The City perceives the workforce shortage as purely a housing issue. Maybe it is but maybe it isn’t? Or at least not 100% of it. The assumption that everyone who works in Ketchum wants to live in Ketchum has never been examined. But clearly the City’s response to a workforce shortage with a policy to house anyone who wants to live in downtown Ketchum whether they work or not should have a right to that housing at taxpayer expense doesn’t seem like a policy to address a workforce shortage. It seems like something else.
I live in Ketchum and am horrified with the attitude of 'lets ignore the residents, build it and discover afterwards if it works'. When the City/KURA calculated the cost of building Bluebird, they 'forgot' to add the value of the land. They are doing the same here. No one wants to live in town, especially with no air conditioning. No parking - no shopping. Looking at the Ketchum Fair today, with the street parking eliminated, means very poor attendance as the majority of potential attendees cannot find anywhere to park. With the loss of the Main Street parking slots, where are our residents going to park when shopping at Nourish Me, ThunderPaws, Lululemon etc.? Where does the overflow from the Limelight hotel park their cars. The Argyros will be the most affected by this, along with the Culinary Institute and restaurants. in the evening. Lets fill the Bluebird first and make the Washington Square Parking spaces more efficiently marked , and look at building more workforce housing south of town where people really want to live. Weird that no one seems to be listening to us.
"If you live in Hailey and are reading this, and you think that Hailey’s establishment of an Urban Renewal Agency to develop a rural ranch with nothing urban about it might not be kosher (hint hint), respond to this email and I will share with you the form of the public records request to help you do your own digging." I live in Hailey and would like to know more about URL's. The Major and city administrator are both on HURL & URL and their goal is to develop every square of Hailey into work force housing, regardless of water impact or the ability of the City to actually pay for excess development.
The City perceives the workforce shortage as purely a housing issue. Maybe it is but maybe it isn’t? Or at least not 100% of it. The assumption that everyone who works in Ketchum wants to live in Ketchum has never been examined. But clearly the City’s response to a workforce shortage with a policy to house anyone who wants to live in downtown Ketchum whether they work or not should have a right to that housing at taxpayer expense doesn’t seem like a policy to address a workforce shortage. It seems like something else.
Thank you Perry for your insightful newsletters , appreciated by so many! We have to keep fighting once it’s gone, it’s gone for good!
I live in Ketchum and am horrified with the attitude of 'lets ignore the residents, build it and discover afterwards if it works'. When the City/KURA calculated the cost of building Bluebird, they 'forgot' to add the value of the land. They are doing the same here. No one wants to live in town, especially with no air conditioning. No parking - no shopping. Looking at the Ketchum Fair today, with the street parking eliminated, means very poor attendance as the majority of potential attendees cannot find anywhere to park. With the loss of the Main Street parking slots, where are our residents going to park when shopping at Nourish Me, ThunderPaws, Lululemon etc.? Where does the overflow from the Limelight hotel park their cars. The Argyros will be the most affected by this, along with the Culinary Institute and restaurants. in the evening. Lets fill the Bluebird first and make the Washington Square Parking spaces more efficiently marked , and look at building more workforce housing south of town where people really want to live. Weird that no one seems to be listening to us.
I'd like to add to my comment. The BCRD, Land Trust and the City have all found that recreation is more important than wildlife or the environment.
"If you live in Hailey and are reading this, and you think that Hailey’s establishment of an Urban Renewal Agency to develop a rural ranch with nothing urban about it might not be kosher (hint hint), respond to this email and I will share with you the form of the public records request to help you do your own digging." I live in Hailey and would like to know more about URL's. The Major and city administrator are both on HURL & URL and their goal is to develop every square of Hailey into work force housing, regardless of water impact or the ability of the City to actually pay for excess development.