Realtors hear recruitment update

Covey, Peterson address real estate agents

MOSES LAKE — The people responsible for area real estate heard from the people trying to recruit workers into the area.

Moses Lake Mayor Ron Covey and Port of Moses Lake Commissioner Larry Peterson spoke at the program before the Moses Lake-Othello Association of Realtors monthly meeting Thursday afternoon.

"As Realtors we are very involved and concerned with all the growth going on within our community," said association President Mary Thorn. "We want to be working with them and doing whatever we can to promote and help with the growth, and help solve any problems going to come up because of the growth."

Peterson outlined the community's successes in recruiting a number of companies into the Columbia Basin area. In addition to those developments already making headlines, he said, the Grant County Economic Development Council has an additional 27 inquiries into the area.

"Our challenge has changed from recruitment of business and industry to recruitment, housing and transportation of construction workers and recruitment, training and housing of permanent employees," Peterson said.

Covey spoke of his involvement with a "roadshow" committee connected to recent forums and operations committees formed to deal with the issues.

The roadshow committee is preparing a booth display and representation of area businesses to take to schools, colleges and job fairs in and out of the area, he said.

"We will have people there to talk about what (the Columbia Basin) has to offer to the prospective employee and their family," Covey said. "There are a number of good things we have here, but they just don't know about us yet."

Peterson told the agents they need to be able to speak in more detail about things around the area, such as recent school bonds, medical specialists and other local hospital offerings and the capabilities of the ATEC Building at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake or Moses Lake's aquatic center.

"If we recruit somebody interested in coming in here for a job for one of the companies, then their families are going to have to be satisfied they actually want to move to this community and go to work," Peterson said following the presentation. "Where real estate agents can help is to take those people around, show them the community and try to give them a feeling they would like to come and live here, so they play a really important role in it."