Voters also approved the continuation of the Homer Accelerated Roads Program and expanded it to allow HARP funds to be used for constructing new roads and trails by approving propositions 3, 4 and 5.
Homer Community Schools offers residents recreational and educational opportunities, like kayaking and pottery classes, throughout the year at a low cost.
It also provides other community organizations, including Little League Baseball and Pop Warner football, access to school district property during nonschool hours.
Spurred by overwhelming public testimony in support of the program, the city of Homer took it over on a one-year trial basis in April after both state and Kenai Peninsula Borough School District funding dried up.
That public support carried to the ballot box, as voters passed the proposition making it a permanent city program by more than a 2-1 margin with 769 yes votes to 364 no votes.
Community Schools Coordinator Mike Illg said he was pleased with the turnout Tuesday night.
“I think the bottom line is it’s a popular program, and the voters stepped up to say they want this,” he said. “I think it’s a good thing for community.”
Voters were not as certain, however, of becoming the only town on the Kenai Peninsula outside of Seldovia to have a seasonal sales tax.
Voters defeated Proposition 1, which would have raised the city’s sales tax 1 percent in the summer and lowered it 1 percent in the winter, by a 633-514 margin.
Council member Mike Heimbuch, the proposition’s author, said the vote was hard for him to understand.
“The voters removed a barrier to higher borough sales taxes but voted down a local sales tax proposal that would have reduced existing rates for six months a year,” he said in a written statement Wednesday. “If people truly preferred sending more sales tax dollars to Soldotna over keeping them here, then I am very much out of step with the people.
“In light of that it’s hard to justify the overwhelming vote to support Community Schools which may cost the city over $100,000 a year. Who does the public think is going to pay for this if we don’t have more revenue?”
The three propositions relating to HARP funding passed easily. The program began nearly 20 years ago and has been used as a mechanism to maintain existing city roads without waiting for state or federal government money. It is paid for by a three-fourths percent sales tax. The funds also can be used to leverage additional state or federal dollars through matching programs.
There is about $3 million in the account today and it will be extended for another 20 years after Tuesday’s 799-338 vote in its favor.
Proposition 4 passed 649 to 483 paving the way for HARP funds to be used for new roads. And Proposition 5 passed 692 to 450 allowing HARP funds to be used for nonmotorized trails.
Turnout for Tuesday’s election was predictably low; only 30 percent of registered voters in Homer District 1 went to the ballot box and only 25 percent in Homer District 2 voted.
Lower turnout occurred outside the city with about 15 percent of registered voters going to the polls in Anchor Point, 17 percent in Diamond Ridge and 21 percent in Kachemak City.
Ben Stuart can be reached at ben.stuart@homernews.com.
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