Ketchum candidates spoke at a City Hall chambers busting at the seams Wednesday evening for the 28th annual Pizza and Politics forum, hosted by the Idaho Mountain Express.
The overwhelming crowd was a sign of important issues facing the city—two hotel projects and a multi-million-dollar debt.
About 25 extra chairs were added to the room, but there were still more people than seats. Even the side and back walls didn't provide enough standing room as latecomers clumped together outside the doorway for a peek at the candidates and a chance to ask their questions.
City Council candidates—running for two open seats—were the first to address audience queries, which focused on concerns of the town being overrun by hotels, working with Sustain Blaine, a potential merger with Sun Valley, a dwindling youth population and debt accrued by the city's Urban Renewal Agency.
A question about the agency's debt, referred to as a "great, big black cloud," earned applause from the audience, a sign that many see the $5.56 million debt as hanging over their heads.
Mayoral candidates were last to speak and spent much of their time addressing the mayor's role, specifically the possibility of reducing it to a city manager position. Other questions were similar to those put to council candidates, including hotel approvals and affordable housing, but participants also asked about empathy for the south valley and what the candidates expect from the community.
Candidates had 30 seconds each per question. The only one not in attendance was council candidate and former Mayor Ed Simon who was out of town.
Council candidates address issues
All six candidates agreed Ketchum needs hotels to thrive as a tourist town, but Warm Springs Ranch Resort brought out differences in opinion. Software writer, artist and musician Lee Chubb said Warm Spring's 95-foot-tall hotel is "absolutely ridiculous." He said hotels must be built without disrespecting Ketchum's residents who hold a larger stake in the town than do developers. He argued that by approving Warm Springs, the town put developers before voters.
The other five candidates agreed that hotels need to be approved on a case-by-case basis to decide what benefits Ketchum, but standards of approval differed.
Baird Gourlay, Peter Lewis, Jan Hegewald and Carter Ramsay approved of Warm Springs, while Nina Jonas said she wasn't in office at the time and therefore couldn't give a yea or nea.
Hegewald said he could sympathize with Chubb's argument. He lives across the street from Warm Springs and agrees it's a "big building," but the economic benefits overshadow even the 10-story hotel, he said. Ramsay also sympathizes with Warm Springs' neighbors' concerns, seeing that his home is close to the proposed 110-foot-tall River Run Hotel, but said Warm Springs can offer Ketchum economic stability.
When it came to the topic of Sustain Blaine, all six candidates supported the valley-wide effort, saying Ketchum is part of a bigger picture. But when a merger with Sun Valley was brought up, Ramsay, Jonas and Gourlay stated a resounding disapproval.
"No, hell no," Gourlay said.
Lewis took a different stand and said the towns can work together "without tearing down both communities." He suggested consolidating the towns' fire departments to save money. Gourlay also said fire-department consolidation is a good idea even though government consolidation is not.
As for a dwindling youth population, all candidates agreed something needs to be done to bring them back. Gourlay said he has childen ages 23, 21 and 19.
"Every day, I'm trying to figure out how to get them back here," he said.
He said jobs are the key, as did Hegewald and Jonas.
Lewis said job shortages aren't the problem.
"We have more workers than people who live here," he said. "We need to convince them to live here and not commute."
Chubb said it's not just about convincing them to live here. The workforce can't afford to live here. He said Ketchum has seen a surge of growth since the 1980s, pushing retail and rent prices to exorbitant heights.
Ramsay also pointed to a need for affordable housing and said Sustain Blaine and Ketchum's Community Development Corp. are the way to get there. He moved to town seven years ago in a "beat-up truck with little money" and knows the plight, he said.
The last question was one of defense for Gourlay, since it pertained to the URA debt attained while he was in office. He said the debt's "not hanging over our heads," but will be paid off in 15 years, which was planned since the beginning. Hegewald, head of the CDC leadership development team, said the URA has been used as it was designed for, and the debt isn't a mistake.
Chubb couldn't disagree more.
"The debt is a disaster," he said.
Ramsay agreed to an extent, saying he doesn't like debt and runs his general contractor business paying as he goes. Lewis also said the debt shouldn't have been accepted to finance the Fourth Street Corridor project. He supports the project but said it shouldn't have been done unless it was in "conjunction with other projects to offset expenditures."
And not a single hotel is being built right now, Lewis said. He argued that the permitting process needs to be streamlined to get hotel projects through to construction quickly.
Mayoral candidate trio faces off
The bogged-down hotel permitting process was a point of contention in the mayoral part of the forum. One audience member said the city held up Warm Springs for so long that now it may not be built when the city needs it most. However, Randy Hall said that wasn't the fault of the city's administration. He said they couldn't have seen the economic downturn coming, and it's the public that "insists on a lengthy process."
Candidate Mickey Garcia also blamed the obstruction on citizens, and called them "cave banana nimbies," which, he said, stands for "citizens against virtually everything, build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody, and never in my backyard." He said "old geezers" and those in charge are trying to keep Ketchum from developing. He linked that to Ketchum's lack of young people, saying the older people in charge don't want "young people living next door. That's selfish to the point of grotesqueness."
Phyllis Shafran also said the city needs to decrease the number of hurdles placed before developers.
When the option of reducing a mayor's power came up, all three candidates approved a move to city manager. Garcia has mentioned his support for this change before.
"Small-town mayors cause a lot of trouble," Garcia said, "and don't do any good."
Shafran said she would like the change but this election isn't the time. That will come in two years when the City Council turns over, she said.
An unorthodox but interesting question came at the close of the forum.
The mayoral candidates were asked not what they would do to improve Ketchum, but what the residents could do. Hall, Garcia and Shafran said get involved in community projects like Sustain Blaine. Garcia joked that he'd just like to see some love.
"Love me, kiss me and hug me a lot," he said.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
Upcoming forums
· For Sun Valley, the forum will be at Carol's Dollar Mountain Lodge on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 6:30 p.m.
· For Hailey and Bellevue, the forum will be at the Old Blaine County Courthouse on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m.
Mayoral candidates, from left, incumbent Randy Hall, Mickey Garcia and Phyllis Shafran listen to a question from the audience.
Photo by David N. Seelig
