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Lodging shortage concerns Chamber

Brandon Johnson

It’s always hard to find a room in Craig during hunting season, but when pipeline workers arrive in the fall, it will be impossible.

“We know we’re going to have a housing shortage for hunters,” Craig Chamber of Commerce director Annette Gianinetti said.

Gianinetti told Moffat County com-missioners on Tuesday that she would like to see some county facilities opened for camping this fall to help accommodate the influx.



The Chamber didn’t make a formal request for the commissioners to allow camping at Loudy-Simpson Park, the Moffat County Fairgrounds and Shadow Mountain, but Gianinetti told the commissioners she wants them to keep the idea in mind.

Gianinetti said that if hunters come to Craig for the first time and can’t find somewhere to sleep, they aren’t likely to come back.



Commissioner Darryl Steele said he would like to see private businesses handle the lodging shortage.

“If private enterprise can do it, we as a government probably don’t want to enter into the situation,” Steele said.

But, Steele said, with the lodging shortage compounded by pipeline workers this year, the county may be able to help.

Commissioner Tom Gray said that if the commissioners open county facilities to camping, it should be for only one year.

“Next year we would go back to business as usual,” Gray said.

Gianinetti said that if hunters camp near town, they’ll shop in town and eat at area restaurants.

“It’s going to still boost our economy,” Gianinetti said.

In other news:

  • The commissioners approved a contract with Employee Benefit Specialists for health car management and consultation for Moffat County employees.
  • The commissioners placed the Yampa Valley Pregnancy Center on the list of organizations exempt from the use fee for county facilities.

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