Wednesday, September 26, 2007

County OKs regional planning money

Commission directs $20,000 to help fund economic assessment


By JASON KAUFFMAN
Express Staff Writer

The Blaine County Commission unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday directing $20,000 of the county's money be spent to help fund a regional economic assessment that will consider ways of attracting new jobs and creating greater economic vitality in the area.

The three-member board granted the expenditure at the request of members of Sustain Blaine, a group of diverse public and private stakeholders whose mission is to promote an improved economic future for Blaine County. Spokespersons for Sustain Blaine said the group is comprised of members from the local government sector, nonprofit land use organizations, education, various chambers of commerce and the agriculture, housing, transportation and real estate fields.

Asked to give his opinion of the economic assessment, Blaine County Administrator Mike McNees advised commissioners to say yes to the funding request.

"My recommendation would be that you do this," McNees said.

Speaking before the commission on Tuesday was Marisa Nelson, government affairs director for the Sawtooth Board of Realtors, and Vanessa Crossgrove-Fry, executive director of Citizens for Smart Growth.

The county funds approved for expenditure by the commission will be used to hire a private consulting firm that will help guide the region in its regional economic planning efforts, Nelson and Crossgrove-Fry said. Members of the group hope to secure a combined $75,000 from both the county and the cities of Sun Valley and Ketchum, Nelson and Crossgrove-Fry said.

Sustain Blaine will also ask for a limited amount of funds from the cities of Hailey and Bellevue, they said, adding that the group is seeking an additional $75,000 in funding from the private business sector in Blaine County.

"We believe that best represents a true joint public-private partnership," Nelson said.

Nelson and Crossgrove-Fry said members of Sustain Blaine have designed a request for proposals that will be forwarded to a number of possible consulting firms capable of accomplishing this task. A limited number of firms have been asked to respond to the request based on their established reputation and body of related work, according to documents they provided to the commissioners.

Saying he has mixed feelings about the request, County Commissioner Larry Schoen said the assessment must consider the southern half of Blaine County if it is to be successful. That also means that some of the funding must come from the cities of Hailey and Bellevue, Schoen said.

"I want you to know how important Carey, Bellevue and Hailey are to this effort," he said.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.