The Homer City Council set aside additional funding for a multiuse community recreation center at their last regular meeting on Monday, July 22.
Ordinance 24-30, which appropriates $900,000 from the Gas Line Fund for the project, was postponed from the June 17 council meeting to Monday evening after receiving some public comments on the funding path. Last month, council members Rachel Lord and Jason Davis both expressed a wish to have the proposed funding investigated a little further.
The newly appropriated funds are in addition to $400,000 set aside from the city’s general fund during the council’s mid-biennium adjustments for the FY25 capital budget on June 10.
Some public comment was also received by the council on Ordinance 24-30.
“That ($900,000) is finally going to put something in the block to get things moving,” Robert Archibald, who sits on the Parks, Art, Recreation and Culture Advisory Commission, said. “That’s going to be the cornerstone of that building … it means that there’s some skin in the game, so you can go off and look for grants.”
Archibald noted that the city’s current investment will likely have a positive impact on future grant applications.
Jan Keiser, former Public Works director who is now involved with PARCAC, also spoke in favor of Ordinance 24-30, saying that the appropriated $900,000 could fund a development plan for the project, with a scope, schedule, budget and development strategy.
Karin Marks, chair of the Economic Development Advisory Commission, supported the ordinance as “a good first start” for establishing a multiuse community rec center. However, she also expressed concerns that the funding “could be frittered away” unless the council set up an outline for the project.
“It’s great to start using it for various kinds of studies, but please remember that there already has been a great deal of work done in this area, including some designs that people responded to,” she said.
The ordinance was passed on Monday with some amendments. Council member Lord added a clause stating that “a dedicated investment account will be established for the Multi-Use Community Recreation Center Project, for this and all other allocations adopted specifically for this project.”
In line with her amendment, the fund receiving the allocation from the Gas Line fund was changed from the HERC Reserves to a Multi-Use Community Recreation Center fund, which is to be created in the near future.
The ordinance states that the Homer community has “long prioritized” the need for indoor municipal recreational and community space, especially considering the “ongoing challenges” of operating in local schools and the “aging and defunct” HERC facility.
The establishment of a community rec center is identified as a No. 2 priority in the city’s current list of capital improvement projects, Homer News previously reported.
Find Ordinance 24-30 in full online at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/citycouncil/city-council-regular-meeting-305.
The next regular City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 12 at 6 p.m. in the Homer City Hall Cowles Council Chambers.
