The city of Homer is busy this spring trying to fill a few key vacancies and find new hires in several departments.

The police department is currently mulling over several applications for part-time enforcement aides for beach and parking lot patrols. The city is currently accepting applications for a fish dock operator at the dock. And the city is looking to hire a project manager to assist the public works director.

Besides these new or seasonal positions, the city is also working to hire an accounting supervisor to replace Lisa Vaughn who recently departed for a job in Palmer, a port director/harbormaster to replace Steve Dean who resigned last month and a new city planner to replace Beth McKibben, who resigned April 10.

McKibben has accepted a job with the City and Borough of Juneau, after spending nearly five years in Homer.

McKibben said it was an opportunity to be closer to family and an opportunity for a job with a better work and life balance. But she said she enjoyed working for City Manager Walt Wrede, and the city staff and volunteers are great.

"Like everything it's good and bad," McKibben said. "There's lots of great things about Homer, I just think it's the right thing for me and my family right now."

Dean is finishing up a 21-year career at the Homer harbor the last three-and-a-half years as harbormaster to spend the summer with his 7-year-old son.

"I have the opportunity to spend the summer with him and I don't want to pass it up," Dean said.

Dean started working as a dock assistant in 1987 and said he made $6.50 an hour with no benefits.

In that time a lot has changed at the harbor. New floats, roads and docks have been built on the Homer Spit, and the commercial and charter fishing sectors have grown.

Over the years, Dean worked his way up the organization, spending five years as deputy director before making the jump to harbormaster in 2004.

The city has gone through six or seven mayors and city managers in that time, Dean said.

And the current city manager got high praise from Dean.

"He's a great guy to work for," Dean said of Wrede. "The city is lucky to have him."

Dean said the move to harbormaster was made easier because of Wrede and a competent, professional staff at the harbor.

The new harbormaster will be hired by Wrede, but Dean has been involved in the hiring process, he said.

"He's allowed me to be included in the process and it's important to me for a number of different reasons," Dean said.

For starters, he said he owes it to his staff to make sure the city hires the right person. Ultimately, he said, he owes it to the public.

"It's a public facility and it's important to a lot of people," Dean said. Dean's last day is May 2.

He said he wanted to make sure to be out of the job before his son's Little League season begins this summer.

In other city news, the Homer City Council Monday:

* Postponed until October two resolutions that would have awarded contracts for the 65 percent design for the city hall/town square project. Council member Mike Heimbuch said he was not prepared to have a no vote echo through the halls of the university and was concerned that the relationship between the city and college might be damaged if the plan died with Monday's vote. Other council members agreed, saying they supported the university expansion, but needed to step back and regroup after the special election vote.

* Appointed Dean Ravin to the Economic Development Advisory Commission, Robert Hartley to the Port and Harbor Advisory Commission and reappointed Kyra Wagner to the Library Advisory Board.

* Postponed a resolution on new regulations for the use of motor vehicles on city beaches and establishing permit requirements. The council decided to wait and see how the soon-to-be-hired enforcement aides help with enforcing current regulations.

* Passed a resolution commending Tesoro Petroleum and Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council for stationing the M/V Vigilant response tug in Cook Inlet year round.

* Passed a resolution to begin lease negotiations with Kenai River Seafoods for a long-term lease on a lot on Fish Dock Road.

* Passed a resolution awarding the contract for construction inspection/contract administration for the New Homer Water Treatment Plant upgrade project to the firm of HDR Alaska, Inc. of Anchorage in the amount of $398,710.

Ben Stuart can be reached at ben.stuart@homernews.com.