The public hearing on the proposed Hotel Ketchum will continue before the Ketchum City Council on Monday.
Owners and employees of businesses in Ketchum need to come out of the shadows, show up in force and let the council know what they think about the proposed hotel.
It's not enough to write a letter for the public record. Much of the valley's business community has been conspicuously absent from hearings on both the Warm Springs Resort Hotel and Hotel Ketchum—even though the valley's economic future is tied in large part to development of new luxury hotels in the north county.
But for human nature, a letter to the city would do the trick. Yet, even when public comment runs 3 to 1 in any particular direction, the minority is more powerful when it shows up in person. There's something about face-to-face interaction as opposed to ink on paper that seems to carry more weight with very human elected officials.
One reason business owners don't attend public hearings in any great numbers is the fear that if they publicly state their position that someone—or some organized group—may boycott them and take their dollars elsewhere. The fears are not totally unfounded, even if they are cowardly.
Even so, if new hotels are not developed business owners have more to fear from a stagnant or declining local economy than from the transient anger of people with whom they may disagree.
Businesses cannot rely on representatives of professional groups like the Sun Valley Ketchum Chamber and Visitors Bureau, the Wood River Economic Project or the Sawtooth Board of Realtors to make the case for new hotels. The voices of their executive directors are tiny in comparison to the howls of opponents.
Smart owners of vacation homes will want to show up as well to ensure that the vitality that made them want to become part of the valley community continues.
Elected officials and residents of other valley communities should show up as well. New hotels in Ketchum will have a profound effect on the financial wellbeing of families throughout Blaine County. They are stakeholders in this fight.
Ketchum needs to hear from everyone—including Sun Valley Company, which would be the beneficiary of new marketing and lodging partners that could help market and grow business.
Business owners need to show up, be heard and be counted. If they fail to show up, they will hand off their future to those who do.
