NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
January 24, 2024
Contact:
Lindsey Harris, Executive Director
[email protected]
208-398-3321
WCMEDC LAUNCHES HOUSING NEEDS SURVEY & SEEKING COMMUNITY FEEDBACK
Workforce housing has been one of the largest impediments to the success of our businesses and communities in the region and their current greatest need. As a recreational and tourism driven economy, local housing issues are exacerbated compared to traditional, more diversified housing markets. Valley County’s last housing assessment was back in 2005. Since then, our demographic and economic landscape has greatly changed. Collecting housing data and modeling future housing needs is critical for strategic planning, grant funding and creating housing investments that better support the people who live and work in the West Central Mountains. Understanding the current workforce housing issues the region faces is the first step to identifying solutions to move the region forward.
As a result, The West Central Mountains Economic Development Council (WCMEDC) has begun the process of conducting a regional housing needs analysis that will include the communities of Cascade, Donnelly, McCall, and New Meadows. This will also include unincorporated areas of Valley County and northern Adams County. The analysis, when finished, will provide regional and community specific information related to existing housing conditions, future needs, and market trends. The housing needs analysis is anticipated to wrap-up in Fall of 2024 and will be available to the public later this year.
To ensure the success of this assessment, it is important to hear from a variety of community members, employers and employees, local governments, housing partners, and anyone who might interface with housing in the West Central Mountains. To achieve this widespread community connection, we have launched a community survey to gain a better understanding of housing experiences and perceptions throughout the region.
The WCMEDC is encouraging community members to take this short survey (approximately 10 minutes) to help inform this assessment, but perhaps more importantly also would like to request that this survey be broadly shared in various networks in the West Central Mountains.
Please share the below link with your organizations, employees, family members, volunteer groups, and anyone else you know who lives (or formerly lived) in the West Central Mountains area. Responses are anonymous and will be analyzed by a third-party consultant. In addition, a Spanish version is also available. The survey will remain open through February 19th, so don’t wait to share your voice regarding this important community initiative.
Take the survey here: https://bit.ly/wcmhousingsurvey or also available on our website wcmedc.org.
Participants can also access the survey on their phone with this QR Code:
If anyone has any questions or concerns or would like to get more involved, please reach out to [email protected]
