Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Jackson's attractions keeps businesses alive

Two national parks and ski areas are major tourist draws


By REBECCA MEANY
Express Staff Writer

A Tale of Two Cities

A TALE OF TWO CITIES
Second in a series of two

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Music is a business and a pleasure for Jason Fritts.

As manager of Mountunes, a store in Jackson, Wyo., he helps people bring music into their lives through CDs and LPs, as well as music accessories.

In his off hours, he brings music to life by playing in a 20-piece jazz band.

Fritts has lived in Jackson on and off since 1993. He has seen, and been a part of, shifting demographics in the mountain resort town.

Sometimes a boon, sometimes a bane, the change has required a little reinvention of the residents and business community at large.

"At one point there was a shift," he said. "In the 1980s, the hardware store on the square wasn't working anymore. Then in the '90s this became one of the top three markets for Western, Indian and landscape art. The art galleries helped establish the town as more than just a ski town, and now it attracts a different clientele."

In a similar vein, changing demographics in Ketchum have provided a boost for some retail shops. But sagging numbers of year-round residents, coupled with the trend of families moving south to Hailey and Bellevue where housing is less expensive, is causing problems for many local businesses.

The Ketchum City Council declared the situation an emergency last October when it enacted a 182-day moratorium on single-family homes and all residential projects within the commercial core.

The city determined that residential projects were pushing out retail. In turn, declining retail translated into diminished local option taxes. That tax money provided funds to essential city services such as police and fire protection.

On Monday, March 20, the City Council approved a one-year interim ordinance, which mirrors the moratorium.

In that time frame, the city hopes to scrutinize zoning, design regulations and business revitalization through a downtown master plan.

For Fritts, and other business owners in Jackson, the higher-income earners traveling through the western Wyoming resort town and living in the area provide a solid clientele.

"There's always people with money coming into town wanting people like me to play their parties," he said. "Summertime is crazy."

Approximately 3 million visitors visit Jackson every summer, many passing through to get to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. The town also welcomes between 150,000 and 200,000 skiers each winter, Mayor Mark Barron said.

Additionally, the city of Jackson has 8,647 inhabitants, compared with 3,873 in Ketchum.

Businesses, then, have a larger customer base.

Like many mountain resort communities, however, the area slows down during shoulder seasons.

"You could hear a pin drop in town (in April and May)," Fritts said. "Same with October and November. As a business, you have to allow for it in your business model."

During slack, Jackson doesn't have contract air service, so the chamber of commerce's business plan focuses on growing into the slow times, according to Steve Duerr, executive director.

In May, the area holds the Elk Fest and Old West Days, and the Jackson Hole Film Festival in early June. In mid to late September the Fall Arts Festival draws visitors, and in early October the Jackson Hole-Destination Wellness event attracts attendees.

"These shoulder-season events are generating enough visitation that airlines are extending jet service into late September and early June with two carriers now year round," Duerr said via e-mail.

The Sun Valley/Ketchum area, too, has generated visitors and economic activity through shoulder-season events such as the Hemingway Festival in September and the Mountain Wellness Festival in May.

For Chris Jay, manager of Jack Dennis Sports in Jackson, the clock dictates the ebb and flow of business—good during the day, slower in the evening.

Downtown businesses discussed among themselves staying open later but there wasn't consensus on the issue.

"Generally, I think it's a good idea," he said, "but we don't have the foot traffic to keep the store open after dinner."

A new center for the arts is being built downtown, which Jay said will provide more opportunity for after-hours dining and shopping.

Another dilemma many Jackson business owners face is finding employees in the job-seekers' market.

"Here, there're tons of jobs," Fritts said. "There're more jobs than people to fill them."

Although there are plenty of job applicants, some just can't make it work with the cost of living, Jay said.

"It gets more difficult each year," he said. "We offer some employee housing, which we rent to employees."

Many new employees will stay for a season in subsidized housing, then find their own accommodations.

Demands of a growing community, with an often-transient population and a cross-section of socio-economic backgrounds, brings different and sometimes conflicting ideas of how to cope.

"You have power in your vote," Fritts said. "Work with (local officials) to change laws."

And remember, he said, "Change is always a difficult pill to swallow."




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