A tale of two right of way vacations
At its Jan. 13 meeting, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission approved two ROW vacation applications in the Homer vicinity. One is on the Feb. 5 borough assembly agenda and the other is before the Homer City Council on Feb. 10, both for final approval.
Farmwald Circle is in the Bridge Creek watershed, north of Skyline Drive and just outside city limits. The City of Homer is a co-applicant on the Farmwald Circle ROW vacation application. The city owns a 4.37-acre lot on one side of the length of the unconstructed ROW and a 4.53-acre lot on the other side. Farmwald, the other co-applicant, owns parcels to the north on a cul-de-sac also to be vacated. The vacated ROW is given to the city for free. The city is not required to provide access to adjacent properties because they all have adequate access. The ROW will be included in the replat of the two city lots combined into one.
Doyon Limited applied for a vacation of the B Street ROW south of Bay Avenue, which is a very similar situation. Doyon owns the properties on both sides of the unconstructed ROW and all adjacent properties have superior alternative access. The only difference is that there is a rough pedestrian path on the first couple hundred feet of the B Street ROW, which makes a 90-degree turn onto Doyon property to trespass to the Homer Spit Road and Spit Trail. Blocking the trespass makes this short path useless. There is no trail south of this trespass turn. This ROW is of no access value. However, it is of great value to Doyon to facilitate development of its hotel complex. In exchange for the ROW vacation, Doyon will grant the City of Homer a 20-foot-wide pedestrian easement, build a trail and provide a 30-foot-wide vegetative buffer along the western boundary of its lot to the west of the ROW. This is significant and more than adequate compensation for what it might have been granted for free.
I encourage you to walk the path on the B Street ROW south of Bay Avenue and appreciate what we stand to gain by granting this ROW vacation. Please support legal trail connectivity in Homer. I urge you to ask the Homer City Council to approve Memorandum CC-25-028 on Monday, Feb. 10.
Mary Griswold
Homer
Does poorly managed Alaska have capacity to improve?
Reflecting on the important letters in last week’s editorials from Bill Bell and Tim Daugharty, I also share critical notions of great disappointment in the poorly managed (educational and legal) systems of the great State of Alaska. I recall in 1983, moving up from Washington State, having the opportunity to apply and be accepted into the Peace Corps. I recall declining the offer because I planned to move to “third world Alaska.” At this time, this is how I envisioned Alaska. Forty-one years later, after 34 years working in the “trenches” of direct services for disabilities and mental health in Homer, I believe my vision of Alaska has not changed. We are essentially a third world community with first world problems that have little chance of improvement under our current circumstances. This has been our existence since I have grown old in Alaska.
I appreciate the incredible social/economic experiment programs our state has adopted, for example, the Mental Health Trust Authority, the PFD, and the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. Without these unique social/economic funding experiments, we would be worse off, to be sure. Many of us would not have homes, many of our fellow Alaskans would not be benefited, or economically be able to survive here.
The people who chose to live in Alaska are the product of the system that they live with, many of which are underserved, barely legally represented, barely economically survivable, barely educated. The statistics show it to us. We are not thriving here, and we will continue to be that third world Alaska I thought I was moving to 41 years ago. This is not what Alaska’s forefathers and mothers envisioned, but here we are. Uncertain times we have always faced, and somehow Alaska has survived, even if our quality of life and liberty continue to be in jeopardy. Now where can we go from here, do we even have the capacity to improve?
Meg Mitchell
Homer
A heartfelt thank you for supporting hockey jamboree
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the Kevin Bell Arena and its exceptional staff for their outstanding services during our recent hockey tournament weekend. Their dedication, organization and warm hospitality created the perfect environment for an unforgettable event.
We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to the Homer Hockey Association for their unwavering support and commitment to promoting hockey, empowering women and strengthening our community. We are incredibly grateful to the Diva Hockey team, many of whom volunteered countless hours and talents to make the 2025 jamboree a huge success.
With 10 teams, 140 players, and 20 thrilling games completed, the tournament was a testament to the growing passion for women’s hockey in our region. The jamboree welcomed players from all over the state of Alaska, including several players who traveled from the Lower 48. On and off the ice, the tournament was filled with fun, laughter and smiles, as players and fans alike enjoyed the opportunity to connect and share in the joy of the game.
