Chamber Supports Workforce Housing

CEO Heidi McCutcheon sent a letter on behalf of the Chamber to City of Shelton Council on Saturday, February 6 in support of workforce housing, while expressing caution for the proposed project. The Chamber intends to continue reviewing any proposals considered and will weigh in on these matters accordingly. Read the entire message below.

Additional project information, presentations, and documents can be found here.

To City of Shelton Council:

On behalf of the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce, I wish to emphasize the importance of workforce housing and applaud the City for its efforts to face the issue. For sustainable growth, it is essential to acknowledge
the housing crisis and to explore opportunities and innovative solutions. We believe that strategic planning for developing residential and commercial amenities will help attract jobs and create a healthy economy.

The Chamber has been serving Mason County for nearly a century, where we represent 400 business members and 6,000 employees. The Chamber is actively engaged in meaningful discussions that affect our workforce and
our community at large. Seeing the low availability of local housing, the Chamber partnered to present the 2019 Workforce Housing Summit. The subsequent report detailed that, “only 54 homes were built for every 100 homes needed. The result is that residents cannot afford the rising rental costs or save the income required to ensure a healthy path to homeownership.” Furthermore, it defined workforce households as those earning between 60% and 140% of the area median income. Of those, many struggle to work and live within our community.

The Chamber supports the City’s option to surplus the property to benefit the community by building workforce housing. We have heard and understand there are concerns regarding the proposed development—ranging from the purchasing process to environmental and traffic impacts—however, the surplus itself is a separate issue from any development agreement, which we continue to review. In the meantime, we are hopeful that Council will continue to carefully consider its own processes, available options, and the benefit to the greater community.

For my part, I commit to continue to review the scope and impacts of any proposals and to share the support and concerns of Chamber Board, as well as the suggestions and input for what may best serve our community.

Please let me know if I can be of any service or if you have any questions of me.

Sincerely,
Heidi McCutcheon
CEO, Shelton-Mason County Chamber