Wednesday — February 25, 2004

Ketchum establishes Historical Commission

Council appoints six members to panel

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"Some of our competitors in the ski industry have done much better than us."

— CHRISTOPHER SIMMS, Historical Society representative

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By GREGORY FOLEY
Express Staff Writer

Ketchum City Council members last week appointed six area residents to serve on the Ketchum Historical Preservation Commission, effectively reviving the long-abandoned advisory panel.

In a swift move Tuesday, Feb. 17, council members unanimously appointed engineer Mike Bouiss, Realtor Nan Emerick, retired naval officer Ned Hogan, architect Jim Ruscitto, architect Jack Rutherford and land-use planner Tory Canfield to serve on the commission.

Express photo by Willy Cook

Emerick and Hogan were appointed to serve one-year terms, while Bouiss and Ruscitto were appointed to serve two-year terms. Canfield and Rutherford were appointed to serve three-year terms.

The appointments by the council effectively re-establish a branch of city government charged with advising the council on efforts to preserve historic structures in the city limits.

Directors of the Ketchum-Sun Valley Historical Society have been seeking since November 2002 to revive the commission, which has not convened for approximately a decade.

The city in 1989 established an ordinance that specifically provides for the existence of a "historic preservation commission, which shall consist of six members."

The commission was formed in 1989 but disbanded after several years.

Christopher Simms, a representative of the Historical Society, told council members at a Feb. 2 meeting that Ketchum needs to bolster its efforts to preserve historic buildings and sites.

"Some of our competitors in the ski industry have done much better than us," Simms said, noting that he believes Ketchum could reap substantial monetary benefits by ensuring preservation of more of more of its historic buildings.

Studies have indicated that so-called "heritage tourists"—those who combine travel with visits to historical and cultural sites—spend up to 30 percent more time at their destinations and 30 percent more money at local businesses, Simms said.

The new panel—which will be strictly an advisory body—will be asked to identify historically important buildings and advise the city on how to preserve, restore and maintain them.

The commission is also charged with promoting and conducting educational programs linked to historic properties in the city.

In a 2003 survey of buildings in the Ketchum area, the Ketchum-Sun Valley Historical Society identified 23 historically significant structures built in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

At least one of the structures identified in the survey, the Bald Mountain Lodge motor inn in central Ketchum, was modified in 2003. Several historic cabins at the Main Street site were relocated to the Hagerman area to make room for a planned 80-room luxury hotel.

The Historical Society survey also identified seven historic structures in the Ketchum area that had been destroyed or relocated prior to 2003.

 

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