Finding seasonal workers in a resort town is often a challenge for businesses, due to a low unemployment rate and a lack of available and affordable housing for seasonal employees. Park City Municipal is no exception, as the city could use more seasonal workforce housing of its own.
Park City Municipal hires 150 to 200 employees during the peak winter season. The transit department sees the most growth, seeking to hire at least 75 full-time drivers to keep up with additional winter bus service demands.
To accommodate seasonal drivers, Park City Transportation Director Alfred Knotts says the department has about 40 units between properties at Iron Horse, Prospector and the old Peace House location, which the city purchased for workforce housing. But even with the 40 units, Human Resources Manager Brooke Watters says the city could certainly use more.
“I would love to acquire a small hotel--it would just be so much easier," Watters said. "But honestly, our seasonal housing needs are primarily in transit. I think we could take another 30 units easily, and that would really help with our recruiting.”
That’s because Watters says housing is the number one incentive for potential employees. It’s also a matter of public safety. Transit Manager Kim Fjeldsted thinks it’s necessary for the wellbeing of the operators, many of whom work overtime during the winter.
“It's important that they are not fatigued when they're doing their job, and being able to be just right next door and within the city helps with that factor," Fjeldsted said. "I think it's a huge draw and will help us in our recruiting effort because it's a great opportunity to live in a resort town at a very reasonable cost.”
Drivers pay around $400 to $450 a month per unit.
Currently, Park City still has open positions for full-time, seasonal transit drivers. Watters says the transit department needs 150 drivers to optimally function. At the time of KPCW’s conversation with Watters near the end of November, the department only had 100.
