Friday, January 2, 2009

Ketchum suffers big loss while looking toward future


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

One of Ketchum’s most popular drinking and live music establishments, Whisky Jacques’, was reduced to ash and rubble in September, after a fire began in the neighboring former Dirty Little Roddy’s building. The blaze was yet another blow to the city’s hurting economy, coming just a year after the massive Castle Rock Fire. Whiskey’s owner Karen Martin is in the process of designing a new bar, hoping to begin construction in spring 2009. Photo by Willy Cook

     For the second consecutive year, Ketchum found adversity in the form of flames and smoke. Unlike the 2007 Castle Rock Fire, however, the damage ravaged Main Street, not the outlying wilderness.

     But even as the rubble from Whiskey Jacques’ was carted away, city officials pondered the future of the city and the potential role of a number of high-end hotel developments, including the large-scale Warm Springs Ranch Resort.

 

    Whiskey Jacques’ burns

     After standing as a Main Street fixture for a century, the Whiskey Jacques’ building, housing one of Ketchum’s favorite drinking establishments, disappeared amid towering flames in the early hours of Sept. 15.

     Fire investigators determined that the fire began in the neighboring former Dirty Little Roddy’s building, and while it was deemed suspicious, an investigation into its cause has not been completed.

     Whiskey’s owner Karen Martin proposed preliminary plans for a new building, with hopes of beginning construction in spring, but the details are far from solidified.

 

     New hotels on the way?

     The Ketchum City Council approved the 73-room, four-star Hotel Ketchum, proposed by Ketchum developer Jack Bariteau for the corner of Main and River streets.

     While Bariteau hunts for the estimated $65 million to build, no easy matter given the collapse of debt markets, city officials are weighing the potential benefits of the proposed five-star Warm Springs Ranch Resort.

     Recommended for approval by the Planning and Commission in July, the project has become a divisive issue, with proponents praising the anticipated economic benefits and opponents criticizing the nine-story design of the hotel.

     Lingering in front of the commission is a third hospitality development, the proposed Ketchum Lodge, a mixed-use hotel that would sit on the Simplot lot directly across from the Ketchum post office and adjacent to the planned Sun Valley Center for the Arts building. The city will likely be making a decision on this 70-room hotel in the new year.

 

     Shake-up for CDC leadership

     The Ketchum Community Development Corp., a nonprofit organization founded by the City Council in 2006, hit a significant roadblock when Executive Director Gary Rapport was arrested in July, just a few months after stepping into the position.

     Arrested on an outstanding California burglary warrant from 1997, Rapport left the fledgling organization without a leader and with some negative publicity.

     After a two-month-long executive search, the board selected long-time Ketchum visitor Neil Morrow to the top spot.

 

    Failed attempt to recall mayor

     Ketchum resident and former Planning and Zoning Commissioner Anne Corrock spearheaded an effort during the summer to give voters the opportunity to recall Mayor Randy Hall.

     The petition, which listed a number of grievances disputed by Hall, including an accusation that the mayor had doubled his salary, failed when it was not returned to the city by the required deadline.

     While Corrock’s supporters praised the effort as part of the democratic process, others said it merely served to distract residents and city officials during a particularly difficult period for the city in a worsening economy.

 

    New faces, new pavement

     City Hall gained some new faces with the hiring of new City Administrator Gary Marks, who replaced stalwart interim Jim Jaquet in August.

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     Marks was preceded by new hires Nathan Warren and Sid Rivers, who joined the planning staff last spring with the goal of helping the city expedite the application process for the numerous and complex hotel applications.

     Just down the street from City Hall, construction workers finished putting the final touches on Phase 2 of the Fourth Street Heritage Project in time for the July 4 holiday. The project, which widened sidewalks and added benches, art and bike racks, now stretches from Walnut Avenue to Washington Avenue.




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