Coast Guard asks Homer to accept transfer of cutter support building

The City of Homer would take ownership of the U.S. Coast Guard's cutter support building under a transfer the service has requested. The request covers the building, berth-related improvements and associated improvements tied to Lease HSCG89-16-1-0084. The agenda item does not state what maintenance obligations, costs or property condition the city would assume if it accepts. It also does not describe what city ownership would mean operationally for Coast Guard personnel who rely on the facility.

The Homer City Council is scheduled to introduce the measure Monday, Aug. 10. The ordinance would authorize the city manager to negotiate and execute the transfer documents. It sits on the consent agenda, so the council can introduce it in a single motion unless a member pulls it for separate discussion. The agenda lists a public hearing and second reading for Aug. 24. The port director and city manager brought the ordinance, listed as Ordinance 26-40, forward, with a memorandum from the port property associate as backup.

Homer has already committed money at that berth. City records show the council previously appropriated $20,000 from the USCGC Berth Space Maintenance Reserve for anticipated repairs or maintenance. The June 22 agenda included capital budget items for Coast Guard buoy tender berth and seawall maintenance.

Shoreside infrastructure has been a recurring theme for Alaska's congressional delegation. At a June 2 U.S. Senate hearing on the Department of Homeland Security budget, Sen. Lisa Murkowski said, "We are seeing a lot on the shipbuilding side and that's necessary. But we all know that those ships don't move around by themselves."

Residents who want to weigh in can testify at the public hearing if the council follows the recommended schedule. That hearing is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 24.