Town meeting
attracts more than 80
Leaders asked to
reset some priorities
By GREG
STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Ketchum
citizens last week asked their city government to reset some priorities,
with several asking the Ketchum City Council to remove recent emphasis
on alleviating downtown parking shortages.
"Let’s
move (parking) to the periphery" of downtown Ketchum said local
artist Will Caldwell. Express photo by David N. Seelig
"Why
is parking so high on the priority list?" asked Ketchum Parks
Superintendent Terry Tracy. "I don’t think it should be given the
emphasis it has been given."
Citizens
aired various comments and concerns June 19 at the second town hall
meeting of Mayor Ed Simon’s administration. Land acquisition,
affordable housing, public transportation and the potential for property
tax relief were also hot issues for Ketchum citizens.
Suggestions
pertaining to master planning city properties and priorities continued
to circulate.
In
response to a suggestion from Blaine County Housing Authority Chairman
David Kipping to plan city properties for affordable housing, Councilman
Maurice Charlat reiterated prior calls to master plan all of the city’s
land for all potential uses.
"Now
is the time to get together and get it done," he said, alluding to
a process whereby the public’s opinions could be shaped into a plan
for the various city-owned properties.
Simon
also reiterated his call to arms for Ketchum citizens.
"Time
is moving so fast that you’re elected officials can’t do it
alone," he said. "We need input from the public."
On
parking, the most popular topic of the evening, several citizens said
they do not want to compromise the city’s pedestrian amenities for
more automobiles.
"We’re
screwing ourselves over. Let’s encourage parking out of the
downtown," said Hurley Hamilton.
"Let’s
move it to the periphery," agreed local artist Will Caldwell.
The city
has just concluded a parking experiment on East Avenue in front of
Ketchum City Hall. The experiment, which may have fueled comments at the
meeting, involved parking automobiles in a tighter configuration to
maximize the city’s return on available real estate.
Sun
Valley resident retired engineer and parking experiment coordinator Milt
Adam, however, said citizens he talks with are becoming acclimated to
the idea.