Ketchum City Council members are massaging wording on a request for proposals to build community housing on the Park and Ride lot, and hope to select a contractor by June.
At the council's meeting Monday, April 18, Mayor Ed Simon said he would refine the document's wording and have a final draft ready for the council's review by their next meeting.
"I'll make sure it clearly defines where we want a developer to go, giving him flexibility," Simon said,
Allowance for flexibility stemmed from Councilman Baird Gourlay's proposal that housing units be constructed on top of a parking garage the city would like to build on the site.
Simon countered that doing so would delay the units' construction. He said he would speak with city staff to determine what the site's parking requirements are and how such a facility would impact the rest of the parking.
The housing units will be part of a master plan that includes a $16-million, 84,000-square-foot recreational facility on a portion of the Park and Ride lot.
The Ketchum-based Wood River Community YMCA is seeking city approval for the facility's design and layout on the 5.7-acre city lot, located at the corner of Warm Springs and Saddle roads.
"I think we can get 20 units without impacting other uses on the Park and Ride lot and without affecting any neighbors," Simon said Tuesday.
The city could keep four units for city employees, save two for the school district and sell 14 deed-restricted units to the public, thereby securing more funds to build other affordable housing units elsewhere, Simon said.
The deadline for housing proposals is April 28. Presentations to the City Council could begin by the end of May, and council members hope to choose a firm by June.
Selection criteria include cost to the city, firms' experience building in resort communities, proposed timetables and creative solutions to problems.
