that it is important that the city “continue to do better” in communicating with affected neighborhoods on planned or ongoing projects, but that “there have been multiple public hearings on this project over the last six months” and some component of the project has been on “almost every agenda” for that period.

Find a full recording of the April 14 meeting online at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/citycouncil/city-council-regular-meeting-340.

The next regular city council meeting will be held on Monday, April 28, at 6 p.m. in the Homer City Hal Cowles Council Chambers.