With more than a half dozen hotels expressing interest in Ketchum, some city officials are wondering if there are enough resources to properly review the proposals.
Councilman Steve Shafran brought up the issues of economic development and allocation of resources during a City Council meeting Monday.
"To me, it's a really big priority," he said. "I feel like we don't apply a consistent set of standards to these projects."
He said developers with an operator on board receive more attention than those that don't. Establishing standards could help quell some of the discontent among Ketchum residents and hotel developers about which projects get approved and which get cut off at the pass.
Shafran suggested redirecting more money to economic development, which would include hotels and the planning and approval process. Some of that money could come from the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau. The chamber this fiscal year got $431,000, or 30 percent of its income, from the city of Ketchum.
The chamber's focus these days is less on economic development. Instead it focuses on marketing, visitors' services, business support programs and special events.
Money for hotel planning could also come from developers themselves.
During the Warm Springs Ranch application two years ago, developers reimbursed the city for some of the costs of two consultants.
The Ketchum Planning Department has a consultant on contract to help with workload, but Councilwoman Terry Tracy said the department is still understaffed.
City staff will draw up a proposed job description of what a hotel planner or consultant would do, then bring it back to the council for review.
The city is not currently prepared to estimate how much it would pay for that position.
