Another indicator pointing to the changing character of the Wood River Valley underscores, if emphasis is needed, the need for accelerated employee housing in Ketchum and Sun Valley.
Here's what a recent Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau survey found when it asked where business owners and managers reside and where employees reside.
Of 104 owners and managers who responded, 53 percent reside in the cities of Ketchum and Sun Valley, with the remainder in Hailey (24 percent), Bellevue (6 percent), Blaine County unincorporated area (12 percent) and outside Blaine (5 percent).
But as for employees, a dramatic contrast emerges: only 20 percent live in Ketchum and 3 percent in Sun Valley, while 77 percent live elsewhere (Hailey, 42 percent; Bellevue, 17 percent; Blaine County unincorporated area, 8 percent; and outside Blaine, 10 percent).
Implications are widespread.
More employees living farther from their Ketchum-Sun Valley employment means longer, more expensive commutes, State Highway 75 clogged morning and evening and more workers ultimately looking elsewhere in frustration over home-to-work travel.
Businessmen who understand cost-benefit numbers should see that more community housing serves their interests as well as customers they serve.
If government is slow to act, then business leaders dedicated to maintaining a loyal employee force as well as a reliable service for customers can show the way.
One immediate step would be to appear today, Sept. 28, at 11:30 a.m. before the Ketchum City Council to add weight to growing community support for acquiring the Bavarian Village at auction and adding stock to affordable housing.
