The Whitefish Chamber of Commerce has selected a Colorado firm to conduct a comprehensive housing needs assessment for the city and has scheduled its first meeting to get input from local business owners and managers.

The chamber has hired Rees Consulting of Crested Butte, Colo., from six applicants. The needs assessment is the first step toward adopting a strategic plan to address the shortage of workforce housing in the city.

“We’re really fortunate to have Rees Consulting on-board 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.”

Rees has worked with a number of mountain resort towns Breckenridge, Aspen, and Steamboat Springs to Sun Valley, Mammoth Lakes and Jackson Hole, according to the chamber.

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 which 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.”

The Whitefish Housing Task Force — comprised of representatives of the city, the chamber, the Whitefish Housing Authority and a host of local businesses and non-profit housing agencies — selected Rees Consulting after a nationwide search for firms to conduct the study. Whitefish City Council allocated the funding for the study in response to a request from the chamber.

Breakfast starts at 8 a.m. and the program begins at 8:30 a.m. Cost is $16 person. To RSVP for the June 22 employer breakfast at the Moose Lodge, register online at www.whitefishchamber.org, or call the Whitefish Chamber at 862-3501.