KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Workforce housing continues to be a concern in the Kodiak community and the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce may form a committee to look for solutions. At a Monday chamber-hosted forum, real estate broker Bob Brodie said the housing crunch isn’t expected to improve any time soon.
There’s a perception that seafood processors lure workers to Kodiak but don’t provide housing. But John Whiddon, general manager of the Pacific Seafoods plant in Kodiak, insisted that’s not the case. He says many seasonal workers arrive in Kodiak on their own when their jobs in other fisheries wind down.
Others he said are lured to Kodiak by agencies that manufacture fake papers with bogus job offers.
Kodiak Island Borough Community Development Director Bud Cassidy said residents can legally rent our spare rooms. And while there may be some government initiatives to spur development, he argued investment would largely have to borne by private developers.
Chamber Executive Director Trevor Brown said he’d bring a proposal to his board to form a workforce housing committee to continue to explore the issue.
