Fernie Chamber to host Fernie Housing Panel Discussion | Thursday 10 June
The Fernie Chamber of Commerce is hosting a panel discussion on Zoom & Facebook this Thursday 10 June at 12:00pm local time. The panel will bring together both local and outside perspectives on the housing challenges facing Fernie. The virtual panel discussion is free to watch for both Fernie Chamber members and the wider community, and it is envisioned that this will become an annual event on the Fernie Chamber calendar moving forward.
The panel line-up will feature Brendon Ogmundson (Chief Economist, BC Real Estate Association) who will be providing a current snapshot of property prices and trends in Fernie and the region, and Marla Zucht (General Manager, Whistler Housing Authority) who will be providing an overview of how her organization has been able to help address staff housing shortages in that busy BC resort community. The panel line-up will be rounded out by Michael Boronowski (Chief Administrative Officer, City of Fernie) who will be presenting on the recently completed Fernie Housing Needs Report, and Gayle Vallance (Fernie Family Housing Society) who will be giving an update on the affordable housing project on 13th Street in Fernie that is currently nearing completion.
Brad Parsell (Executive Director, Fernie Chamber) will be moderating the panel and explains that “housing attainability is such a pressing and complex issue for our businesses and the wider community here in Fernie. We constantly hear of the challenges that businesses face trying to recruit staff from outside the area, only to have the candidate turn down the opportunity altogether because of lack of housing options. It is our hope that bringing together this group of panelists will start a bigger conversation about where Fernie’s housing crisis is heading, and what other communities and local groups have been doing to help find solutions to this critical issue.”
To watch on Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81692222198
To watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ferniechamber
Questions for panelists can be submitted to brad@ferniechamber.com in advance of the meeting.
