Plans are in the works to turn Sun Valley into the nation's third certified Olympic and Para-Olympic Nordic skiing training center, a move calculated to boost tourism and the Sun Valley brand.
The move is part of an action plan approved Monday by the Sun Valley Economic Development Corp., a countywide organization dedicated to implementing an economic strategy for the area.
The action plan includes applying to the U.S. Olympic Committee for official certification, a goal that corporation spokeswoman Diana Takvam said the organization hopes to accomplish by April of next year.
The plan was formed when the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation and the Blaine County Recreation District approached the corporation with a request to help form the three-year business plan required by the committee.
"They're very encouraging," Takvam said.
She added that certification would fit the economic development strategy by helping to promote the Sun Valley "brand" and re-market it as a place where national-level athletes could congregate.
The Economic Development Corp. rose out of Sustain Blaine, a grassroots organization also dedicated to economic development, but which lacks the legal authority to implement the strategy itself.
Sustain Blaine has previously been criticized by city and county officials, especially those of the city of Sun Valley.
Councilman Bob Youngman responded to Sustain Blaine's request for 2011 funding by questioning the organization's accomplishments with earlier funding.
"Can you ever make progress?" Youngman said.
The EDC's progress thus far has been limited to electing officers and approving the nine-part action plan, though several projects are underway. Takvam said the corporation is surveying local businesses to see how the county and cities can help keep local businesses going.
The corporation's broader scope makes it uniquely suited to helping economic development in the entire county, Takvam said.
"We don't want this to be just the north valley or just the south valley. We want to be able to bridge," she said.
But the multitude of economic development organizations in the greater region have led Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall to call for Ketchum to take more of a leadership role.
"We have all of these different groups trying to do the best with what they have," Hall said.
Hall said the City Council is putting together a proposal to hire a consultant who would help identify the issues facing the city of Ketchum and identify which groups could address those issues.
"I have to focus on Ketchum's best interests," Hall said. "Ketchum has got to get healthy, and once Ketchum gets healthy, that will create a healthier economy for the rest of the county."
County Commissioner and Economic Development Corp. ex-officio board member Tom Bowman said he didn't see a conflict between the corporation's action plan and Ketchum's desire for leadership.
"We're just interested in seeing things moving forward," Bowman said. "If Ketchum wants to take a leadership role, we'd support it."
Bowman said the county would like to take a leadership role in economic development, but it does not have the financial resources such as the local-option tax or the urban renewal agency that Ketchum does.
Takvam agrees that the economies of the county and the cities are dependent on one another, and that any action that is accomplished would help the county as a whole.
"What's good for Ketchum is good for Bellevue and vice versa," she said. "It's just a matter of people rolling up their sleeves and getting it done."
Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com
