Rees Consulting of Crested Butte, Colorado has been selected from a field of six applicants to conduct a comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment for the City of Whitefish, the first step toward adopting a strategic plan to attack the critical shortage of workforce housing currently facing the city, its employers and working residents, according to a press release from the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce.
The Whitefish City Council allocated funding for the study earlier this year in response to a request from the chamber to begin crafting a plan for addressing the affordable housing crunch. The Whitefish Housing Task Force – comprised of representatives of the city, the chamber, the Whitefish Housing Authority, and a host of local businesses and nonprofit housing agencies – advertised nationwide for firms interested in working with Whitefish to quantify the extent of the current housing shortage, project future demand, and begin laying the groundwork for plans to attack the problem.
Rees Consulting was one of six firms that responded to the Task Force’s “Request for Qualifications,” and after a series of interviews held May 19 was the unanimous choice of the seven-member selection committee.
“We’re really fortunate to have Rees Consulting onboard to spearhead the Needs Assessment,” said Chamber Executive Director Kevin Gartland. “They are literally at the top of their field, and they’re particularly well versed in addressing the type of challenges faced by resort communities like ours. The committee believes they’re a perfect fit for Whitefish.”
A list of the firm’s clients reads like a “who’s who” of mountain resort town, Gartland said, ranging from Breckenridge, Aspen, and Steamboat Springs in Colorado, to Sun Valley, Idaho, Mammoth Lakes, California, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“We are one of the leading authorities on workforce and community housing in the mountain west,” said Melanie Rees, “and our in-depth knowledge of the challenges faced by amenity-rich communities like Whitefish will enable us to recommend tested strategies for pursuing the town’s housing goals.”
Local business owners and managers are urged to attend a breakfast meeting at the Whitefish Moose Lodge on Wednesday June 22, focusing on the impacts the tight housing market is having on the ability of Whitefish employers to attract – and keep – qualified employees. Discussion will focus on how local business owners can assist the city, chamber and Rees Consulting in quantifying the extent and severity of the workforce housing shortage, by actively participating in the planned “employer survey.”
To RSVP for the June 21 Employer Breakfast at the Moose Lodge, register online at www.whitefishchamber.org, or call the Whitefish Chamber at 862-3501.