CCMSD purchases staff housing

Crook County Medical Services District (CCMSD) is purchasing a 12-unit property in Sundance to house employees, a decision made in response to the lack of housing currently available in this area.

The local housing crisis has made it difficult to hire new employees, explains Trustee Mark Erickson, because they would need to commute from outside the community.

The intent is to entice good candidates to accept roles within the district if they would otherwise be reluctant for this reason, he says.

Now, says Erickson, the member of staff and their family can move to Sundance and rent one of the units from CCMSD until they are able to establish roots of their own by purchasing or renting a private home.

The Board of Trustees moved last week to purchase 222 N. 5th Street, “To take care of our staff housing issues,” said Erickson.

This was a relatively contentious issue among board members, with Trustee Sandy Neiman abstaining from the vote and Trustee Bob Richey commenting, “I still don’t like it, but I don’t think we have a choice”.

A motion was made to authorize Erickson, as board chair, to sign an agreement to purchase the property. A second motion was made to appoint Holt Property Management Services to manage the new property.