Friday, May 25, 2012

How much is development worth?

Sustain Blaine requests $20,000 from county

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By KATHERINE WUTZ
Express Staff Writer

Sustain Blaine has requested $20,000 from Blaine County and significantly less from the respective cities. Express graphic by Tony Barriatua

Sustain Blaine economic development group asked the county for $20,000 in funding for fiscal 2013 last week, saying the group continues to shift its focus from public to private funding.

Sustain Blaine requested $5,000 initially last year, but was later given $25,000 total to fund its various programs such as the development of a culinary institute, obtaining official designation as a Nordic Olympic and Paralympic training site, and developing a study and profile of Blaine County's economic state.

"No one else is really doing this work," Executive Director Harry Griffith said during a county commissioners meeting on Tuesday, May 15.

Though the request is less than the group received last year, Griffith said he's trying to shift its funding focus to private donations and outside grants.

"We're trying to move public-sector funding to private," he said, but added that the general public feels more engaged—and the group is more accountable—if local governments are contributing revenue from tax dollars.

Griffith said funds from the county and cities also match a grant the organization gets from the Idaho Department of Commerce.

The organization will request $10,000 each from Ketchum, Sun Valley and Hailey, $500 from Bellevue and $200 from Carey.

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Amounts vary widely, but Griffith said in a later interview that there's a method behind these numbers.

"We see the county as really being the one that has the most responsibility for economic development," he said. "Therefore, we asked them for the largest amount of money."

Sustain Blaine board member Evan Lawler said during the meeting that the county has been the most "active, thoughtful and constructive" participant in Sustain Blaine, represented by county commissioners Tom Bowman and Larry Schoen.

Ketchum developer Jack Bariteau, a Sustain Blaine board member, urged the commissioners to approve the organization's full funding request.

"There's every reason for you to support what we're asking for," he said. "I'm seeing the impact in the community, and we'd like to see this continue to grow."

Bariteau argued that the existence of Sustain Blaine helps build the confidence of potential investors looking for opportunities in Sun Valley. Schoen said that would be of great benefit to the community if investors felt that way, and lauded Sustain Blaine for its educational efforts—both regarding Friedman Memorial Airport's economic impact on the county and the county's economic state.

The county will not make a final decision on any funding requests until all agencies have had hearings and a preliminary budget is approved in the first week of August.

Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com

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