Lottery winners harassed
Local business owner unfazed
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
The Fields at Warm Springs continues to create controversy.
Last week, following a lottery drawing for the 14 affordable units at
the Fields, one or more of the lottery winners received nasty telephone calls, according
to Garth Schlemlein, a representative of the projects developer, Seattle-based
Sawtooth Development.
Schlemlein said he heard the news second hand, but would not say from
whom.
Blaine County housing director Steve Amsbaugh said he did not wish to
discuss the issue due to requests from some of the Fields applicants.
Schlemlein said one of the calls came from a local real estate company,
and another may have included name calling.
Nanci Warren, a local businesswoman and single mom who has lived in the
area for more than 10 years, was the first-place lottery winner. Warren said she did not
receive any inflammatory phone calls but one of her friends, also a lottery winner did.
The call was something to the effect of "If you cant afford to live in the Sun
Valley area, then leave," Warren said.
News of the harassing calls upset Ketchum City Councilman Randy Hall,
who was at the lottery drawing last Tuesday night.
"The people that won the lottery, they are a snapshot of our
community. They are people I would want as neighbors. I think theyd be an asset in
any community," Hall said.
Hall explained that he thinks the city councils decisions to
trade density in the Fields project for affordable housing units was a good one.
"In areas where its appropriate to trade density for
affordable housing, I think we should continue to look at it as a potential solution (to
Ketchums affordable housing shortage)," Hall said.
Warren, who owns Collage Interior Design, said she thinks local people
are confused about The Fields project.
"They think that this is subsidized, low income housing, which it
is not," she said.
"I am a professional, and I do make a decent amount of money, but
I cant afford a $500,000 condo," she said. She added that she never considered
moving to Hailey for the lower cost of living.
"I would rather rent in Ketchum than move to Hailey," she
said.
And in light of last weeks inflammatory calls, she said:
"Im not nervous at all."