From a distance
Worker
housing initiatives are dead in the water in the Wood River Valley.
While
Ketchum and rural fire districts quietly acquire housing for a few
essential workers, action on the larger long-term shortage is stalled,
perhaps permanently.
Ketchum’s
mayor and council members say they will look for a replacement for its
departing housing administrator, who also works with the Blaine County
Housing Authority. They have their work cut out for them.
Writing a
description for the administrator’s job is going to be like writing a
job description for the Maytag Man, who is famous for having nothing to
do.
A county
ordinance that would stimulate development of worker housing is stalled,
with no end in sight.
Ketchum
itself has no plan to stop the migration of middle-income workers that
has clogged it with commuter traffic during the day and has left once
lively neighborhoods deserted. Its energy for the issue seems exhausted
after dozens of fruitless meetings.
It’s
going to be interesting to see the impacts of doing nothing. It’s
going to be interesting to see what happens to the valley’s businesses
and culture as worker housing becomes scarcer and scarcer.
Of
course, most people will have to watch from a distance.