If fundraising continues at its current pace, designers of a Ketchum town plaza will soon be replacing pencils and paper with shovels and work gloves.
The Ketchum Community Development Corp.'s Town Design Team has been holding weekly meetings since October to find a way to build a town square in the heart of Ketchum for concerts, outdoor movies, farmers' markets and more. They've drawn the design, which would include a raised platform with steps for performances, a fountain, fire pit, solar-powered lighting, trees, tables, benches and areas for temporary vendors and LeRoy's Ice Cream, already located on the northern end of the property.
The town will need $474,500 to turn the vision into reality.
Marybeth Flower, fundraising chair for the design team, said the good news is that $88,050 has been raised since fundraising began more than two weeks ago. And a couple of months ago, local resident Tina Mehan donated $100,000 to the CDC to get the project jumpstarted.
This $188,050 total brings the CDC halfway to its goal of $355,800 needed to start construction in May. Design team leader Dale Bates said team members want to have the square ready by the Fourth of July, meaning the $355,800 fundraising mark needs to be reached by May, since construction would take 10 weeks.
The deadline doesn't seem unattainable.
Flower said eight other people have promised they would give something but don't know how much yet.
The land for the one-third-acre town plaza consists of city- and Urban Renewal Agency-owned lots between the Sun Valley-Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau headquarters and Giaccobi Square. Most of it is a parking lot of 17 spaces. That pavement would be torn up and replaced by pavers and other elements, with the majority of the square being open space. Bates said the open space would allow the city to use the square for a variety of activities.
"The plan is the canvas, the features are the frame," he said, "and it's up to the community to paint the picture."
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Alley and streetside parking would gain back 16 of these lost parking spaces under an option of the plan. The square's design team presented all this information to the Ketchum City Council on Tuesday.
"What you've heard tonight is real momentum," said Neil Bradshaw, board president for the CDC.
Bates said they would like the city to give some money in support of the undertaking, but the city is in no way footing the whole bill. He described the project as a public-private partnership. He said the team wasn't expecting a specific dollar amount from the city on Tuesday, but would like to hear an answer by the March 1 council meeting.
"We feel that we can deliver ... with your support," Bates said.
Council members voiced support for the project.
"I always thought this was just a wonderful idea," Baird Gourlay said.
Councilman Larry Helzel said he's "absolutely enthusiastic" about it, a sentiment echoed by Councilman Curtis Kemp.
However, none of the council members suggested a dollar amount for the city to give. That will need to be discussed. Mayor Randy Hall urged the council to find a way to give "at least $100,000" for the project.
"I think this project is absolutely doable," Hall said.
The council gave the design team the go-ahead to search for a qualified engineer to prepare construction drawings. The team will then bring its suggested engineer to the council on March 1.
Bates said work will only proceed from there if fundraising is progressing.
The square's design still needs approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission. That will be taken up at a Feb. 25 meeting.
In constructing the town square, the CDC design team also agreed to—in an earlier meeting—finishing the sundial at Harriman Square at the intersection of Fourth Street and Leadville Avenue. That alone is estimated to cost $96,500.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
A bird’s eye view from the corner of Fourth Street and East Avenue looking at the proposed Ketchum town square.
