As most people know our city government has certain responsibilities to ensure a prosperous, livable and safe community. Included in these responsibilities are the harbor, public utilities, fire and public safety. The city supports the harbor which provides safe moorage for the charter fleet and the commercial fishing fleets. This provides for a steady reliable economic base for Homer. The city provides our citizens with access to sewage disposal and a safe water supply. Our roads are well maintained even in the winter with prompt snow removal. By and large, Homer has the well maintained infrastructure needed to make Homer a delightful place to live. Our police are well trained and professional in their jobs. There is, however, a problem with infrastructure that supports our police and public safety.

The present home of the public safety department is very old and outdated. It was constructed some 40 years ago to service a community less than half as large as our current population. Not only has the population grown but the mission of the public safety department has changed. There are new requirements for evidence storage, prisoner accommodations, family services and innumerable other demands placed on a current structure that is too small and too old to serve the needs of the community. These added demands don’t even take into consideration updating the structure to accommodate the multiple new technologies that are a vital part of the public safety mission.

This brings us to the proposed solution of expanding the space requirements without having to construct a totally new building. The proposed plan is practical, affordable, and a positive solution to an expensive project. By making a small addition to an existing, empty, school building we can create a facility that will serve the community of Homer for years to come.

Bob Hartley