We are incredibly thankful to everyone who contributed to the success of our tournament. To Salmon Sisters, Homer Jeans, Alice’s Champagne Palace, and Joshua Veldstra Photography — your generous support means the world to us. To our incredible Divas, devoted friends and family, and every volunteer who gave their time and energy — thank you for your hard work and enthusiasm. To those who donated items to our silent auction — your generosity truly helps make a difference to support women’s and youth hockey in our community.
To everyone involved, from the volunteers and organizers, to the fans who cheered us on, thank you for making this event a true celebration of hockey and teamwork. We look forward to many more opportunities to come together and support this incredible sport and the community of Homer.
Homer Jamboree Hockey Tournament directors
Thank you for supporting music camp
Homer Council on the Arts is grateful for the support of the YAC Fund at the Homer Foundation for supporting Mary Epperson Folk Music Camp for the past two years. Youth advisors saw the value in supporting this folk music intensive held during one week in July. Students age 7-15 learned new instruments and expanded their skills in fiddle, guitar, banjo, bass, ukulele, mandolin, keyboards, singing and songwriting. They sang rounds, had folk dances, performed for each other and formed ensembles that arranged new and old music. We are thankful for the instructors and students for spending their time with us, and the YAC fund for making it possible!
We also look forward to doing it all again. Mary Epperson Folk Music Camp will be back July 14-18. Registration opens soon!
Scott Bartlett, executive director
Homer Council on the Arts
Thank you for supporting Homer OPUS
Homer OPUS would like to thank Gary Thomas 100 Men Project, Global Credit Union and the KLEPS Fund, Willow Funds, and The Horn Section Fund administered by the Homer Foundation for their generous support. These funds allowed us to purchase new violin kits for our violins-in-the-schools students at Paul Banks Elementary and Chapman School.
Homer OPUS is a nonprofit organization that delivers string-based music programs to local youth with the belief that broad access to music education changes children’s lives and transforms communities. We rely on donations like these to be able to continue to expand our programs and outreach.
Our programs are off to a great start this year, with close to 250 students ages from kindergarten through 12th grade involved. By providing the youngest members of our community with a chance to create music together and opportunities where diverse families sit side by side to enjoy the collaborative music-making of their children, we feel we are knitting critical community bonds, one musical note at a time.
The support of donors like these also helps to prepare our students for Sea of Strings, our biannual concert when hundreds of our string players come together on the Homer High School’s Mariner stage to perform a free community concert. This year’s concert will be April 10, 6 p.m., conducted by Abimael Melendez, featuring Homer Youth String Orchestra Club, Paul Banks Preludes, Fireweed Frescoes, Chapman Eagle Ensemble and Codas Ensemble, and premiering new work by Homer’s own Johnny B.
We’re grateful to everyone supporting our efforts and helping Homer OPUS continue to deepen our impact. You can learn more about us at homeropus.org.
Christina Whiting, program manager
Homer OPUS
Thanks for supporting clinic and community health
Thank you to the City of Homer Fund at the Homer Foundation for the general operating grant that helped Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic support community health in 2024. We are proud to have a strong and long-standing partnership with the Homer Foundation that includes local grant awards like this one, but also other non-monetary resources, such as guidance and offers of meeting space, which have been especially meaningful this winter as we navigated repair and recovery efforts after the shooting incidents in November. Having a strong community foundation reflects the positive connections and proactive outlook that are fundamental to community wellness. In gratitude,
Claudia Haines, CEO
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic
Thanks for supporting Homer Trails Alliance
Homer Trails Alliance would like to extend a huge thank you for the charitable grant of $5,000 from the donor advised Madrone Fun and express our appreciation to the Board of Trustees at the Homer Foundation for their continuing support of our work in the community.
All donations go directly toward maintaining and improving trails in the Homer area. If you would like to contribute to our mission, we’d love to have you jump on board! Visit www.homertrailsalliance.org for more information.
Sandy Cronland
Homer Trails Alliance president
